Thursday, 22 December 2016
Hazrath belal
Sufi devotional music has long and rich history in South Asia. One of its major forms is qawwali (Urdu: قوالی), which originated at the shrines of Sufi saints centuries ago. The content of qawwalis is either religious or romantic poetry (or both, as per the Sufi influence). Those who sing qawwali are known as qawwals. A party of qawwals includes a lead singer (or two), accompanied by side singers, clappers, a harmonium or two, and tabla and dholak drums. Qawwali songs are traditionally very long, as they involve a lot of repetition of lyrics. They often begin slowly and increase in energy gradually. The singing of notes instead of words, sargam (Urdu: سرگم), is usually intertwined with the lyrics of the composition. Overall, qawwali is a mystical and hypnotic kind of music that can be spiritually awakening. It appeals to many people, and one need not be religious to appreciate it.
“Bhar Do Jholi” is a popular qawwali most famously performed by the late Sabri Brothers, Ghulam Farid Sabri (1930-1994) and Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (1945-2011), from Pakistan. It was written by Purnam Allahabadi and is mainly a praise of the Prophet Muhammad, though also of his companion Bilal and his grandson Hussein. Purnam Allahabadi (-2009) was the pen name of Mohammed Musa, a prolific Urdu poet, although the performers of his work have gained more fame than he has for it.
The poet/singer of this qawwali takes on the role of a beggar, coming to ask the Prophet Muhammad for food and/or money. Yet, this is only the surface meaning; he is not only begging for physical sustenance but for spiritual sustenance and redemption as well. I have translated the title phrase “bhar do jholi” as “fill my bag”, but that does not convey the meaning totally accurately. Here, “bag” refers to the lower portion of one’s upper garment that beggars fold upward from the bottom corners and hold to fill it with change. So, the narrator of the song is extending his garment out in front of Muhammad to metaphorically have it filled. He also sings in praise of the grandson of Muhammad, Hussein, who was martyred by the tyrant Yazid at the Battle of Karbala. Near the end, he praises Bilal, an Ethiopian slave who was freed by Muhammad’s friend, Abu Bakr, and was chosen by Muhammad to recite the adhan, which is the Islamic call to prayer.
شہِ مدینہ سنو اِلتجا خدا کے لئے
Shah-e-Madeena suno iltija Khuda ke liye
O King of Madinah, hear my plea, for God’s sake
کرم ہو مجھ پہ حبیبِ خدا، خدا کے لئے
karam ho mujh pe Habeeb-e-Khuda Khuda ke liye
Bestow your favor upon me, O Beloved of God, for God’s sake
حضور غنچۂ اُمّید اَب تو کھِل جائے
Huzoor ghuncha-e-ummeed ab to khil jaye
O Prophet, let the bud of my hopes blossom now
تمہارے در کا گدا ہوں تو بھیک مِل جائے
tumhaare dar ka gada hoon to bheek mil jaye
I am a pauper at your door, here to seek alms
بھر دو جھولی میری یا محمد
bhar do jholi meri ya Muhammad
Fill my bag, O Muhammad
لوٹ کر میں نہ جاؤں گا خالی
laut kar main na jaaoon ga khaali
I will not go back empty-handed
تمہارے آستانے سے زمانہ کیا نہیں پاتا
tumhaare aastane se zamaana kya naheen paata
What does the world not receive at your doorstep?
کوئی بھی در سے خالی مانگنے والا نہیں جاتا
koi bhi dar se khaali maangne waala naheen jaata
No one who comes asking at your door leaves empty-handed
بھر دو جھولی میری سرکارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Sarkaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Lord of Madinah
بھر دو جھولی میری تاجدارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Taajdaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Sovereign of Madinah
تم زمانے کے مختار ہو یا نبی
tum zamaane ke mukhtaar ho ya Nabi
You are the chosen one of the age, O Prophet
بیکسوں کے مددگار ہو یا نبی
bekason ke madadgaar ho ya Nabi
And the helper of the friendless, O Prophet
سب کی سنتے ہو اَپنے ہوں یا غیر ہوں
sab ki sunte ho apne hon ya ghair hon
You listen to everyone, whether they are your own or strangers
تم غریبوں کے غمخوار ہو یا نبی
tum ghareebon ke ghamkhwaar ho ya Nabi
You are the comforter of the poor, O Prophet
بھر دو جھولی میری سرکارِ مدینہ
bhar do jho
bhar do jholi meri Taajdaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Sovereign of Madinah
ہم ہیں رنج و مصیبت کے مارے ہوئے
ham hain ranj o museebat ke maare huey
I am struck with grief and hardship
سخت مشکل میں ہیں غم سے ہارے ہوئے
sakht muskhil mein hain gham se haare huey
I am in great difficulty, defeated by sorrow
یا نبی کچھ خدا را ہمیں بھیک دو
ya Nabi kuchh Khuda-ra hamein bheek do
O Prophet, give me some alms for the sake of God
در پہ آئے ہیں جھولی پسارے ہوئے
dar pe aaey hain jholi pasaare huey
I have come to your door with my bag stretched open
بھر دو جھولی میری سرکارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Sarkaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Lord of Madinah
بھر دو جھولی میری تاجدارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Taajdaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Sovereign of Madinah
ہے مخالف زمانہ کدھر جائیں ہم
hai mukhaalif zamaana kidhar jaaein ham
The times are against me, where should I go?
حالتِ بیکسی کس کو دکھلائیں ہم
haalat-e-bekasi kis ko dikhlaaein ham
To whom should I show my state of helplessness?
ہم تمہارے بھکاری ہیں یا مصطفیٰ
ham tumhaare bhikaari hain ya Mustafa
I am your beggar, O Mustafa
کس کے آگے بھلا ہاتھ پھیلائیں ہم
kis ke aage bhala haath phailaaein ham
In front of whom else shall I spread my hands?
