Author Archives: Naim Naqvi

Dec
13
2012

Success and Isolation

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London Olympics bronze medalist shuttler Saina Nehwal said the other day – “It’s tough to be a champion and it gets lonely at the top.” That reminds me what the super star Shahrukh Khan has once said, “I’ve a beautiful family. I’ve a few friends with whom I spend lot of time. I don’t like to die like my father. I don’t want to be unknown. I would like to be just successful. Believe me it is very lonely at the top.” He revealed that he was constantly fighting with the emptiness. “There is something wrong in me. I sense it. I feel it but I don’t know what it is.”

These were few revelations that compelled me to put on my thinking cap. I believe success is the integral element of progress without which either we become stagnant and sink into oblivion or begin to lead a life not very different from animals. Animals have lost the battle upon this planet against humans because they had limited goals. Nature had endowed them the virtue of complacency and their weapons of preservation were weak. We the humans have another story to tell. We have infinite goals and we harbor ambitions beyond imagination. We are exploring the kingdom of creativity and curiousity. We look for success. It is a different matter if success has different connotation in different situations. Often rising tide raises all the boats. Many enjoy the reflected glories. Success has many fathers and several children.

Success brings the plethora of issues with it. The faster and higher you climb the ladder the lonelier you feel. Sitting at the top of pyramid may be majestic but it is really lonely. How long this splendid isolation helps you to stay where you are. The leaders of business, politics, religion and sports often suffer distraction from the heroes of similar fields. It is the simple phenomenon – similar poles repel each other.  You find hard to attract the people who have been successful in your field. Often you are envied or disparaged by those who had been successful in different fields of similar magnitude. The space at the top shrinks without announcement. There is an inherent fear that someone is going to stomp your head.  A Domocle’s sword hangs over the head – you might lose POWER.

According to Adan D. Galinsky of Kellogg Graduate School of Business – “Power is a coveted, sought, and tightly held onto. From the animal kingdom to all human societies, power is the currency of success.”

However, it is universally accepted that power also leaves the powerful very lonely at the top. Power perverts relationship. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The immediate impact of power on your attitude is the implosion of suspicion in your life. You begin to doubt the magnanimity and generosity of others. In your subconscious you are to lead to believe in ulterior motives to their kindness.
Power also reduces commitment. It becomes paramount and relationships drift to insignificant territories. Warmth and sincerity are replaced by pretensions and outwards demos which are plastic. Power weaves jaundiced and cynical webs and strangulates the feeling of reciprocity.
To conclude this article I feel that describing and emphasizing a problem is not enough. There should be some way out for correction. What they are supposed to do to encounter this splendid but excruciating isolation? I think that they should often climb down to take a whiff of fresh air. They could occasionally share their bounties with those whose shoulders they had used to speed up. They should never forget that success never comes without reason. It needs support. Your environment, your family, your friend, your society are the corner stone of the edifice of your success. Never ignore them!

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Dec
10
2012

A Sunset with Peace

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Everyone knows that even the longest day has its evening. One day we all have to hand in our checks. Our body is merely the old, tattered, worn-out vehicle in which we travel many miles and years. In the autumn of the journey we look out of the window and fear the dark clouds gathering over the horizon. These clouds are going to stay and undoubtedly they would lead us towards the dark tunnel. We found the write-up on the wall – the match had its half-time and now the player has to go back to pavilion. It is indeed a very sad time. It is easy to look back now. We stand at the very edge and see the other side beckoning. The body is beset with aches and pains and in the fullness of time our physical organs begin to fail. We know that the bell is tolling.

Roman Emperor Augustus said on his death bed: “Did I play my role well? If so, then applause, because the comedy is finished.”

The last words of famous Italian statesman Cesare Borgina were: “I’ve taken care of everything in the course of life, only not for death, and now I’ve to die completely unprepared.”

Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse, has spent several years in palliative care (help given to alleviate the sufferings of dying patients).  She had begun to write her blog about the last wish of many patients and called it – “Inspiration and Chai.” It became so popular that she compiled her observations in the form of a book – “The top five Regrets of Dying.” According to Bronnie, when those patients were asked about any regrets they had or anything they would differently, the following five regrets they expressed:

  1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
  2. I wish I had not worked so hard.
  3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
  4. I wish I had stayed with my friends.
  5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

It is interesting here to quote the last words of Kurt Cobain: “I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it is better to burn out than to fade away.”

This scribe is at pains to look this subject from a different angle. In the sunset of life, we want to experience peace, joy and stillness to savor the bitter cup:  we are vacating either as a winner or as a loser! Everyone wants that the world should remember him as a successful man / woman after his / her death.  In the meadows of life we were fiercely chasing the mirage called success. It was the achievement – the goal of life. Success meant financial security, admiration, awe, aura, love, beautiful wife, smart kids and freedom from fear and frustrations. But the real Success means real happiness, self respect and satisfaction from life.

The dying statement of the most successful French philosopher, existentialist, writer and revolutionary Jean Paul Sartre was – “I failed.”

Leonardo do Vinci, the famous painter of Mona Lisa said, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”

The most pathetic are the last words of Henry the Eight: “So now all is gone – Empire, Body and Soul.”

We, the ordinary mortals have smaller issues to deal with and we have had to handle the problems of limited magnitude. We have our own small worlds and small domains to tackle, in our own way and with our limited means. At the end phase we try to recollect what we had lost and what we have gained in the course of life. Simple calculation! In fact we have now left with no choice but simply entrust ourselves to the unseen. In old age as in everything else, there are no standard mile stones.  Some grey at the age of 30, and others proudly bear a head full of black hair at 70. Some have their skin as wrinkled and folded as raisin’s. Other still carry youthful sheen and smoothness in 70’s. Some are bent over, others are as straight as lamp-post. Some lose their memories and ramble on disconnectedly. Others are alert and active as they were in their prime. Some fold up like umbrella by 50 – 60’s while others continue to trample to freeway of life, contributing, creating, achieving and being. Age doesn’t ravage them. Instead, it gives varnish and impart certain mellow radiance to their persona. They retain a serene, solicitous composure.

It is most important to remember that with the age physical agility may go down but the level of joy and sense of being alive need not go down. If our level of joy and aliveness is going down, it is as if we are committing suicide in instalments. Our lives should expand with age, and not contract. By meeting and conquering each of life’s vicissitudes we expand in strength, courage, joy, happiness, love and internal qualities. As things fall out in the external world; health becoming frail, spouse dying, retirement separating us from a busy life, our internal life must accelerate in power and intensity with an intense faith and ‘never-say-die’, ‘do-what-it-takes’ attitude. We have to weather the storms.

Let us remember the last words of Sir Isaac Newton: “I don’t know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then finding a small pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, while the great world of truth lay undiscovered.”

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Dec
10
2010

Burning holy books is akin to religious madness

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‘The American people do not want the mosque there and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Quran,’ said Terry Jones. The imam has agreed to move the mosque. We have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday.

SOMETIMES BACK this author had written about the insensitive, irrational and idiotic idea of putting a mosque near Ground Zero. “Unnecessary Provocation” is not the way of Islam. The irony is that the followers of all religions, when they delve into the faith of their interpretation and imbibe, the more fanatic and unreasonable they become.

Jews believe themselves to be the most religious and today they are committing the most inhuman heinous crimes against Palestinians. The fanatical Muslims around the globe are leaving no stone unturned to make the world believe that Muslims can’t live in peace and harmony with others.

Christians have done no better in Bosnia and elsewhere.

Buddhists hang their heads in shame when they talk about the Pre-Second World War atrocities of Imperial Japan in China and other parts of East Asia. Pol-Pots are not the old story.

Back home, we have our own Gujarats and Orissas. Recently, the world was about to witness the most inglorious and maddening spectacle – a drama that was pregnant with the possibilities of centuries of new fights between Crusaders and Ghazis.

