After almost sixty years of independence, loads been done to improve our life style and thinking, we are on verge of becoming economic power, IT industries is bombing, many multinationals are heading towards India to get the benefits of out sourcing (BPO and KPO), the metro are getting crowded day by with migration of people from different states (obvious job reason). But main question and most pressuring question which India is still facing that castisim is racism? Are we Indian are most racist people? We complain about racist attacks and racism problem Indian face in Europe and in US, but we don’t realize that even in India we do differentiate the people on their colour, caste and religion. Aren’t we?

Well unfortunately it’s true that we do differentiate and make decision about the person, even with out knowing about his habits and thinking. Many villages are strictly segregated by caste, and the untouchables or Dalits (Harijans) are often forbidden to drink from upper-caste wells or to worship at their temples. Many people from lower caste in some villages are not allowed to sit with upper caste people or attend any ceremony of upper caste people.

I do remember when I joined the college, some students ask me my name so I just tell them my first name in introduction, they would insist on knowing the surname. I couldn't understand why - until later I realized that they wanted to get an idea about which state I belong to. So I understand even in universities skin colour, state-belonging is very important in the initial stages of knowing someone.

From my life experience especially here in UK, I was most appalled and shocked when finding out about Indian thinking. Mostly, because I was under the assumption that Indians- well particularly Hindus- were the most tolerant and accepting people.

But as I have learned, this is not the case. And the whole thing about them being open is totally off the mark (from what I have seen).

Most of the Indians I have met are just fine to work with or live alongside white people. Even to "score" with a white chick is cool for the young guys. But to get married with White girl or African origin girl is total different ball game. I know many guys who do have white girl friends and also have African origin girl’s friends but are shamed to bring in front of society. (Unless of course it’s just to get papers or stay in UK only).

Recently our political leaders as well as some general public are saying same slogan about Sonia Gandhi (Videshi). After 2004 election many parties were so against her to become PM not because she was congress president but because she is from Italian origin. It shame!! Well she might not have been the best PM in some peoples point of views but you cant deny anyone from acquiring government post because she is Christians or born in different country, because end of the day she married to Indian so she become Indian citizen, and our constitution don’t prohibit her to acquire highest office, so basically it’s a form of racism. The Indian Constitution explicitly allows naturalized Indians to hold the highest office, a provision inserted by the framers of the Constitution to allow Indians who had left the country during British rule to return and run for office if they desired. Whether this provision needs to be amended is a different issue. But the legality of a foreign-born leader is not in question. L.K. Advani leader of opposition which made Sonia Gandhi's Italian origin the mother lode of its campaign against her, was him self born in Sind, now a part of Pakistan. Section of India is so racist that they deny Gandhi the right to lead in government the party she led to victory in a democratic election.

Other example look at the matrimonial advert and TV programs you will find out, how much we are attracted for the colour of a mans skin, every matrimonial advert says, fair skin, beautiful and bla bla…In my opinion fairness equals talk of skin colour, which therefore equals racism.

The worst came after the Rahul Mahajan cocaine scandal, when Fatai was picked up by the Delhi police and kept in illegal confinement for three days. Why? They suspected he was a cocaine peddler. Says Fatai wryly, “Indians don’t want to make friends with a black man. Unless, of course, they get cocaine at discounted rates.” He echoes what most people of African descent will tell you in a candid moment: Indians are among the most colour-conscious and racist people in the world.

It hard to understand the complexity of Indian culture but we need to change our attitude as all human being are equal. As I will never able to understand how one service provider can become lower just by providing service to someone? How a person who is working as a carpenter, waterman and leather worker becomes lower than others for providing services to others?

The two-faces of India society will always be there. One face destroys all hope everyday and the other simply surprises us with daring hope, the moment you give up!

India is shaken with recent bombing in Malegaon (Malegaon, is a Muslim majority town in the Nasik district. It has roughly a population of 700,000 of which nearly sixty percent is Muslim. These Muslims, most of them, had migrated from U.P and Bihar), 37 innocents lost their life and many more injured. Second biggest bombings in Maharashtra state with in three months of time.

Recently our Honorable PM has said that we are facing more threats from terrorist and can expect more attacks. I guess every official were sleeping when PM has made the speech. These latest bombing on Muslims festival, shows that our internal security agencies and polices are not up to task. Whether it’s a work of any outside terrorist organization or internal terrorist organization, for me it seems like they have achieved the objective “Communal Division Completed”.

India is facing more challenges than ever; one of the most serious challenges to internal security and democratic traditions has come from so-called communal disorders, or riots, based on ethnic cleavages. And also we know that there are forces outside India that are only too keen to exploit communal and caste divides in our society and body-politic.

Our internal security policies showing concern; to be blunt we have not done any things or learned from Mumbai blast to tightens our security network and open more communication between internal and external security agencies.

We haven’t done anything which forced terrorists to spend more time worrying about how to defend themselves against death and capture. Our policies and communication gap between securities agencies giving these terrorist an easy ways to plot bomb.