بھر دو جھولی میری سرکارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Sarkaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Lord of Madinah
بھر دو جھولی میری تاجدارِ مدینہ
bhar do jholi meri Taajdaar-e-Madeena
Fill my bag, Sovereign of Madinah
بھر دو جھولی میری یا محمد
bhar do jholi meri ya Muhammad
Fill my bag, O Muhammad
لوٹ کر میں نہ جاؤں گا خالی
laut kar main na jaaoon ga khaali
I will not go back empty-handed
کچھ نواسوں کا صدقہ عطا ہو
kuchh nawaason ka sadqa ata ho
Let me gain some of your grandsons’ charity
در پہ آیا ہوں بن کر سوالی
dar pe aaya hoon ban kar sawaali
I have come to your door to ask from you
حق سے پائی وہ شانِ کریمی
haq se paai woh shaan-e-kareemi
Rightfully you have attained your beneficent glory
مرحبا دونو عالم کے والی
marhaba Dono Aalam Ke Waali
Welcome, O Master of Both Worlds
اُس کی قسمت کا چمکا ستارہ
us ki qismat ka chamka sitaara
The star of fate shines upon
جس پہ نظرِ کرم تم نے ڈالی
jis pe nazar-e-karam tum ne daali
Whomever you look at with kindness and favor
زندگی بخش دی بندگی کو
zindagi bakhsh di bandagi ko
He sacrificed his life to worship God
آبرو دینِ حق کی بچا لی
aabroo deen-e-haq ki bacha li
And saved the honor of the religion of truth
وہ محمد کا پیارا نواسہ
woh Muhammad ka pyaara nawaasa
That beloved grandson of Muhammad,
جس نے سجدے میں گردن کٹا لی
jis ne sajde mein gardan kata li
Whose neck was cut in prostration
جو اِبنِ مرتضیٰ نے کیا کام خوب ہے
jo Ibn-e-Murtaza ne kiya kaam khoob hai
The deed done by the son of Murtaza is excellent
قربانی ءِ حسین کا انجام خوب ہے
qurbaani-e-Husain ka anjaam khoob hai
The consequence of the sacrifice of Hussein is virtuous
قربان ہو کے فاطمہ زہرا کے چین نے
qurbaan ho ke Faatima Zehra ke chain ne
By sacrificing himself, Fatima Zahra’s source of comfort,
دینِ خدا کی شان بڑھائی حسین نے
deen-e-Khuda ki shaan barhaai Husain ne
Hussein, increased the glory of the religion of God
بخشی ہے جس نے مذہبِ اِسلام کو حیات
bakhshi hai jis ne mazhab-e-Islam ko hayaat
He is the one who gave life to the religion of Islam
کتنی عظیم حضرتِ شبیر کی ہے ذات
kitni azeem Hazrat-e-Shabbeer ki hai zaat
How great is the rank of Hazrat Shabbir!
میدانِ کربلا میں شہِ خوش خصال نے
maidaan-e-Karbala mein Shah-e-Khush Khisaal ne
In the field of Karbala, the King of Good Character,
سجدے میں سر کٹا کے محمد کے لال نے
sajde mein sar kata ke Muhammad ke laal ne
That beloved of Muhammad, was decapitated in prostration
زندگی بخش دی بندگی کو
zindagi bakhsh di bandagi ko
He sacrificed his life to worship God
آبرو دینِ حق کی بچا لی
aabroo deen-e-haq ki bacha li
And saved the honor of the religion of truth
وہ محمد کا پیارا نواسہ
woh Muhammad ka pyaara nawaasa
That beloved grandson of Muhammad,
جس نے سجدے میں گردن کٹا لی
jis ne sajde mein gardan kata li
Whose neck was cut in prostration
حشر میں اُن کو دیکھیں گے جس دم
hashar mein un ko dekhein ge jis dam
The moment they see him (M
Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Saturday, 5 November 2016
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Friday, 9 September 2016
Why to have nuclear weapon
The reason for this is that North Korea was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, from which it unilaterally withdrew when it first tested a nuclear weapon in 2003. Allow North Korea to get away with it, the argument goes, and Iran — painfully corralled into a nuclear deal last year — will go the same way. Then, so will a host of other states.
This is true — but it is not the only truth. From the point of view of North Korea’s ruling élite, a hereditary despotism surrounded by richer, more powerful neighbours, the threat of internal uprising and external aggression is an everyday reality. Kim Jong-un has learned, too, that those regimes bribed into giving up their nuclear weapons do not fare well. Ukraine agreed to surrender its warheads in 1994, after receiving guarantees of territorial integrity from Russia, the United Kingdom and the US. These have proved worthless. Muammar Qaddafi, who surrendered his nuclear-weapons ambitions, ended up being murdered on a roadside in Libya.
Thursday, 8 September 2016
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Disaster
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
Supreme court rep
Monday, 5 September 2016
India asean
Recall the Article on Colonization of Asia. We had seen how the British, French and Americans had colonized almost entire South Asia.
After Second World War, most of these colonies attained independence. But they also had internal dispute regarding territories and borders.
One such dispute was Indonesia-Malaysia conflict over the Borneo islands.
This conflict + the then ongoing Vietnam War raised fears of increased external involvement in the newly independent states.
They feared that south east region would become a theatre of western vs. communist ideologies
Hence they decided to form a common platform:
To resolve bilateral issues among themselves
Present a collective front to the world.
1967, five countries signed “Bangkok declaration” to form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), later another 5 joined. Thus today ASEAN has 10 members
List of 10 ASEAN nations
Indonesia (ASEAN HQ is here, in Jakarta)
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Cambodia
Laos
Vietnam
Myanmar
Musyawarah & Mufakat
ASEAN follows the principle of “ASEAN way”. Meaning,
Musyawarah And Mufakat [deliberation and consensus]
don’t use force/confrontation
don’t interfere in the internal matters of states
Informal discussion
minimal institutionalization
To achieve “the ASEAN way”, Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) was signed.
TAC Treaty
It provides the guiding principles of ASEAN
they’ll not interfere in the internal affairs of one another,
they’ll not use threat or use of force to settle differences / disputes
they’ll settle of differences or disputes by peaceful means,
They’ll effectively cooperate among themselves.
they’ll mutually respect each other’s’ independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity
Every State has right lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion,
India had signed TAC treaty with ASEAN in 2003.
Timeline: Growth of ASEAN since 90s
1994 ASEAN regional forum (ARF). already discussed in separate article click me
1997 ASEAN+3 is formed to increase regional integration. This includes
China
Japan
South Korea
2002 Treaty to control haze pollution in South East Asia
2006 ASEAN gets observer status in UNGA (General assembly)
2007 Cebu declaration for energy securities and renewable energy.
2010 Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI)
It is a currency swap agreement among ASEAN +3,
It provides emergency liquidity to those economies during crises.
2012
Asean Human Rights Declaration
21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh Combodia with theme:“ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny”
2013
22nd ASEAN summit in Brunei, theme: Our People, Our Future Together.
2015 ASEAN community will be setup.
ASEAN Community (2015)
Similar to European Union. will be setup in 2015 and will have three pillars
ASEAN Political Security Community
ASEAN Economic Community
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community
ASEAN Performance: GOOD
ASEAN has a mixed record of achievements since its formation.