The Christian minister of a small church in Florida had announced to burn The Holy Koran to protest against the building of mosque near Ground Zero. He has now canceled on Thursday his plan to burn copies of the Quran that had been scheduled for Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The planned protest had sparked angry demonstrations by Muslims around the world. The Reverend Terry Jones announced his change of heart at a news conference late Thursday in front of his church in Gainesville, Florida.

And here is what Sarah Palin the Republican contender of Vice Presidential post of U.S. last election said: “Book burning is bad. But the Muslim cleric who is running for parliament in Afghanistan is calling for the murder of American children in response to scorched Korans, which is worse. Where is the media’s focus?

Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero. I would hope that Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters will consider the ramifications of their planned book-burning event. It will feed the fire of caustic rhetoric and appear as nothing more than mean-spirited religious intolerance.

Don’t feed that fire. If your ultimate point is to prove that the Christian teachings of mercy, justice, freedom, and equality provide the foundation on which our country stands, then your tactic to prove this point is totally counter-productive.

Our nation was founded in part by those fleeing religious persecution. Freedom of religion is integral to our charters of liberty. We don’t need to agree with each other on theological matters, but tolerating each other without unnecessarily provoking strife is how we ensure a civil society. In this as in all things, we should remember the Golden Rule. Isn’t that what the Ground Zero mosque debate has been about?

President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and numerous religious leaders around the country spoke out against the planned protest and urged the previously obscure Florida minister to abandon the idea. Jones also poke to Defense Secretary Robert Gates shortly before his news conference. Pentagon officials say Gates urged the minister not to go ahead with his protest on Saturday, arguing that it would put the lives of U.S. soldiers serving abroad at risk.

Pastor Terry Jones said he called off the Quran burning protest because he had secured an agreement with Muslim leaders in New York City to move the location of a controversial planned Islamic center and mosque away from the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks known as Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.

“The American people do not want the mosque there and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Quran,” said Terry Jones. The imam has agreed to move the mosque. We have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday. And on Saturday, I will be flying up there to meet with him. I get a little bit emotional,” he said. “This has been, of course, for us a very, very difficult, trying time. We have been in very much thought and prayer over this whole period. A lot of times we were asked, what would it take to call this thing off.”

Jones said an idea came to him while praying that he would call off the planned burning of the Quran, if Muslim leaders in New York City would agree to move the site of Islamic center away from site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in lower Manhattan.

“The American people, as a whole, do not want the mosque at the Ground Zero location,” said Jones. “That if they were willing to either cancel the mosque at the Ground Zero location or if they were willing to move that location, willing to move it away from that location, we would consider that a sign from God. I will be flying up there on Saturday to meet with the imam at the Ground Zero mosque. He has agreed to move the location.”

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Nov
04
2010

Learn to dream to succeed in life

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Dream is the sum total where we integrate things we have consciously or unconsciously learn and experience during the day. Good dreamers are usually sound in health and a good dream improves the quality of our life.

THE RENOWNED Urdu poet Parveen Shakir has said: “Neend jab khwabon se pyaari ho to aaise waqt mein, Khwab dekhe koun aur khwabon ko de tabeer koun? (in times when we love to sleep, who would care to dream and give the sound interpretations).

According to the famous dream analyst and author Craig Webb, “Usually we define a dream as an experience remembered upon awakening that comes through nonphysical channels. Basically, it is an altered experience we have when we are sleeping and that we remember when we wake. However, there are lots of other variations on the definition. Some people define dreams as life’s goals and wishes for the future.

This is another way we use the word. There is actually a pretty direct link between the two because often we dream of great wishes and future hopes in our sleep. Dreams can be a pleasurable experience for many. In other cases, dreams can take on a horrifying manifestation in the mind. Whether you have a bad or good dream, both cause the body to recycle itself in a way.”

Without going in to the complex psychological pedantics, let us consider the simple dream. It often acts as a leveler. In dreams we meet the people we hate; we feel the people we love – those who have been too far or too near but out of reach; we reach the places we have never seen; we solve the problems of real Mathematics and Physics. The panorama changes before we bat the eyelid. There is no charge on dreams.