Security agencies is not doing their home work at home to prevent infiltration by terrorists and their weapons; to protect our people and places if infiltration occurs; and to respond and recover if an attack is carried out.

One of the world's most stable political structures, but always in crisis. Every party will have their own say about these bombings, some will blame Muslims, some will blame Hindu, but no one will be ready to take proper action, due to vote bank.

What we need is clear and concise “Internal security" polices, as has happened in the US after the 9/11 attack and in UK after 7/7 bombing. Place all elements from intelligence gathering, surveillance, cordon and search, counter-terrorism, etc, under one roof.

We must marshal all our resources and all the moral strength of our free system in self-defense against the threat of these terrorist aggressions.

We need action not just words or false promises.

Our government has recently announced plans for increasing the reservation or quote system from 27% to 49.5%. As per government note this reservation or quota system is essential and its only and main purpose is to increase the social diversity in campuses and work places by lowering the entry criteria for certain identifiable groups who are grossly under-represented in proportion to their numbers in general population. In short, its corrective measure by the government, to give justice and equal opportunity to backward class.

As citizen of India I would love to see when government is trying to give equal right and equal opportunity to every citizen. While implementing this quota system, government is not doing justice with every citizen of India, what government is trying to do, total injustice.

We need quota system if it’s based on economical basis, not on caste basis. Even our constitution says, No one in India is allowed to discriminate any body on basis, race, gender, sex or on caste. By implementing the quota system, on basis of caste is termed as racial discrimination.

In 1979 when Mandal commission was setup, to asses the situation of socially backward and economically backward class people, commission didn’t have any records of OBC, so commission used the 1930 data, came up with that in India almost 52% people are from OBC. So till today all the quota system is based on this report, which is made of data of 1930 census. Since then not a single government has tried to asses the situation again. Since the implementation of quote system, many communities have been benefited and now they are cream layers of our society.

So my question is when these cream layers of OBC /SC/ST are not any more socially or economically backward, why they still get the benefit of quote system?

Even government knows very clearly that, this quota system is only going to benefit the economically sound people of lower caste. If we look on some of the studies, it clearly says that the OBC class is quite comparable with the general caste in terms of annual per capita consumption.

By implementing this quota system on caste basis, government is running away from its main duty that is giving these OBC /SC/ ST people their basic rights. These people need proper infrastructure to raise them selves, so that can perform equally with others citizen of this country. What is the use of reservation in IIM or IIT, when person from this community don’t even have access to the proper school in his village or in town? I know many villages and town, which don’t even have proper government school or public schools. Government should put more efforts in building basic infrastructure for these backward classes; give them proper education so that can compete any where in world not just in India.

Government doesn’t have proper monitoring system to see, who is taking the advantage of this quota system. I remember that in June or July there was program on TV showing how people of upper caste in Punjab are making false certificate of OBS/SC/ST so that they can get job and education.

So who is benefiting from this quota system? People with money and power. Every one knows that you can get the certificate of OBC/SC/ST from your local authority, if you pay some bribe, and it is happening, it has happened in past people took the advantage of this and take my word it will happen in future again, as government doesn’t have any proper monitoring service.

So in short the current approach from quota system is not going to help all those people who are leading very pathetic life in India, irrespective of caste.

If government really wants to do some thing for these people, then she should provide proper primary education system first to every citizen who is leading pathetic life irrespective of caste. Give them proper and full scholarship, motivate them to go to school, reduced the drop out from school.

It just a shame that some our Ministers, are talking of quota system for these people just to raise their vote bank. We need reservation on grounds of economics, not on caste system. We need proper infrastructure which government has promised us. We need proper primary education for these poor people.

I would welcome any government move to support every citizen of this Great India irrespective caste, to make their life and their children life better for tomorrow.

Please don’t divide this country on caste system; we had enough of caste system in India.

Democracy means a political system, which is recognized and form by the citizen of the country and its ultimate authority belongs to citizens of country, who have full right to participate in decision making process and to elect or dismiss the government. It other words an active participation of all citizen of the country in choosing the government and involved in decision making. In democracy every people live in rule of law, in which law applies to every citizen equally. Democracy also means rule by majority, but main element of democracy is how majority people look after the minority, how power full people look after power less people. In India we live in democracy so it means the minority has equal rights too no majority may violate.

But by looking over the recent situation and news it makes me think are we honestly living in pure democracy?

Mr.Arjun Singh is busy in implementing the quota system, Shahi Imam is sending out the message that singing our national song is against the Islam, Medical student are on hunger strike for reservation system, some stupid people are opening the restaurant in Mumbai Naming Hitler Cross, and in Interview owner and MD is issuing the statement that its only “surname” in Germany nothing wrong with it. This sort of things makes me wonder, is this sort of democracy we really wanted, when we got freedom? Is this is the dream of Ghandiji democracy?

