Dr. Manmohan Singh

DR. MANMOHAN SINGH

"Great economist, Tremendous acadamician, Most qualified politician."

The Country has seen him as a great economist,  a good politician and unfortunately as he retire from his political whirlwind, there is less that this country appreciated in him and more it hated.  As the world shouts at its peaks that we had a Silent Prime Minister, a dormant politician and a chamcha of the Gandhi family,  the shadows of the scams and silence truly have covered the other side of this humble and honest man who ruled our country for long good 10 years. 

Dr Singh is not a doctorate given by some university as a honor degree.  He earned it with efforts at Oxford.  He did not reach the seat of Prime Minister by luck or for fancy.  He climbed the political ladder step by step.  His experience in United Nations, in the Ministry of Foreign trade,  being Chief economic advisor and also as RBI Governor and heading the planning commission before getting in the ministerial spectrum.  

Thanks to then PM P.V. Narshimha Rao, another whirlwind politician and a shrewed decision maker, who took bolder decisions for the economic progress of this Nation.  It is so sad that the present generation do not even know about the achievements of PVN period that brought in a boom  of economic reliance and opened up gates for foreign investment which boosted our trade and industries.  The combination of PVN and Dr Singh changed the country's fate during the severe financial crisis in early 90's.  The liberal financial reforms changed the destiny of the Nation from being an agriculture based country to a technologically advanced country where the skills and competencies were given greater importance.  From being a self-reliant country to a vastly export oriented Nation generating revenues from global markets transformed the growth of this Nation.

 The Nation that was ravaged by the times of Mandal Commission, Reservation based riots and suicides of young Indians,  got a relief when Dr Singh took over the reigns of the Nation as a Finance Minister in 1991 in PVN's Cabinet.  Less would he have imagined that one day he would take over the hot seat and stay there under fire for 10 long years.   After the strong opposition that set in against Sonia Gandhi becoming Prime Minister after UPA won in 2004 elections, Dr Singh became Sonia's choice.    

Dr Singh dream of creating a role of active politics for betterment of human affairs.  Thinking the unthinkable and making bold decisions keeping the larger growth of the country in mind, Dr Singh definitely made an impact on our economy.  What ever the media may call him, how much ever Press may degrade him and the jokes on Internet create him as a joker,  the truth is that he was a humble man, a honest person, a great academician,  a wonderful thoughtful leader, pushed to be a selfish politician unfortunately and overall a great human being.  For such a diversified Nation like India, it is not easy to manage several ups and downs and Dr. Singh did it with his own charisma

History may record him as a Silent Politician who was a mockery and a puppet in some one's hands.  But the truth will also be realized sooner than later that he was an example of integrity, a man of tolerance, and a leader who had healthy relationships with world leaders and built a strong relationship of understanding and harmony with neighbouring Nations.  Managing insurgencies on all sides, handled terrorism within the country, dealing with a long list of scams and still coming out clean is no easy task.  The biggest mistake probably he had done would be to go silent and immune as the scandals shocked the Nation.  The government would have collapsed many times costing the election commission exchequer further more losses effecting our economy had he gone on a mode of taking strict actions against his own ministers and parliamentarians who have tarnished the image of his government and him as a leader who has the competency to rule and a strong political power.  Being aware of the irregularities and corruption charges and still staying quite was his draw back that made him called as the weakest Prime Minister India could have.  However, despite all this, he quietly did his duties.  He silently went ahead with his reforms and governance.  He did not speak in favour or against of anyone.  He remained calm and himself.  Which is not a sign of a good leader but a great manager.  

At the age of 81, his decision to retire from active politics and giving away for new generations to come in, we would surely miss the wisdom of a great leader.  Every ruler will have his pros and cons.  Dr Singh should be remembered for the best he has given to our country.  Hope he will have a peaceful retired life.  And also wish that the chaos towards the end of his political era should not haunt him in his old age.  We should give him the due respects as some one who managed this Nation for a decade keeping the image of India strong, high, proud and in the growth trajectory in the world map for several causes and reforms .  

Why haven’t we heard anybody recommend a Bharat Ratna for MC Mary Kom?

Is it because she doesn’t deserve it?

If 'Magnificent Mary' decides to sell all the golds and silver she has won at global events, the Indian bullion market would crash because of oversupply.

Mary Kom holds the Indian national flag and celebrates her gold medal in the women’s flyweight (48-51kg) final boxing match at the 17th Asian Games. AP

If she were to list her achievements—five world championships, an Olympic bronze, today’s gold at the Asian Games and numerous other victories across the world—several markets would run out of ink and paper

Let us come straight to the point: there has been no athlete like Mary Kom in India; PT Usha comes the closest and Saina Nehwal a distant third and Sania Mirza as an honourable mention.

But she should not be compared just with women athletes. It is time to ask ourselves this: Isn’t she right up there with legends like Dhyan Chand and achievers like Sachin Tendulkar?

In many ways, Mary’s triumphs are bigger; her achievements are greater than both of them. She competes in an individual sport and unlike cricket or hockey, which are played in just a few countries, boxing is a global game.

Mary Kom is a real five-time world champion. Her Asian Games gold is a genuine token of her dominance in the continent. She has been winning continuously since 2000, a feat that appears bigger when you consider her equally successful family life and parenting.

Yet, we have not heard anybody talk of her as a Bharat Ratna.