And when the things go bad to worst we see the hallucinations. Dream is the sum total where we integrate things we have consciously or unconsciously learn and experience during the day. Good dreamers are usually sound in health and a good dream improves the quality of our life. People often claim to meet the deities and get guidance through super-natural encounters. Unfortunately, the author has no such claims to make.

Dreaming is must for a happy life. For that we have to construct a collage of our hopes and aspirations which lead us to the quality of life we want to live and kind of individual we want to become. Paint that collage with the ideals you want to follow and final shape of a useful human being you want to become. It is template for real life and there is no limit to your imagination. Aim as high as you want. Cut and paste from the lives of others. You are not at a cross with anyone here. Trust yourself, trust in your own goodness and be positive. Dreams become reality one day.

Dream the incandescent glittering lamps of Diwali; dream of brotherhood; dream of tolerance, dream of knowledge, dream of wisdom and dream of love. Life is always beautiful as long as you enjoy dreaming.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Nov
01
2010

IIT Roorkee needs a wake up call

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We can’t forget that our values are the guiding principles in our day to day behaviors as also in critical life situations. Values are a set of principles or standards of behaviour.

IIT ROORKEE is acknowledged as one of the best technological institutions across the globe. The need for a technological institution in the country was initiated by Sir James Thomason in 1847 as Roorkee College. Earlier in 1854, it was christened as Thomason College of Engineering until it was granted a University status by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru vide [Act No. IX of 1948 of the United Province (Uttar Pradesh)].

He presented the Charter in November 1949 elevating it to the first Engineering University. The University of Roorkee was converted to Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R) in 2001. Thus IIT Roorkee carries almost 150 years of history with it. The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee is a trend setter in the field of teaching and research of modern sciences and technologies.

However, recently the students of IIT have taken creativity in fashion to sublime heights. As we know creativity is the process of producing something new, innovative and unique and the brilliant students have decided to take the help of ubiquitous LIPSTICK to discover the new frontiers of creative art ala-eroticism. They were competing with each other in the aesthetic art of make-up with the real lips of fair sex and with their explicit and implicit consent.

The argument is – as long as we are comfortable with the act what the elders or society has to do with it. World has gone too fast and the talk of traditions, culture or SANSKRITI is all moonshine. We are the harbingers of modernism and can’t carry on the extra load of anachronistic ideas.

According to Father of Indian Nation M.K. Gandhi “If wealth is lost nothing is lost. If health is lost something is lost. If character is lost everything is lost.”

Undoubtedly, creativity demands freedom and for real and radical creativity we need freedom; freedom to stretch their wings, explore, and experiment with new and innovative ideas. I would love to hear what the VC and Professors of this prestigious institution have to say to say in this experiment. We saw on TV screen the boys with lipstick dangling deftly between their lips and girls pleasantly enjoying the coloring of their lips within breathing distance. These smarties have given the real proud moments for their parents, their society and their country.

This is the knowledge they are gaining there. Finally we have arrived.

There has been a revolutionary change in the field of values in our society due to many factors like influence of modern culture, industrialisation, modernisation, urbanisation, globalisation and multinationals. However, we can’t forget that our values are the guiding principles in our day to day behaviors as also in critical life situations. Values are a set of principles or standards of behavior.

Values are regarded desirable, important and held in high esteem by a particular society in which a person lives. Every action and thought of ours leaves an impression in our mind. These impressions determine our behavior at a given moment and our responses to a given situation. The sum total of all our impressions is what determines our character. Someone had said:

“If there is righteousness in the heart there will be beauty in character. If there is beauty in character there will be harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation When there is order in the nation There will be peace in the world.”

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Oct
28
2010

Azadi: Call for secession or peaceful co-existence?

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People like Arundhati Roy should also understand that the demand of Azadi as secession is useless, freedom of expression with peaceful means is what is called for.