ASEAN performed well here:
Peace Successfully maintaining peace in the region. e.g. during Thailand and Cambodia conflict over Preah Vihear temple (2011)
Economy Has made comprehensive deals like
ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area(ACIA)
Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI)
Aims to setup the ASEAN Economic Community 2015, having a single market and production base.
ASEAN Performance: NOT so GOOD
ASEAN didnot perform well here
Economy ASEAN Failed to prevent the 1997 financial crisis.
Human rights
ASEAN has been too soft on the authoritarian regime of Myanmar.
Despite call from international community it didn’t suspend Myanmar or put economic sanction on it during the military regime’s crackdown on peaceful protestors.
2012: ASEAN released declaration on Human rights. But led to lot of protests from civil society and NGOs. They terms it as just another piece of paper.
Environment
In 2002, ASEAN came up with Treaty to control haze pollution in South East Asia. still there w
Quota
Education
Rti
Sunday, 4 September 2016
Friday, 2 September 2016
Monday, 29 August 2016
Thursday, 18 August 2016
#bs
Red letter day for vindictive women
Man hating and cruelity against men is on the rise world wide in the name of equality and empowerment.
Recently national security was compromised on the grounds of providing "parity" in employment to both the genders in the Indian air force. the lenient and kind women and child development minister miss menaka gabdhi created a separate cell for online harrassment for women only, stipulating clearly to the citizens that law of the land is clearly biased towards men and they have no remedy or whatsoever in case of a woman harrassing man online.
She was the staunch supporter of the amended juvennile bill, wherein a child can now be tried as adult and made to go capital punishment in case he has raped a woman.. i am nt against reprimanding a kid who has done such a deed but shouldnt there be an iota of forgiveness and chance to reform for the fellow who in all probability comprehend fully the seriousness of his crime. Anywyas the gvt went along supporting the bill knee jerk fashion to capitalise on the nirbhaya case.
Now another man hater today wrote an unimaginably humorous article on how the maternity benefit act is anti women.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
Pre
Banni Grasslands Reserve or Banni grasslands form a belt of arid grassland ecosystem on the outer southern edge of the desert of the marshy salt flats of Rann of Kutch in Kutch District, Gujarat State, India. They are known for rich wildlife and biodiversity and are spread across an area of 3,847 square kilometres. They are currently legally protected under the status as a protected or reserve forest in India. Though declared a protected forest more than half a century ago Gujarat state's forest department has recently proposed a special plan to restore and manage this ecosystem in the most efficient way.[1][2] Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.[3]
The word ‘Banni’ comes from Hindi and Sanskrit word ‘banai’, meaning made. The land here was formed from the sediments that were deposited by the Indus and other rivers over thousands of years. Old villagers from this region say that before the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake, the river Indus flowed right through banni and the local farmers reaped a rich harvest of crops like red rice and sindhi chookha etc., red rice was the staple diet of the people of the region and it was even recommended by medical practitioners as a 'light diet' for ailing people. However, since the earthquake of 1819 the river Indus changed its course and now flows through Sindh in neighbouring country of Pakistan effectively turning this entire region arid.[4][5]
Banni grassland is peculiar to the Rann of Kutch, it has some forty Sindhi speaking Maldhari (cattle breeders) hamlets, home to the Halaypotra, Hingora, Hingorja, Jat and Mutwa tribes .[6] It was first declared a "protected forest" in May 1955, using the nomenclature of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Since then, the actual transfer of the land from the Revenue department to the Forest department has not been completed.[7]
Vegetation Edit
Vegetation in Banni is sparse and highly dependent on year-to-year variations in rainfall. Banni is dominated by low-growing forbs and graminoids, many of which are halophiles (salt tolerant), as well scatted tree cover and scrub. The tree cover is primarily composed of Salvadora spp. and the invasive Prosopis juliflora. Dominant species include Cressa cretica, Cyperus spp., grasses in the genera Sporobolus, Dichanthium, and Aristida.
Wildlife Edit
The grasslands are home to mammals such as the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), chinkara (Gazella bennettii),[8] blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), wild boar (Sus scrofa), golden jackal (Canis aureus), Indian hare (Lepus nigricollis), Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), caracal (Caracal caracal), Asiatic wildcat (Felis silvestris ornata) and desert fox (Vulpes vulpes pusilla) etc. among others. The last Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) population, which had become confined to nearby Little Rann of Kutch, has been increasing in numbers since 1976 and has recently started spilling over into adjoining areas including Greater Rann of Kutch, Banni and the adjoining villages of the neighbouring Indian state of Rajasthan.[9][10][11]
Banni grasslands also have a rich diversity of avifauna, herpatofauna and invertebrates. During good rainfall years the seasonal water bodies of Banni form important staging grounds for thousands of flamingos, migratory cranes and also support large numbers of over 150 species of migratory and resident birds.[12]
Reintroduction of cheetah Edit
Main article: Cheetah reintroduction in India
Banni Grasslands Reserve and Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, both in Kutch, have been classified by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as the last remaining habitats of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in India and are proposed as some of the possible sites for the reintroduction of the species in India.[3][13][14] Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that used to occur here are now locally extinct in India an
Monday, 27 June 2016
Mist anr music
How is Indian classical music different from Western classical music? What are their similarities?
Melody and rhythm are the common grounds for music, be it Western or Indian. Indian music is essentially monophonic (single melody format or homophonic) while Western music can be polyphonic (multiple notes played or sung in harmonised unison), monophonic or a combination of both.
Western classical music is based upon the equal tempered scale, and rests upon melody, harmony and counterpart while Swara and Tala are the two basic components of Indian classical music.
Swaras are the twelve notes and the intervening semitones , while a Tala is a cycle of beats, starting with a stress point called the Sam and ending with a release point called the Khali. It is this (sam & khali) that brings life to a Tala.
What is meant by 'Hindustani' and 'Carnatic' music?
Indian classical music has two distinct styles-Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music. Hindustani music is prevalent all over India except in the Southern States, where Carnatic music is practiced.
What is the origin of these two styles of music and which is older?
No definite answer can be given about the antiquity of either of these styles of music. The tradition of Indian music practiced and developed is nearly three thousand years old. Indigenous musical styles and schools evolved and developed in different regions of the country by blending purely ritualistic music and folk music. The basic elements remain the same. The semantic divide between the two styles started from the time of the 'Sangeetaratnakara' of Sharangadeva (1210-1247 AD). This was later enhanced by the Muslim influence and this musical bifurcation was described for the first time as Hindustani and Carnatic music by Haripaladeva in his text the 'Sangeetsudhakara' (1309-1312 AD).
What are the similarities and differences between 'Hindustani' and 'Carnatic' music?
