DevTalks

India has been a soil that has welcomed all. It is perhaps the only country in the world with such rich cultural and religious diversity. Yes, we have had our share of problems and differences in the past. Who hasn’t? But the important thing is, when it comes to the cause of the nation, we are all one single undivided community that loves the country.

As probably one of the best symbols of communal harmony in the recent times, two Muslim couples tied knot in a Hindu temple in Gujarat yesterday. For those who still think of people of Gujarat as a violent mob, this is our answer to them.

The text below is quoted from The Times of India -

Begin Quote

In perhaps the first-of-its-kind nikah solemnised before Lord Ram in the communally sensitive Gujarat, two Muslim couples tied the knot in a

Junagadh temple with a maulvi reciting Koranic verses in the backdrop of Ram dhun. Members of both communities joined the ceremony and dined together.
Abdul Sheikh (48), who works at Junagadh Civil Hospital approached Satyam Seva Mandal, a local NGO, seeking financial help for the weddings of his son Asif and daughter, Najma. "We were ready to help. But we told the family that the wedding ceremony has to take place in our building which houses a Ram mandir. They happily agreed," said Mansukh Vaja, a local activist.
"We saw this as an opportunity to set an example. I discussed the issue with my relatives and our maulavi saheb readily approved the idea," said Sheikh.

End Quote

The article is available here.

I am saddened by the current state of affairs in the whole world. Remembering my good old days as a child, when we knew nothing about religion, beliefs etc makes my eyes watery. There was only one motive for life at that time. And that was to be happy and to make everyone around us happy. Things have changed since then. And unfortunately, it is becoming worse day by day. I penned down some of my emotions in a Hindi/Urdu poetry.

I am hosting this on the web, in hopes that people will listen to the cry coming from not just my heart, but from the hearts of millions of people across the world. We want peace. Please… let us have it.

Along with some friends, we have set up Stay United Blog to spread a message of peace and harmony.

Please spread the message across and visit the Stay United Blog to express your comments.

My family originally hails from Uttar Pradesh. My grandfather came to Mumbai several decades ago and since then we have become Mumbaikars, Now I myself am from Mumbai and I love Mumbai (in general can say that the whole of Maharashtra). Since almost 2 years I have been out of Mumbai, but even today when there is talk about Mumbai or any part of  Maharashtra, I start feeling nostalgic. 

The dispute was first started by Balasaheb Thackeray. However, the Shiv Sena now openly accepts that they do not oppose Hindi. Anyway, that was an old story. Raj Thackeray for his political interests,  once again raised the same issue of Marathi pride. When the case was being a bit quiet today, Jaya Bachchan, gave a stupid statement and added fuel to the fire. Although, on the face of it, it looks like the statement was given in a light mood and wasn't intended to be taken seriously. But Jaya Bachchan is a seasoned politician. She should have at least known that opportunists like Raj Thackeray are only looking for an excuse to start a new controversy. 

I believe that the Shiv Sena or the MNS are not sole contractors of Marathi pride, similarly, the Bachchans or any other political party are not true representatives of  Hindi-speaking people. Time and again Mumbaikars have exemplified the fact that they respect each other's beliefs and are always ready to help each other. Our unity can neither be broken by Raj Thackeray nor by Jaya Bachchan or her political allies. I request such people to let common citizens worry about their job and not to malign the situation by issuing unnecessary statements time and again.

At the same time, I would like to say one more thing. I do not support Raj Thackeray's violent means, but there certainly is something to think deep about. If you stay in a place for tens of years, should you not respect the local people and their culture? Is it not your moral responsibility to at least respect their language. I think we should. I can call myself a true Mumbaikar only when I not only respect Mumbai, Maharashtra, fellow Mumbaikars but also accept the Marathi pride.

For Hindi version of this post, click here.

India achieved a major milestone today in activating nuclear commercial relation with the rest of the world when the 45 nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted it an unconditional waiver to do so. Despite stiff initial resistance from a few members of the NSG, ultimately the deal was given a clean chit. The waiver marks an end to the 34 year long isolation after India tested it's first nuclear weapon in 1974.

Unfortunately, various political parties of India (some of which I am an admirer), are opposing the deal on the grounds that it compromises India's sovereignty. Their argument is that in case India conducts a nuclear test, the US (and the NSG) will pullout from the deal and all unused fuel will have to be returned. To me, it looks rather funny. What are they expecting? Should the entire world say that they have no objection if India conducts nuclear tests? That is ridiculous. If you are expecting the right to test to be with us, you should also expect the rest of the world to have the right to react to it. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I would go ahead one more step and say, this is sheer immaturity of the political leaders. They either fail to understand the deal or they are just trying to play dirty politics and mislead the nation. First off, there is no clause in the agreement or in the NSG's waiver document that says India cannot conduct a nuclear test. There are other agreements to this effect of which India is not a signatory, namely the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Had India been forced to sign the NPT or the CTBT, I would also have joined the other side saying that India's sovereignty as a nation has been breeched. It is plain and simple, we have every right to test if need be and the rest of the world has right to react to it. We should hail Indian and US diplomats for having pulled this off without compromising India's right to test a nuclear weapon.

Keeping the nuclear tests aside, the deal is extremely critical for India's civilian nuclear program as we move towards the use of modern sources of energy for long term usage. Given the waiver from NSG, India can now buy nuclear fuel for its burning energy needs from not only the United States but from any of the countries that are part of the NSG.

This is very important that we move towards nuclear energy for the countries booming energy requirements. This is only going to help the economic growth of the country. I would like pull up some statistics from expert-eyes.org that show the percentage of energy generated from different sources in India. Take a look the following table

The highlighted row in the table above is startling. This is the case when many villages and some tier two cities remain without power for a considerable amount of time every day. If we want to continue to grow our industry and improve the standard of living of a common man of India, it is extremely important that we empower our people with readily available energy. The deal will help us go to the next level in trying to achieve this. And in a way that we limit carbon emissions and thereby help contain global warming.

Hindi version of this post is available on my other blog.

I woke up to see a good news today morning. Times of India said -

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2007. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said that the Foundation had been chosen for the award for its "pioneering and exemplary philanthropic work".

As Bill transitions to a part time role at Microsoft this year, I am hopeful that he realizes his dream of bringing equality in the world.