LET US look at some simple facts about Kashmir history and thus will emerge some unanswered questions.

Before August 15, 1947, the Republic of India did not exist. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession on Oct 26, 1947. Why it took so long for the Maharaja to sign it? What was cooking in his mind? Was there no war of independence going against his dynastic rule in Kashmir when the rest of India was fighting for independence from the British Rule?

Why are the knowledgeable writers or speakers are ignoring the history of struggle of Kashmiri people against the Maharaja? And what is significance of this ten letter word plebiscitein our political jargon involving Kashmir? What did Atal Bihari Vajpayee promise while taking the initiative on Kashmir problem?

The problems in Kashmir are not law and order problems but political. We can’t wish away a problem in the name of patriotism. Those who support the maverick thinker-writer Arundhati Roy believe that muzzling the voice of reason can push the problem under the carpet. The demand of Azadi is a political challenge.

The term Azadi would become sedition if it’s accompanied by armed insurrection. On the other hand, if the demand is made peacefully, it can’t be called sedition. Arundhati Roy is echoing what many in the streets of Kashmir are saying for decades.

How many individuals are we going to incarcerate if they do not agree with the concept which, we feel correct that is of Azadi? To silence the peaceful voice of dissent is to suffocate the freedom of expression. There is a huge difference between sensible democracy and autocracy. We have to fight the slogan of Azadi with ideas and reason and not with brute power.

People like Arundhati Roy are safety valves for the Indian democracy and not the enemy of the nation. They have as much at stake as anyone else. We do not support the demand of Azadi as secession but we support the freedom of expression with peaceful means.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Oct
26
2010

Parents commit suicide after killing disabled son

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The parents of Karandeep Singh Arora, a disabled student of Class 8 at Tamanna School, New Delhi had lost faith in society, in religion, in humanity and in future. For them every door of hope had closed.

TAKE THE case of the following four dead-end kids. One was spanked by his teachers for bad grades and a poor attitude. He dropped out of school at 16. Another failed remedial English and came perilously close to flunking out of college. The third feared he’d never make it through school–and might not have without a tutor. The last finally learned to read in third grade, devouring Marvel comics, whose pictures provided clues to help him untangle the words. These four losers are, respectively, Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, John Chambers, and David Boies. But these are the stories of lucky winners. They were not really the dead-end-kids.

I am discussing the real unlucky parents and unlucky kids.

No one can really feel the agony of the parents of a disabled child. Only if you are parenting a disabled child then only you could experience the emotional challenges and stress that lie ahead. But believe me, you are not alone. Many parents are unlucky or lucky to whom God in His infinite wisdom have saddled with these unique responsibilities. These parents experience the never-ending periods of stress.

Ultimately they learn to adjust to the demands of a situation though they had never been trained for in any school for this ordeal. It is not easy to bear the pain when you see your child being shunned, jeered, hooted or hit by the kids of the same age; it is not easy to be a witness of your own kid’s universal striation. It is not easy to hear about your own close relatives making fun of your disabled kid when they think you are not near.

This family is in a very lonely compartment. What keeps them going is Hope. For consolation, society usually provides some lip-service and sham show of sympathy. Some would love to contribute to the private or government institutions which are established in the name of “Specialised Humanitarian Services” and see them minting money in the name of these hapless kids.

If you are the parent of a child with a developmental disability then you are fully aware of the constant struggle of raising a child, who is different. Raising a normal child is hard enough, and equally challenging is raising a differently able child. It is their luck. Here comes the religion, the belief and the faith in hereafter that gives strength. The priest says you are loved by God. He thought you to be trustable for his bounty. You can’t understand His ways. You will be rewarded here and hereafter.

Perhaps the parents of Karandeep Singh Arora, a disabled student of Class 8th at Tamanna School, New Delhi had lost faith in society, in religion, in humanity and in future. For them every door of hope had closed The loss in business, the sickness of wife and disability of kid are undoubtedly gruesome challenges but these are not the end of the road. Human life is too precious to be destroyed without purpose. They killed their disabled son and thereafter jumped before the trundling wheels of a train thus putting an end to the their agony and the agony of the kid for ever.