Both the styles are monophonic, follow a melodic line and employ a drone (tanpura) with the help of one or two notes against the melody. Both the styles use definite scales to define a raga but the Carnatic Style employs Shrutis or semitones to create a Raga and thus have many more Ragas than the Hindustani style. Carnatic ragas differ from Hindustani ragas. The names of ragas are also different. However, there are some ragas which have the same scale as Hindustani ragas but have different names; such as Hindolam and Malkauns, Shankarabharanam and Bilawal. There is a third category of ragas like Hamsadhwani, Charukeshi, Kalavati etc. which are essentially Carnatic Ragas. They share the same name, the same scale (same set of notes) but can be rendered in the two distinctively different Carnatic and Hindustani styles. Unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic music does not adhere to Time or Samay concepts and instead of Thaats, Carnatic music follows the Melakarta concept.
What is a raga?
Each Raga has its own scale consisting of minimum five and maximum seven notes (swaras). A raga has specific ascending (Aaroh) and descending (Avaroh) movements, specific dominating notes (vadi) and specific notes complementing the Vadi (Samvadi) notes. The characteristic phrases of a raga (Pakad) establish its identity and mood.
How many ragas are there?
Originally, there were six Ragas and thirty-six Raginis (melodies with softer emotions). Hundreds of Ragas were created with the help of these Ragas and Raginis, many of which have become obsolete. In recent times, musicians have composed many more ragas. There are today, approximately, 120-150 ragas in use.
Are these ragas used in classical music only?
Ragas are used in semi-classical and light music as well.
What is a Thaat?
9. Thaat is a system by which different sets of complete scale of seven notes, in ascending order, are formulated to categorize the maximum number of ragas under it. Thaat or Mela is known as the Parental scale. There are ten Thaats under which most of the Hindustani ragas c
Saturday, 25 June 2016
Friday, 24 June 2016
European union is a case in point for increasing bureacratisation and rule by technocrats...it undermined sovereignty and democracy which is why britain exited.
Also the referendum can be seen as a retrograde step as it harks the world back to parochial sentiments and identites such as conservative nationalism intolerance of others etc. Britain would have had to suffer a little but eventually both eu and britain would have won. The referendum showed that democrcay by masses is what plato calls is hysteria and mob rule..
Norway along with iceland and liechestein follows the eea
Thursday, 23 June 2016
Hindustani music and sufism
Not many might know that in 2014 the Islamabad High Court had issued a notice in a blasphemy case to Amjad Sabri, one of the finest qawwals of Pakistan, along with two TV channels for the playing of a qawwali during a morning show. Amjad Sabri was gunned down in Karachi on Wednesday afternoon and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Hakimullah Mehsud group has accepted responsibility for the attack through its spokesperson Qari Saifullah Mehsud.
Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic classical music. The central notion in both these systems is that of a melodic mode or raga, sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala. These principles were refined in the musical treatises Natya Shastra, byBharata (2nd–3rd century CE), and Dattilam(probably 3rd–4th century CE).[1]
In medieval times, the melodic systems were fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of Suficomposers like Amir Khusro, and later in theMughal courts. Noted composers such asTansen flourished, along with religious groups like the Vaishnavites. After the 16th century, the singing styles diversified into differentgharanas patronized in different princely courts. Around 1900, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande consolidated the musical structures of Hindustani classical music, called ragas, into a number of thaats. Indian classical music has seven basic notes with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps (temperament) may also vary; however, with the gradual replacement of the sarangi by theharmonium, an equal tempered scale is increasingly used. The performance is set to a melodic pattern called a raga characterized in part by specific ascent (aroha) and descent (avaroha) sequences, which may not be identical. Other characteristics include "king" (vadi) and "queen" (samavadi) notes and characteristic phrases (pakad). In addition each raga has its natural register (ambit) andportamento (meend) rules. Performances are usually marked by considerable improvisation within these norms.
Sabri's murder is part of, to borrow words from Pakistan's most prominent human rights activist Asma Jahangir, "an unnerving tale of how politics empowered bigotry, laws were used for persecuting religious minorities and liberal Pakistanis, and how an easy-going Muslim population was turned into an insufferable "puritanical” society.”
Qawwali is one of the musical forms - and perhaps the most important one - through which Sufism speaks. Most people associate Sufism with Shias but 'soft' Sunnis, who often share religious observances with Shias, also revere Sufi saints and visit their shrines. In Purifying the Land of the Pure: Pakistan's Religious Minorities, Farahnaz Ispahani tells us that between 2001 and President General Pervez Musharraf's resignation in 2008, at least 713 Shias were killed and 1,343 wounded in eighty-six terrorist attacks.
Then, between 2009 and 2015, 1,659 Shias were killed and 2,950 injured in 320 incidents of terrorism.
Sufi shrines have been regularly attacked in Pakistan. On 1 July 2010, two suicide bombers killed 42 people at Data Darbar, a 900-year-old shrine which houses Sufi saint Data Gunj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri's grave, in Lahore. People were astonished when Pakistani media, instead of blaming the jihadi terrorists whose hostility to Sufis was well known, tried to put the blame on the country's alliance with the United States and a section of it even tried to accuse the Ahmadis of the attack.
Why do the Islamic jihadis hate the Sufis so much? The simplest explanation is that while the Islamic zealots are inspired by sectarian hatred and glorify divine retribution, the Sufis glorify divine love and compassion. The jihadis accentuate religious differences and rely on violence but the Sufis spread the message ofwahdut al-wajood (unity of being) and bring comfort to people. They are as different from each other as chalk is from cheese. An important facet about Sufism is that it has been, to a very considerable extent, responsible for the spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. Little wonder that the Islam as it is practised in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is very different from the one practised in the Arab countries. However, as the Islamic jihadis are inspired and financed by the Saudi Wahabis, they maintain that the Wahabi version is the only authentic Islam and the Sufis are essentially apostates and heretics.
These days the word Sufi is being so widely used as a prefix that it has almost lost its original meaning. We now have sufi kathak, sufi pop, sufi hip-hop, sufi rap and so on. However, its shortest definition is that it is Islamic mysticism coupled with asceticism and the Sufis consider Prophet Muhammad as the first Islamic mystic. As the early Muslim mystics used to wear a loose robe made of suf (Arabic word for wool), people started calling them Sufi.
Read on Firstpost: With Amjad Sabri's death, legacy of qawwali music in Pakistan faces sudden void
They used music and dance to enhance their spiritual experience and getting into a state of mystical trance. After Muslim invaders had conquered large parts of India, Sufi saints also started arriving here.