Today out politicians are making laugh and joke about our democracy and our democratic values. Minister are busy in pleasing some particular segment of society, just because bloody vote bank politics, religious leaders are sending hatred messages, no one is bothered about the student who are on hunger strike, People who has opened restaurant didn’t realize or don’t want to realize that it might hurt the feelings of minority Jews community.

Big question are we heading in right democratic way? Or we loosing out the main core values of democracy?

In my point certainly not, we are not heading in right way, we have lost many core values which makes full word called Democracy.

Take a case of Mr.Arjun Singh, if he really wanted to go ahead with reservation system, first of all why they didn’t declared in their manifesto in last election? When student and doctors, engineers went on strike in May and in June, why he never thought instead of implementing the quota system, which is based on 1979 report, and data was based on 1930 census should be put again for assessment, before implementing? Every one knows that since implementation of quota system in 1990 by our Ex. Prime Minister Mr.V.P.Singh, many OBC/SC/ST has become cream layers of society. So question arises why these people who have already taken the benefit of this quota system from 1990 till today should be made eligible for quota system again? They had made their life better and now it’s their own duty to help their family members.

I wish we had some sort of law which prohibits these politicians to make any major change in law which have major affects on our society and lives as whole, without going through proper voting process through voters, who had elected them in first place, as democracy says that government ultimate authority belongs to citizens of country. Either they must declare in their manifesto before the elections or go through voting process and involve every citizen in making any major decisions. We as people of this country trust these Minister and leaders to make decision which benefit the society as whole not just particular segment of society. Mr.Singh you let us down, as you had showed the true colours of bloody vote bank politics.

I have been reading news today about students who got detained while protesting against the quota system, and released later on. So are we heading towards communist rule?

In democracy every citizen got the right to protest, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Putting these student in jails who are the future of this country and challenging them that government will cancel their registration, is just childish way to deal with the situation. Either government is not taking this particular situation very seriously or they are short of diplomats to sort the situation.

You cannot take this sort of situation specially where youths of the country is involved in light weight, and I still don’t understand why other politicians from different parties are not coming out to support these student are they scared that they might loose vote bank? Well one thing is clear it is vote bank politics’ I don’t know how many politicians will get benefit by this vote bank politics but one thing I can bet that normal citizen of this country either from upward class or backward class or SC or ST are going loose.

Shahi Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid issuing statement, it is wrong for Muslims to sing Vande Mataram, adding those advocating the song were deviating from the religion.

Well Mr. Syed Ahmed Bukhari can certainly argue and come out to say, well I have got freedom of speech and I am the leader of Muslims community so I am entitled to raise the issue which I think is wrong as it is democracy.

According to Mr. Syed Ahmed Bukhari singing the song is against Islam, because in Islam nothing is above the Allah including motherland. Well Mr.Bukhari, let me clear few things first of all it’s not a Hindu song it is a national song, second if you really live in democratic country then you should realize that every citizen got right freedom of speech. So singing a song or not singing should be leave up to individual’s decisions?

You are not allowed forcing anything on anyone. Third even like in UK or in USA you have liberal democracy and you have full right, but you don’t have right to issue any statement against your country national flag, national anthem and on national song. I don’t think singing a song does make some one patriotic, or not singing a song doesn’t make you traitor, but its treason to issue Fatwa or statement against country national song asking whole community to boycott the national song. So please try to bridge the gap between divided communities as a leader of one religion, instead of create more gaps between communities.

Opening a restaurant with “Hitler Cross” is shame, loads of people argued about this, some people even owners says that’s its just place to relax nothing to do with war, its just a “surname” we are using which is common in Germany. Well people who think it’s not a big issue opening the restaurant with this name, then I would request you to go and analysis the situation again. As we live in democracy, then we should think and always think about minorities living with us. You have certain rights, but remember democracy give the equal rights to minorities too. As we live in democratic country it’s our duty to protect minorities’ rights and make sure their feelings don’t get hurt.

Wendell Phillips once said:

“Governments exist to protect the rights of minorities. The loved and the rich need no protection: they have many friends and few enemies.”

Restaurant name is associated with dark history of the last century, where loads of innocent’s people got killed and burned to death. By saying this is not about war, make me laugh well why anyone should choose this name, this shows the type of mentality owner and people advocating this got where they are not concerned about minorities Jews feelings and want a cheap publicity.

I find it shocking that this fact is not more shocking to the citizens of this country. Of course it was just in the opinion section and not the conclusion of a rigorous investigative reporting piece, but at least it’s something.

As any country can only become super power when their citizen does works towards the betterment of society. We need citizen of India, who wants to put their head and neck in development of this country as whole.

Famous American consumer activist, Ralph Nader, once said:



“The most important question that can be asked about any society at any time is how much effort do citizens spend exercising their civic responsibility. We cannot possibly have a democracy with 200 million Americans and only a handful of citizens.”



We got more than 1 billion populations but question arise how many citizens we got out 1 billion?