Let us not bring politicians into this debate. We all know how political parties try to glorify the achievements of their past leaders by turning India’s highest honour by treating it like a petty political tool. But even when it comes to sports, a clear bias exists.

A few months ago, when everybody was talking about potential Bharat Ratnas, it was surprising that nobody even mentioned Payyoli Express, the original queen of Indian track and field.

Usha, like Milkha Singh, had narrowly missed a medal at the Olympic Games. But her unique achievement at 1986 Seoul Asian Games —four golds and a silver—made her a bigger, brighter star. But nobody even whispered her name.

Obviously, we are biased against women athletes. Our minds are programmed only to applaud the Tendulkars and the Singhs, not many would say Hail Mary with equal passion and fervor.

We treat games as extensions of battles, where athletes are expected to humiliate and annihilate the opposition, especially if it happens to be Pakistan. The image of a woman, so far removed from the imagery of war, doesn’t conform to this stereotype.

So, we do not give our female athletes the due attention and their achievements the deserved recognition. But the time to make amends has come. Mary’s gold medal at Incheon today has catapulted her into the league of greatest Indians. It is time to recognise this rare Ratna of Bharat.

"JAAGO BHARAT JAAGO"

"Never GIVE-UP"

KALPANA SAROJ

"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"

A woman, who once attempted suicide to escape caste discrimination, poverty and physical abuse, becomes the CEO of a multi-million dollar company.

Born into a Dalit family in Maharashta, Kalpana Saroj was bullied at school. Some of her friend's parents did not let her in their homes, and she was not even allowed to participate in some school activities. She was forced into marriage at the age of 12. She moved to Mumbai to be with her husband who was 10 years older, but was shocked to find herself living in a slum. She was treated very badly by her husband's elder brother and his wife. When her father visited her in Mumbai, he was shocked to see his daughter emaciated and wearing torn clothes and took her back home. Many villagers were suspicious of her return, viewing Kalpana as a failure.

She tried to ignore the judgmental comments thrown at her, focusing instead on getting a job. She learnt tailoring as a way to make money. At the age of 16, she moved back to Mumbai to stay with an uncle and work as a tailor. She began by earning less than 30 rupees a month, but tirelessly learnt how to operate industrial sewing machines, and as a result saw her income rise. She took a government loan to open a furniture business and expand her tailoring work. Her reputation led to her being asked to take over the running of a metal engineering company, Kamani Tubes, which was in massive debt. By restructuring the company, she turned things around.Now, Kamani Tubes is a growing business, worth more than $100m. Kalpana Saroj was awarded the Padma Shri for Trade and Industry in 2013.

"If you give your heart and soul to your job and never give up, things can happen for you."

"Character is lost everything is lost"

It is truly said that:

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost.

When health is lost, something is lost.

But when character is lost, everything is lost.”

Character is everything in a person’s life. It is the total personality of person. A person without character is just a dead body that is hated by everybody.

The importance of character can be realized from the fact that a student seeking admission from one school or college to another has to produce a character certifi­cate from the former institution. A person applying for some post must produce a character certificate from the head of the institution he last attended.

Character is the sum total of all the good qualities in a man. It consists in hon­esty, truthful speech and dealings, dutiful- nests, diligence, and obedience to parents, teach­ers and elders. Sincerity, love of mankind, inner goodness and desire to do well to others and to be free from hatred, jealousy and malice are also part of character. To live in harmony with the people of all religions, races, castes and nations may be added to the characteristics of high character. Not to cast an evil eye on a member of the opposite sex is the essence of high moral character.

Sometimes, there may be instances of loose moral character. But most often there are just rumors and guess-works which are deliberately engineered to malign a per­son out of jealousy or animosity. One should think twice before casting aspersions on anybody. We must accept all such rumors with a grain of salt. In any case, a man of character is bound to come out of the dark clouds as the sun appears bright in the sky.

Character is like a tree,

Reputation is like a shadow.

the shadow is what we think of it;

the TREE is the real thing.

-ABRAHAM LINCOLN

MEN against WOMEN

"Its now men who are discriminated against women"

 I know it’s a buzzing era of women’s liberation and emancipation, and rightfully so! It’s been centuries of oppression in a patriarchal society, being subjected to just an extension of a man as someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s wife, or someone’s mother. With women coming into their own and being shoulder-to-shoulder with men in the workplace, breaking glass ceilings and revelling in their freedom and independence and with laws changing to protect and empower women, females are riding a wave of strength.


However, it seems in the battle for equality, the concept of equality has become a bit skewed.  For example, if a man whistles at a woman it’s sexual harassment, but if a woman whistles at a man it’s women empowerment? If a man talks openly about his affair with a woman he’s indecent, but if she talks about it, she’s honest? If a man respects his parents’ wishes and is obedient, he’s a mummy’s boy, but if a girl does the same to her parents she has ‘sanskriti’ and good values? If a man orders his woman around he’s a boor and if he listens quietly he’s henpecked? Whereas if a woman orders her man around she’s considered ‘a strong woman’ and if she listens to his ordering her around, she’s a doting, caring wife?

 Why does women empowerment have to equate to male bashing? If the quest is for equality, why discriminate against men? 

Let’s truly be equal and let the same rules and leniency apply for women that do for men, and vice versa.

"Gender equality is not a woman's issue, its a HUMAN ISSUE."

IT AFFECTS US ALL