As they did not differentiate between rich and poor, Muslim and Hindu, upper castes and lower castes, they soon became very popular and people started joining their faith. Musical soiree or sama became an important event at their khanqahs.
The process of assimilation of Indian and Persio-Arabic music had begun under the famous Suhrawardi Sufi saint Shaikh Bahauddin Zakaria (1191-1267) whosekhanqah would host sama where singers would attempt this assimilation. It is said that Multani, one of the most popularragas in the Hindustani classical music, was created by Bahauddin Zakaria.
During the 13th century, Delhi began to emerge as a great centre for the Chishtisilsila or branch of Sufism. Hazrat Nizamuddin Chishti, who was called the sultan of the soul, was by far the most influential Sufi saint. Until recently, residents of Old Delhi used to call not only his dargah but the entire locality of Nizamuddin Basti as Sultanji. Nizamuddin and his disciple Amir Khusrau played a most important role in the development of many musical forms of which qawwali became the most popular. Under the reign of the Delhi Sultans qaul, naqsh, tarana,nigar and ghazal became part of the repertoire of Indian singers and qawwali took shape. The qawwals became an integral part of the royal court as well as the Sufi centres and they began to base their singing on the raga-raginis as well as folk music, thus creating a wonderful musical amalgam that went very well with the syncreticism of the Sufi saints.
Qawwals also came to be known as Delhi singers. It is said that Nizamuddin Aulia was so fond of raga Poorvi that he would want to listen to it almost every day. Akhayal bandish composed by Amir Khusrau in his honour is still sung by Hindustani classical vocalists in raga Poorvi. Qawwali reminded people of Hindu kirtans and became very popular among the masses and the ruling elite alike.
The clans of qawwals became very well known and their descendants were called qawwal-bachcha. It is widely maintained that the qawwal-bachchas are the creators as well as popularisers of Khayal that eventually deprived dhrupad of its primacy and became the most important genre in the field of Hindustani classical music.
Many great qawwals emerged during the last century in the Indian subcontinent. They included Jafar Husain Badayuni, Warsi Brothers, Habib Painter, Shakila Banu Bhopali, Wali Muhammad, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Sabri Brothers (Ghulam Farid Sabri and his younger brother Maqbool Ahmed Sabri). Of them, while Habib Painter, Wali Muhammad and Shakila Banu Bhopali excelled in the popular form of qawwali, Jafar Husain Badayuni, Warsi Brothers, Wali Muhammad, Nusrat Fateh Ali and Sabri Brothers managed to sing both the traditional qawwalis as they used to be sung at the Sufi khanqahs and the popular qawwalis that would strike an instant rapport with the masses. Top qawwals had the proper training in voice culture and their expertise in alap as well as taans was of such high order that they could compete with any khayal singer. They also excelled in layakari.
Amjad Sabri was the son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and had become over the years one of the most sought after qawwals. He had adapted himself and his art to the changing times and was very popular among young listeners. His most memorable qawwalis were Tajdar-e- Haram, Bhar Do Jholi Meri and Mera Koi Nahin Hai Tere Siwa. His assassination is a reminder that when religious bigotry takes over, nations self-destruct.
The Hindustani music system uses different musica
forms like the Dhrupad, Khyal, Thumri, Dadra, Tarana and so on. Of these, the important ones are Dhrupad, Khyal and Thumri. While the Dhrupad is the most strict form in terms of grammar and presentation format, the Khyal permits more liberty. The Thumri is the most flexible compared to the other two. But what separates one form from the other? How can one identify and differentiate? Let's see in detail.
Dhrupad: The Dhrupad is considered one of the oldest forms of Hindustani vocal music. The performance of Dhrupad consists of two parts, namely, the exposition section or Alap and the fixed composition or Bandish
Khayal: This word comes from the Persian word, meaning idea, thought, conception or imagination. This form is more free and flowery when compared to the somber Dhrupad. Khayal covers diverse topics such as divine love, separation of lovers, seasons, praise of kings, patrons and the pranks of Lord Krishna. The style and presentation of singing a Khayal greatly differs from that of Dhrupad. In fact, the subtle nuances and embellishments are also diffe
The advent of Islamic rule under the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire over northern India caused considerable cultural interchange. Increasingly, musicians received patronage in the courts of the new rulers, who in their turn, started taking increasing interest in local music forms. While the initial generations may have been rooted in cultural traditions outside India, they gradually adopted many aspects from their kingdoms which retained the traditional Hindu culture. This helped spur the fusion of Hindu and Muslim ideas to bring forth new forms of musical synthesis like qawwali and khyal.
The most influential musician of the Delhi Sultanate period was Amir Khusrau (1253–1325)- A composer in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, as well as Braj Bhasha. He is credited with systematizing some aspects of Hindustani music, and also introducing several ragas such as Yaman Kalyan, Zeelaf and Sarpada. He created the qawwali genre, which fuses Persian melody and beat on a dhrupad like structure. A number of instruments (such as the sitar) were also introduced in his time.
Amir Khusrau is sometimes credited with the origins of the khyal form, but the record of his compositions do not appear to support this. The compositions by the court musicianSadarang in the court of Muhammad Shahbear a closer affinity to the modern khyal. They suggest that while khyal already existed in some form, Sadarang may have been the father of modern khyal.
Much of the musical forms innovated by these pioneers merged with the Hindu tradition, composed in the popular language of the people (as opposed to Sanskrit) in the work of composers like Kabir or Nanak. This can be seen as part of a larger Bhaktitradition, (strongly related to the Vaishnavitemovement) which remained influential across several centuries; notable figures includeJayadeva (11th century), Vidyapati (fl. 1375 CE), Chandidas (14th–15th century), andMeerabai (1555–1603 CE).
The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as gāyaki).[20] LikeHindustani music, Carnatic music rests on two main elements: rāga, the modes or melodic formulæ, and tāḷa, the rhythmic cycles.[20]
Monday, 20 June 2016
Overcoming the hesitations of history .modi
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A tale of two judgments
Updated: May 12, 2016 02:25 IST | Abhinav Chandrachud
Two recent rulings hark back to a key debate during the writing of the Indian Constitution about the incorporation of the American doctrine of substantive due process
In 1947, Justice Felix Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court advised one of the chief architects of India’s Constitution, Sir Benegal Narsing Rau, to delete the words “due process of law” from the text of India’s draft Constitution. However, two recent cases, one decided by the Supreme Court and the other by the Bombay High Court, tell a very interesting, yet conflicted, story about the incorporation of the U.S. doctrine of substantive due process in Indian constitutional law.