But the story can’t be given a full stop here. They don’t deserve sympathy, because what they did was irrational, illogical, heinous and they had no right to do so. However, I still believe that, had our society been kinder to those, who are cornered by destiny these kinds of tragedies cane be averted. We are not doing enough. We have become too engrossed in enjoying our happiness and we do not have time to share the grief of others.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Oct
19
2010

Apartheid makes a comeback in Israel

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Israeli government on October 10 approved a bill which compels non-Jews to declare their loyalty to the Jewish state while not demanding the same thing of Jews. It is interesting to note that many Jews don’t recognise the legitimacy of Israel.

IF YOU believe that this is 21st century and individual dignity and human rights are the order of the day, the controversial bill requiring non-Jews aspiring to obtain Israeli citizenship to pledge an oath of allegiance to Israel as a ‘Jewish and democratic state’ would compel you to give a second thought. Israeli government on October 10 approved a bill which compels non-Jews to declare their loyalty to the Jewish state while not demanding the same thing of Jews.

It is interesting to note that many Jews don’t recognise the legitimacy of Israel for religious and theological reasons. A theological expert could explain in detail that the terms ‘Jewish and Democratic’ are oxymoron since Israel can’t be Talmudic and democratic at the same time.

Arabs populate 25 per cent of the Israel. To hoodwink the world opinion Israeli leaders hastened to gloss over the spirit of bill by saying that Israel was still a democratic state and that non-Jews aspiring to obtain Israeli citizenship had nothing to worry about as their rights and privileges would not be undermined in any way. The real intention behind the bill is to forestall demands for the repatriation of millions of Palestinian refugees, who were uprooted and ethnically cleansed from their homes when Israel was established in 1948.

What the so-called moderates in Israel fight shy to accept is clearly categorically stated by people like David Rotem, a member of the quasi- fascist Yisrael Beiteinu Party, a senior partner in the current Israeli government. He says: “I want to keep Israel a Jewish state, and if that contradicts democracy, then democracy comes second, period.”

The new law indirectly reminds Palestinians, who are Israeli citizens – to come to terms with their inherently inferior status as non-Jews. The whole world knows that 99 per cent of Arabs in Israel have been living in the country for hundreds of years before the arrival of Jewish immigrants.

According to Knesset member Ahmed Teibi – the new law means that Israel is democratic for Jews but Jewish for Arabs. “There is no country in the world that forces its citizens, or those naturalising, to swear their loyalty to ideology or a sectarian obligation.” Another Arab Knesset member, Talab Al-Sanea, reacted – the law was not accidental. “The Israeli government did this at this time for two reasons: first, the troubled negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation; and second, as a direct response to the dictates of Israel’s internal coalition politics.”

There is some silver lining also with the dark clouds – some liberal-minded cabinet ministers, who either opposed the law or skipped the cabinet session in protest against it have said that Israel is slipping towards an abyss. One minister, Isaac Herzog, son of former Israeli President Haim Herzog said that the resounding support for an amendment showed that ‘fascism is devouring the margins of society’.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Oct
15
2010

Iran dares US and Israel on Lebanese border

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On the Iranian presidents visit, the people were seen waving Iranian flags and carried posters of the Iranian president and supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

THOUSANDS OF Lebanese nationals lined the streets of Beirut on Wednesday to welcome the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his first visit to Lebanon. Signs on billboards and banners said: “The south welcomes the protector of the resistance”.

They were seen waving Iranian flags and carried posters of the Iranian president and supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution-Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

In order to boost the increasing bilateral cooperation with Lebanon, the Iranian President signed 17 memorandums of understanding in various fields like energy, agriculture, health, education, and other areas.

At a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Suleiman, Ahmadinejad applauded Lebanon’s continued opposition to Israel and mentioned that Iran gives its complete support to the Lebanese people. In return, Suleiman mentioned that Lebanon supports Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.

