AWAKENINGS

UN Resolution on War Crimes: The recently passed UN Human Rights Council Resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka was backed by 25 votes and 13 votes against and 8 countries absenting themselves from voting. This is the second time that the UNHRC had passed such a resolution against Sri Lanka. It is a fact that UN Panel in 2011 found that 40,000 Tamil civilians died in the final stages of fighting which is the indicator of Sri Lankan’s violation of human rights. It is a tragic truth that the resolution passed now has requested Colombo to conduct an independent and credible investigation of crimes allegedly committed by government forces against the minority Tamil community in the final 5 months of its quarter century old war against LTTE which ended in 2009. This is something like asking criminals to investigate their own actions and also to sit in judgment. Because of this strange situation created by one of the greatest apex international body, Amnesty In...

UPA 2 Mummed and Maimed by MM –meaning Mulayam and Mayavathi with the third M – meaning Mamata waiting to bat according to her whims and fancies and her political expediency which she likes to call it as acumen.  And 4 th M – viz. M. Karunanidhi pulling out from the UPA 2 government – but prudent enough to declare that ‘outside support to the government cannot be ruled out’ is struggling hard ‘how to handle the Sri Lankan issue in view of the students taking up the issues to the streets and Amma extending support by her positive steps by passing resolutions in the assembly even to the extent of advising central government to severe our diplomatic connections and to order polls for the Eelam Tamil State. Common Man is perplexed, puzzled and pondering over his fate – perhaps waiting to teach a lesson or two to these unprincipled parties whose aim is to be in power and to serve themselves – their kith and kin. Common Man should use his common sense at the t...

1.  Dr. Ambedkar had written a book titled ‘Pakistan or The Partition of India’ apart from his writings in a Marathi newspaper owned by him called ‘ Bahishkruti Bharat’. The views and opinions were extracted from these two sources, mostly the first one. 2.  The muslims invaders were not interested merely in looting, but also in conversion of the ‘ kafirs ’. The hindu peasants had to part with half of their produce as Jiziya to the muslim rulers as well as pay a large tax on their cattle. 3.    It is a notorious fact that many prominent Hindus who had offended the Muslim susceptibilities of the Muslims either by their writings or by their part in the Shuddhi movement have been murdered by some fanatic musalmans . But Mr.Gandhi has never protested against such murders. Not only have the musalmans not condemned these outrages but even Mr.Gandhi has never called upon the leading muslims to condemn them. 4. The muslim woman is the most helpl...

SATYAMEVA  JAYATHE OUR ‘TEEK HAI’ MANMOHAN SINGH Nothing is Teek Hai, as you, as the head of the most vibrant democratic country such as India, is not ‘Teek Hai.’ And unfortunately, it is the saddest chapter in our Indian History. Even his sympathy and soothing words - after his stoic silence for over a week - had lost their value and had shown him in poor light inspite of being a father of 3 daughters thereby his ‘honesty’ which is the only oft-quoted word about him as a person - is also under cloud by his un-intentional remarks of “Teek Hai’ - enquiring whether his speech recording to the nation had come out properly and well. That had displayed no sense of urgency, sincerity or commitment on the part of our Honourable Prime Minister. While His silence is tormenting, his speech is torturing. Delhi was shaken with the peaceful agitations of young girls and boys and even women with children and even elders to wake up our Kumbakarna Governments - both Cent...

2010 - New Year Noble Thoughts By S. Sankaran “Let noble thoughts come to us from every side” – Rig Veda chants thus for us. How can one make the noble thoughts to come to us? ‘To us’ means to our mind. Thoughts are either noble or evil. Thoughts reside in the bosom of Mind. Mind resides in the brain. Brain activates five sense organs triggered by sight, smell, speech and taste, hearing and touch. Legs and hands act as directed by the brain under the spell of sense objects. Thoughts may be passing like passing clouds, floating like waves of the sea, or fixed like a rock affecting Mind in various degrees and intensities. Imagine Mind as a vast vessel in the brain. Actually Mind is shapeless, formless and non-perceptible. Imagine thoughts as vast sea water in Mind vessel. Memories are floats over the sea called thoughts. Forgetfulness is rocks in the sea. Loss of memories due to forgetfulness is to erase thoughts from Mind. If Mind is filled with noble thoughts, the nature of Mind become...

Infatuated Decision An allegorical story of a blind girl and her boy friend highlights infatuated decision. The allegorical story is as follows: "There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.' " The story ends with this ...

Incorrect Opinion A short story of a couple by Gaudy Maupassant, a famous French short story writer highlights incorrect opinion in a succinct manner.. The story line goes like this: There is a public park. Two persons are seated in the park talking. A couple is coming from a distance. One of them watches the couple. They may be husband and wife. The lady is seated in a wheel chair which is being pushed by her man. The lady has lost one of her legs and is always dependent upon others for her movements. The person seated in the park and watching the crippled lady and her husband expresses his deep sense of sorrow and pity to his friend. 'What a pity? The man is destined to suffer throughout his life with this crippled lady. For such a beautiful man, God has given only such a handicapped lady!' "Oh, my friend you are thoroughly wrong. They are most happy and ideal husband and wife. I know their story. If you hear their story, then you will not pity them, but, wonder 'O, ...