The 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution provide that a person cannot be deprived of “life, liberty or property, without due process of law”. Only a few decades before the meeting between Frankfurter and Rau took place, the U.S. Supreme Court had used the “due process clause” in the 14th amendment to invalidate social welfare legislation. This phase in American constitutional history is often described as the “Lochner era”, named after the dreaded case of Lochner v. New York (1905) in which the Supreme Court invalidated a New York law which prohibited confectionary establishments from employing workers for more than 60 hours per week. The Lochner era is said to have come to an end around 1937, starting with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937), when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt threatened to “pack” the Supreme Court with favourable justices in order to ensure the survival of his ambitious “New Deal” legislation.
Rau and Ambedkar
Even though the Lochner era had come to an end around a decade prior to the meeting between Frankfurter and Rau, Frankfurter believed that the words “due process of law” imposed an “undue burden” on the judiciary and that they should be deleted from the draft Indian Constitution.
Even prior to his meeting with Frankfurter, Rau (who was the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly) was having serious misgivings about the due process clause. His meeting with Frankfurter was the final nail in the due process coffin for the Indian Constitution. In March 1947, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a product of Columbia Law School himself, had drafted a provision for the Indian Constitution which was very similar, if not identical, to the due process clause of the 14th amendment. It read: “… Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty and property without due process of law.” After Rau’s meeting with Frankfurter, Ambedkar’s clause was substantially altered. Property was altogether deleted from this clause, to make way for the extensive land reforms which were being contemplated in the Constituent Assembly. “Liberty” was qualified with the word “personal”, so as to limit its meaning. And the words “due process of law” were replaced with the words “procedure established by law”. Thus, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution now reads: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”
In the early decades, the Supreme Court of India interpreted Article 21 faithfully to the intent of the framers of India’s Constitution. However, beginning in the 1970s, an activist Supreme Court started incorporating the U.S. constitutional doctrines of “procedural due process” and “substantive due process” in India. Though Article 21 formally provides that a person’s life and personal liberty can be deprived so long as there is merely a “procedure established by law” (that is, a validly enacted law), the doctrine of procedural due process mandates that this procedural law must be “fair, just and reasonable”. The doctrine of substantive due process enables a court to question not merely procedural laws, but the substantive value choices of the legislative branch of government as well.
In a recent case, Rajbala v. Haryana (2015), a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India strongly rejected the doctrine of substantive due process in India. In this case, the constitutional validity of the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 was in question. Under the Act, five categories of persons were considered ineligible to contest elections for certain offices in panchayats in Haryana (for example, those against whom criminal charges of a certain kind were framed, those who had not paid their electricity dues, those who did not have specified educational qualifications, those who did not have a functional toilet in their homes, etc). The Act was challenged on the ground that it was “wholly unreasonable and arbitrary and therefore violative of Article 14 of the Constitution”. Though the Supreme Court rightly held that a statute cannot be invalidated merely because it is “arbitrary”, it also went on to reject the U.S. doctrine of substantive due process by holding that Indian courts “do not examine the wisdom of legislative choices unless the legislation is otherwise violative of some specific provision of the Constitution”, as “to undertake such an examination would amount to virtually importing the doctrine of ‘substantive due process’ employed by the American Supreme Court”, and under the Indian Constitution “the test of due process of law cannot be applied to statutes enacted by Parliament or the State Legislatures”.
The Rajbala decision is particularly interesting because earlier Benches of the Supreme Court, in cases like Ramlila Maidan Incident (2012) and Selvi v. State of Karnataka(2010), have repeatedly held that substantive due process and due process generally are a part of Indian constitutional law under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Beef in Maharashtra
Thereafter, in Shaikh Zahid Mukhtar v. State of Maharashtra, decided on May 6, 2016, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court was dealing with the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976, as amended by the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which received the assent of the President of India on March 4, 2015 (hereinafter, the “Beef Act”). Among other provisions which were challenged, Section 5-D of the Beef Act made it a criminal offence to have in one’s possession, in the state of Maharashtra, the flesh of a cow, bull or bullock slaughtered outside the State of Maharashtra. The question was whether this provision violated the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. Section 5-D was struck down by the court. It was held that the right to privacy is a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and that the right to eat the food of one’s choice, if the food itself is not injurious to health, is a part of the right to privacy. By declaring that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to privacy, the Bombay High Court was, in essence, circumventing the intent of the framers of India’s Constitution (who had deliberately qualified the broad word “liberty” with the word “personal”). Recognising an unenumerated right like privacy is an example of substantive due process.
Section 9-B of the Beef Act cast the burden of proof on the accused in some cases. The court was examining its constitutional validity. This was a procedural due process inquiry, as the provision reversed a well-known procedural rule of evidence in criminal trials, that is, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Section 9-B was also struck down by the court. It was held that the “right of life and liberty under Article 21… clearly covers the [substantive] due process aspect envisaged in the American jurisprudence.”
Thus, interestingly, while the Supreme Court of India in theRajbala case has strongly rejected the doctrine of substantive due process, the Bombay High Court has, following earlier Supreme Court pronouncements, applied and reiterated the doctrine in Indian constitutional law.
Abhinav Chandrachud is an advocate at the Bombay High Court.
Sunday, 19 June 2016
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Thursday, 16 June 2016
Mr madhavans parliamentry secretary
With so many secretaries, will the Delhi Assembly still be able to exercise its oversight role?
The Delhi government has appointed 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries. Several other State governments have also taken this route in the past; earlier State governments in Delhi have also made such appointments, although fewer in number. This is part of a trend of weakening the power of legislative bodies by governments which has developed over the last three decades.
Most modern republics build in the concept of separation of powers in their Constitutions. The idea is that no particular organ of state should have a concentration of powers. Different institutions act as a check on the actions of others. In the simplest form, there are at least three parts: the executive arm that makes and executes policies, the legislative arm that makes laws and holds the executive to account, and the judicial arm that adjudicates disputes and ensures that the other two arms do not violate the provisions of the Constitution. In particular, Parliament and State legislatures have the important duty of monitoring the actions of the government and holding it to account. Our Supreme Court has recognised separation of powers as part of the basic structure of the Constitution, and can therefore strike down even amendments to the Constitution that infringe upon this principle.
Checks and balances
The concept of office of profit finds place in Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution, which state that an MP or MLA will be disqualified if he or she occupies such an office. The idea is that every legislator should be able to carry out legislative duties without any obligation to the government of the day. As Ministers have to be members of the legislature, they are exempt from this disqualification. The Constitution also recognises that there may be other cases where exceptions may be required and allows Parliament and State legislatures to make exemptions by passing a law. In several cases, courts have examined this issue and concluded that the key question is whether occupation of such office will make a legislator beholden to the executive. In general, a person is considered to hold an office of profit if four conditions are met: (a) he holds an office, (b) the office is one of profit, that is, it carries some benefits, (c) the office is under the control of the Central or the State government (d) the office is not that of a Minister or exempted by an Act of Parliament or State legislature.