In fact Ahmadinejad’s visit to southern Lebanon is a stern message to Israel. He told thousands of supporters, who turned out on Thursday at a rally in a south Lebanon border town that Israel would disappear, while they would thrive.

Ahmadinejad praised Hezbollah and its southern stronghold as “the foremost shield of Lebanon.” Iranian President visited the town of Bint Jbeil which was the location of fierce fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and the Hezbollah militia during the Second Lebanon War of 2006. It was also the location of a victory speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after Israel ended two decades of occupation of south Lebanon.

“You are the heroes that guard Lebanon’s sovereignty,” he told them. “You have proven that there no force in the world can beat you. The resistance of the Lebanese nation, drawn from faith in God, can stand up to any Israeli force – planes, tanks and ships.”

The U.S. and Israel have called Ahmadinejad’s visit to Bint Jbeil, located just a couple miles of the Israeli border, an intentionally provocative move.

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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Oct
12
2010

Is the pen mightier than the sword?

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Things were normal till his eldest son Sohrab refuses to attend the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology to which he has gained admission and his youngest daughter, Roshan, falls sick. Then the house falls prey to the usual pulls and pushes of life.

“SUCH A Long Journey” has  the city of Bombay in its background and begins in 1971. The novel’s protagonist is a hard-working bank clerk Gustad Noble. He is a member of the Parsi community and a devoted family man. He struggles to shield his wife Dilnavaz and three children from privations and poverty.

Things were normal till his eldest son Sohrab refused to attend the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology to which he had gained admission and his youngest daughter, Roshan, falls ill. And then the house falls victim of pulls and pushes of  life realities. Usual conflicts with his eccentric neighbors and his close friend  co-worker in Dinshawji’s life take the remaining space.

The book is based on an actual event : “the Nagarwala case”. It also gives glimpses of Pakistani torture during the separation with Bangladesh.

“Such a Long Journey” was prescribed for second year B.A. (English) in 2007 – 08. Needless to say that the book was recommended by University Board of Studies. And now we have had another story that is still in the crucible. The University administration had decided to withdraw it by September 15 !

Reason : As if the country was on short supply of Senas, the young scion Aditya Thackrey is coming with “Youa Sena”. It is well known that Thackrey Family is presently suffering from the loss of power and internecine conflicts within the family.

It needed a plank to catapult the boy to limelight as his father lacks carijma and grand father is in his twilight. His uncle is building his own empire away from them.

Naturally, like a barber’s son who is trained initially in his art on some innocent, indefensible customers, they needed some easy prey to make the Tamasha. And they have found it in the book.

President of Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena, Abhijit Panse, feels the book is offensive to the people in Maharashtra and has abusive references to dabbawalahs, the mentality of the ‘Marathi manoos’ and Pandit Nehru.

Those who, are connected to books and novels know well that in a work of fiction, you have to be true to the characters you portray. It reflects what the characters think and not what the author thinks.

So the obedient V.C. Rajan Velukar used the emergency powers under Section 14 (7) of the Maharashtra University Act, 1994 and decided to withdraw the book form the syllabus.

Senior Journalist Aroon Tikekar is asking how a 20 year-old could go up to the Vice Chancellor and give him 24 hours to withdraw the book? There are protest and petitions from the enlightened citizens.

Let us see if pen is mightier than a sword!

Naim Naqvi

Naim Naqvi

Did his graduation in Science discipline from AMU in 1972-73. He was Secretary of University Ali Society in 1970 and M.M. Hall Literary Society in early 70 's and member of Tayyabji Literary Society. Did his Diploma in Bakery Administration from HTT College Oxford Street London in 1987. Worked with National Herald - Delhi, Blitz - Bombay as Trainee Journalist and in Production Department with 'Naya Sansar Pictures' of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas at Bombay in early 70's. Traveled for study and training purposes to Germany, U.K., Switzerland, France, Dubai, Oman, AbuDhabi, Bahrain and Philepines.

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