The 91st amendment to the Constitution recognised the problem of the government trying to win over legislators by giving them ministerial berths. It limited the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, to 15 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assemblies. For Delhi, Article 239AA of the Constitution limits the number to 10 per cent of the strength of the Legislative Assembly (which is seven persons). The question is whether by appointing 21 more MLAs as parliamentary secretaries — which will make 40 per cent of the membership have some type of an executive role — the nature of the Legislative Assembly is being changed. That is, whether such an Assembly will still be able to exercise its oversight role over the government. An argument has been made that these parliamentary secretaries will be able to aid the government in being more responsive to citizens’ needs. That argument, however, misses the point of separation of powers. The role of legislators is not to help the government do its job better, but to ensure that it functions in a proper manner. That is, the legislator exercises the role of a watchdog over the government on behalf of citizens and not as an agent of the government.
Disempowering the legislature
Two other developments, the anti-defection law and MPLADS/MLALADS (local area development schemes), also weaken the separation of the legislative arm from the executive. The anti-defection law was enacted in 1985 through the 52nd amendment to the Constitution. This requires all legislators to abide by the party diktat on every vote in the legislature. Therefore, the legislator cannot exercise independent judgement on any issue if the party leadership has taken a position. Thirty years of experience shows us that this has led to concentration of power in party leaderships. For instance, one sees any government that is trying to build consensus — such as for the Goods and Services Tax legislation — negotiate with the leaderships of various parties, rather than convince individual MPs on the merits of the case. Also, the ruling party can require all its MPs to vote in support of a motion. These MPs have effectively lost their rights — and therefore cannot do their duty — of exercising their independent judgement on issues and performing the watchdog role.
In 1993, the Central government started MPLADS, through which legislators can earmark a certain amount of public funds for projects in their constituency. The concept has been adopted by many states as MLALADS. The argument was that elected MPs and MLAs know the needs of their electorate well and can be effective in allocation of resources. This again subverts the role of legislators. Their role is to allocate the entire Central and State budgets, and to monitor the spending. They are expected to use their knowledge of ground-level issues in this allocation, and see that the funds are spent properly. By providing each of them a specific amount to spend on projects, their oversight role is weakened.
The role of legislators is critical in a democracy. They are elected by citizens, and have the task of ensuring that the government is acting in the best interests of the public. In this, they are expected to exercise their independent judgements on what constitutes public and national interest. They act as a bulwark against autocratic actions of the executive. Therefore, it is imperative that their independence is protected. Actions that impinge on such independence, such as excessive appointments to executive positions, the anti-defection law and MPLADS, should be reversed. Otherwise, there is a risk of a slow erosion of the institution of legislatures, which could put at risk the very existence of our republic.
M.R. Madhavan is the President and
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
Dickie bird ismay and plan balkan
Dickie Bird Plan 1947 October 30, 2011No comments Mountbatten prepared a “Dickie Bird Plan” for India’s independence. This plan was prepared by a committee of General Sir Hastings Ismay, Sir George Abell and Lord Mountbatten himself. The Plan Balkan was completed and presented on 15-16 April 1947 by Hastings Ismay to assembly of provincial governors in Delhi. Due to this, this plan was also called “Ismay Plan“. The main proposal of this plan was to that provinces should become first independent successor states rather than an Indian Union or the two dominions of India & Pakistan. As per this plan all the provinces viz. Madras, Bombay, United Provinces of Bengal, Punjab & North West Frontier etc. were proposed to be declared Independent. The states later would decide whether to join constituent assembly or not. This plan was not discussed in details with leaders of India and Mountbatten discussed just informally. He gave the plan a final touch and sent to London. Later when he moved to Shimla, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru joined him as a guest. Here the details of the plan were put by Mountbatten before Nehru. Nehru rejected the plan right away and told him that this plan would invite Balkanization of India and would provoke conflict and violence. Consequently, Mountbatten cabled to England that this plan was cancelled. So it was also called as plan balkan.
The difference between this and mt batten plan is that the latter gave independence to princely states only...while this one was giving sovereignty to british provinces ie the very constituent elements of india itself.
Later sardar would integrate the princely states by offer of privy purses and later madam indira gandhi under the wave of socialism that nationalised banks did garibi hatao would also mean removing privy purses of princes. What nehru giveth daughter taketh away
Delimitation across
In 1976 42nd amendmenr act halted the seats in lok sabha till 2000. The population at that time was 54 cr consequently according to 1:10 lac ratio we got 543 lok sabha representative fixed.
By 84th amendment act it was extended to 2026. By that year population will stablise an further issues can be taken. Peace.
Monday, 13 June 2016
The best defence is a good offence
The Six-Day War took place in June 1967. The Six-Day War was fought between June 5th and June 10th. The Israelis defended the war as a preventative military effort to counter what the Israelis saw as an impending attack by Arab nations that surrounded Israel. The Six-Day War was initiated by General Moshe Dayan, the Israeli’s Defence Minister.
The war was against Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Israel believed that it was only a matter of time before the three Arab states co-ordinated a massive attack on Israel. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, the United Nationshad established a presence in the Middle East, especially at sensitive border areas. The United Nations was only there with the agreement of the nations that acted as a host to it. By May 1967, the Egyptians had made it clear that the United Nations was no longer wanted in the Suez region. Gamal Nasser, leader of Egypt, ordered a concentration of Egyptian military forces in the sensitive Suez zone. This was a highly provocative act and the Israelis only viewed it one way – that Egypt was preparing to attack. The Egyptians had also enforced a naval blockade which closed off the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.
The U.N. Security Council called for a withdrawal from all the occupied regions, but Israel declined, permanently annexing East Jerusalem and setting up military administrations in the occupied territories. Israel let it be known that Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai would be returned in exchange for Arab recognition of the right of Israel to exist and guarantees against future attack. Arab leaders, stinging from their defeat, met in August to discuss the future of the Middle East. They decided upon a policy of no peace, no negotiations, and no recognition of Israel, and made plans to zealously defend the rights of Palestinian Arabs in the occupied territories.
Egypt, however, would eventually negotiate and make peace with Israel, and in 1982 the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in exchange for full diplomatic recognition of Israel. Egypt and Jordan later gave up their respective claims to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to the Palestinians, who beginning in the 1990s opened “land for peace” talks with Israel. The East Bank territory has since been returned to Jordan. In 2005, Israel left the Gaza Strip. Still, a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement remains elusive, as does an agreement with Syria to return the Golan Heights
The Palestine Authority has welcomed the initiative as a “flicker of hope”. But the Israeli government has slammed it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position is that Israel will hold direct talks with “a demilitarised Palestinian state that recognises Israel as a Jewish state and a national homeland for the Jewish people”. This appears more like a delaying tactic than a genuine demand for resuming talks for various reasons.
First, the Jewishness of the state of Israel is a matter of contention at least till the fate of the Palestinian refugees is settled. Second, there’s no level playing field between Israel and Palestine. One is the mightiest military power in West A
The problem in the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict is that there’s a pro-Israel bias among the Western powers which stops them from putting real pressure on Tel Aviv to deliver. Israel knows that it can get away with anything. It’s the only nuclear armed nation in West Asia, though it hasn’t officially declared that. It faced allegations of war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. It continues occupation of the West Bank in violation of the UNSC resolutions. Despite criticisms even from its allies in the West, Israel’s settlement policy remains intact. Still, were there any meaningful international efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions or to put pressure on its leaders to change their policies?
The international community could actually take a lesson out of the Iran example. World powers were on the same page in putting pressure on Iran, through a mix of international sanctions and threats of isolation, over its nuclear programme. Even Iran’s allies such as Russia and China joined hands with the U.S. and Britain to build a global pressure regime which eventually worked in forcing Tehran to compromise. What was one of the most contentious global issues till a few years ago was settled amicably in a rare case of the triumph of public diplomacy. Why can’t a similar method be adopted in dealing with Israel, which is also a violator of accepted global norms? This is unlikely to happen immediately. But unless the Israeli exceptionalism is broken, there won’t be peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict. To break that, there has to be both carrots and sticks. Right now, there are only carrots in the kitty, plenty of them.
Sunday, 12 June 2016
Why was the nation partitioned
Nhru in discovery of india says that although it was our fault to start with but the british had it in their interest to keep the nation divided post independence. Same has been reiterated by maulana azad. MIND BLOWING ANALYSIS.
1. The ncert says that it was wrong on part of congress to indulge in too much negotiation with jinnah.. they should have nipped the problem in the bud by making an all out ideological war against communalism.
2. Cripps mission which it is said created the blue print for partition was then a creation of both British as well as congress. But more of congress as they wouldn't have had this problem if they hadnt made jinnah a negotiating partner.
3. The cabinet mission and even cripps never talked of partition. It is even said that britisg through a sense of justice wanted to see their former possession intact rather than brittled. Jinnah agreed to the solution but nehru left himm no choice but to seek partition.
4. Forces of communalism were without doubt were nt in the hands of british but they had given birth to it by their policy of divide and rule...
5. Congress did little to disassociate itself from hindu mahajan sabha
Therefore no one is at fault and everyone ia at fault.
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Road safety and regulation board
Earlier proposed road safety and managemet authority nt setup bcoz of parliamrntary logjam
Blue st
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
elinor and
Years of fieldwork, by herself and others, had shown her that humans were not trapped and helpless amid diminishing supplies. She had looked at forests in Nepal, irrigation systems in Spain, mountain villages in Switzerland and Japan, fisheries in Maine and Indonesia. She had even, as part of her PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied the water wars and pumping races going on in the 1950s in her own dry backyard.
All these cases had taught her that, over time, human beings tended to draw up sensible rules for the use of common-pool resources. Neighbours set boundaries and assigned shares, with each individual taking it in turn to use water, or to graze cows on a certain meadow. Common tasks, such as clearing canals or cutting timber, were done together at a certain time. Monitors watched out for rule-breakers, fining or eventually excluding them. The schemes were mutual and reciprocal, and many had worked well for centuries.
Best of all, they were not imposed from above. Mrs Ostrom put no faith in governments, nor in large conservation schemes paid for with aid money and crawling with concrete-bearing engineers. “Polycentrism” was her ideal. Caring for the commons had to be a multiple task, organised from the ground up and shaped to cultural norms. It had to be discussed face to face, and based on trust. Mrs Ostrom, besides poring over satellite data and quizzing lobstermen herself, enjoyed employing game theory to try to predict the behaviour of people faced with limited resources. In her Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University—set up with her husband Vincent, a political scientist, in 1973—her students were given shares in a notional commons. When they simply discussed what they should do before they did it, their rate of return from their “investments” more than doubled.
“Small is beautiful” sometimes seemed to be her creed. Her workshop looked somewhat like a large, cluttered cottage, reflecting her and Vincent's idea that science was a form of artisanship. When the vogue in America was all for consolidation of public services, she ran against it. For some years she compared police forces in the town of Speedway and the city of Indianapolis, finding that forces of 25-50 officers performed better by almost every measure than 100-strong metropolitan teams. But smaller institutions, she cautioned, might not work better in every case. As she travelled the world, giving out good and sharp advice, “No panaceas!” was her cry.
Scarves for the troopsRather than littleness, collaboration was her watchword. Neighbours thrived if they worked together. The best-laid communal schemes would fall apart once people began to act only as individuals, or formed elites. Born poor herself, to a jobless film-set-maker in Los Angeles who soon left her mother alone, she despaired of people who wanted only a grand house or a fancy car. Her childhood world was coloured by digging a wartime “victory” vegetable garden, knitting scarves for the troops, buying her clothes in a charity store: mutual efforts to a mutual end.
The same approach was valuable in academia, too. Her own field, institutional economics (or “the study of social dilemmas”, as she thought of it), straddled political science, ecology, psychology and anthropology. She liked to learn from all of them, marching boldly across the demarcation lines to hammer out good policy, and she welcomed workshop-partners from any discipline, singing folk songs with them, too, if anyone had a guitar. They were family. Pure economists looked askance at this perky, untidy figure, especially when she became the first woman to win a shared Nobel prize for economics in 2009. She was not put out; it was the workshop's prize, anyway, she said, and the money would go for scholarships.
Yet the incident shed a keen light on one particular sort of collaboration: that between men and women. Lin (as everyone called her) and Vincent, both much-honoured professors, were joint stars of their university in old age. But she had been dissuaded from studying economics at UCLA because, being a girl, she had been steered away from maths at high school; and she was dissuaded from doing political science because, being a girl, she could not hope for a good university post. As a graduate, she had been offered only secretarial jobs; and her first post at Indiana involved teaching a 7.30am class in government that no one else would take.
There was, she believed, a great common fund of sense and wisdom in the world. But it had been an uphill struggle to show that it reposed in both women and men; and that humanity would do best if it could exploit it to the full.