Dear Friends ,
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Patna is reeling with rains and my heart goes out to all those stranded homeless human beings of the Saharsa region of Bihar who are so terribly hit by the fury of floods. I was in a gathering yesterday. Not being a marriage ceremony and not being a death ceremony, I found the occasion to be the most appropriate forum for general discussions. Many matters were under discussion. People talked of the need of organizing. It reminded me of the following event and led me to think which I would like to share with you all.
I had gone to Patna Junction Railway booking counter with a triple MA type professor, who fielded himself in the queue, and who got into great and lengthy argument with counter clerk, to the discomfort of other men behind him in the queue. After waiting for a while, I tried to stop the argument by asking the counter clerk to give in writing what he was saying so that we could handle the issue more decently and legally. Lo and behold, the counter clerk became much more furious with me and cited my argumentative professor friend as an example of the nice way in which he was talking. By the time the crowd in the queue had also become restive and they started howling at me for raising legally uncomfortable question (or prolonging the discussion).
The conclusion is that although we crib about absence of effectiveness of law, yet we ourselves believe in lawlessness. This creates incoherence in each one of us. Talk to any one on issues of general interest and chances are that by the end of discussion he would have contradicted himself in essential respects.
Incoherence is closer to madness. We can understand the impossibility of a situation by asking a simple question. Can few people with incoherent ideas and expressions assemble together and organize? People talk of organizing. But there is an urgent need to change our belief-system, which is the only way to become coherent. We have to stop believing in lawlessness first.
Come to think of it, our biggest organization is a government, and if we dig further we have two governments at our disposal to serve us. Do we need yet one more organization to collect charitable donations to distribute aid to the citizens? Why does Central Government of India not do its work of settling flood-water management problems in concert with Government of Nepal? Why does Bihar government not do its job of maintaining rivers, rivulets, canals and drains? And if, after all these constitutional checks and balances, 86 paisa of one rupee aid is going to be eaten away by ‘chors’ serving in these two big organizations, what guarantee is there that other ‘goondas’ collecting money in the name of relief work will not parcel it out elsewhere? I know two arguments will pop up against me immediately (May be because I am willing to listen, which is because I need to listen. An Administrator or a politician in Power need not).
The first argument is that I am raising issues of principle when there is a need to work. Men like me are useless who have little to do with actual work, who live in theoretical world (Of course without checking my CV), who shamelessly avail any opportunity of grave humanitarian disaster to advance their silly profile of being good writers of letters to editors (It is another matter that editors-publishers of today are even sillier who can’t write proper language and would not let you write on issues which do not line up their pockets).
The second argument would be to do our dhamma. Irrespective of what wrongs others are doing, it is our duty to be charitable. With this line of argument I am in agreement because I do believe in charity as long as others are willing to dole out. That does not mean I am a total debauch who would not give a penny to anybody. Only recently I have decide to donate some money towards eye operation of some three poor persons, and very I often I do help poor ones of the locality, but I have to maintain this reluctant posture otherwise some scoundrel do-gooder will force me to empty my hard earned pension towards charity (and if I pass the charity through his hands, he will marro [cut] his share too).
Overriding (or ignoring) these two objections therefore let me come back to the organizational work. Those who are raising ‘chandas’ should limit the ‘chandas’ to their personal expenses only, which they may incur for doing what I am going to prescribe. Let the volunteers not busy themselves in buying and distributing blankets. Let them visit Janata Durbar of the Chief Minister and get him to agree to the volunteers working with the official agencies involved in the distribution of aid. The volunteers must thereafter proceed to the aid centers armed with their personal mobiles- with-camera (which I am sure all of them must be having), and keep a record of all the aid activities. Sure enough some of them will also be offered cut money by the government officials (as it happens with numerous televisions channel fellows). All that the volunteers have to do is not to fall in temptation. If any one of volunteers indeed tends to fall, his record may also be kept in camera. Let me tell the volunteers that by doing this kind of work, they will be doing the greatest service to humanity, in case they are interested.
Its a very grim situation.Can we utilise this forum to advertise our people to contibute generousely to the cief ministers relief fund or any other reliable agency involved in flood relief and rehabilitation efforts.My appeal to all biharis all over the world come forward and donate generousely.
you mentioned : "The volunteers must thereafter proceed to the aid centers armed with their personal mobiles- with-camera (which I am sure all of them must be having), and keep a record of all the aid activities"
Well , many may not know, actually the Bihar government itself had a team of inspectors moving around with mobile camera phones with some special inspection software, taking images and sending instant reports to the patna disaster mgmt team. so within a minute of the inspection, these guys were getting exact field situation, which releif camp was functionig and how...to exct details like number of toilets and even their cleanliness.
There is some information about this on http://www.bizframe.com/news/sept032008.htm
3 comments:
Dear friends,
Patna is reeling with rains and my heart goes out to all those stranded homeless human beings of the Saharsa region of Bihar who are so terribly hit by the fury of floods. I was in a gathering yesterday. Not being a marriage ceremony and not being a death ceremony, I found the occasion to be the most appropriate forum for general discussions. Many matters were under discussion. People talked of the need of organizing. It reminded me of the following event and led me to think which I would like to share with you all.
I had gone to Patna Junction Railway booking counter with a triple MA type professor, who fielded himself in the queue, and who got into great and lengthy argument with counter clerk, to the discomfort of other men behind him in the queue. After waiting for a while, I tried to stop the argument by asking the counter clerk to give in writing what he was saying so that we could handle the issue more decently and legally. Lo and behold, the counter clerk became much more furious with me and cited my argumentative professor friend as an example of the nice way in which he was talking. By the time the crowd in the queue had also become restive and they started howling at me for raising legally uncomfortable question (or prolonging the discussion).
The conclusion is that although we crib about absence of effectiveness of law, yet we ourselves believe in lawlessness. This creates incoherence in each one of us. Talk to any one on issues of general interest and chances are that by the end of discussion he would have contradicted himself in essential respects.
Incoherence is closer to madness. We can understand the impossibility of a situation by asking a simple question. Can few people with incoherent ideas and expressions assemble together and organize? People talk of organizing. But there is an urgent need to change our belief-system, which is the only way to become coherent. We have to stop believing in lawlessness first.
Come to think of it, our biggest organization is a government, and if we dig further we have two governments at our disposal to serve us. Do we need yet one more organization to collect charitable donations to distribute aid to the citizens? Why does Central Government of India not do its work of settling flood-water management problems in concert with Government of Nepal? Why does Bihar government not do its job of maintaining rivers, rivulets, canals and drains? And if, after all these constitutional checks and balances, 86 paisa of one rupee aid is going to be eaten away by ‘chors’ serving in these two big organizations, what guarantee is there that other ‘goondas’ collecting money in the name of relief work will not parcel it out elsewhere? I know two arguments will pop up against me immediately (May be because I am willing to listen, which is because I need to listen. An Administrator or a politician in Power need not).
The first argument is that I am raising issues of principle when there is a need to work. Men like me are useless who have little to do with actual work, who live in theoretical world (Of course without checking my CV), who shamelessly avail any opportunity of grave humanitarian disaster to advance their silly profile of being good writers of letters to editors (It is another matter that editors-publishers of today are even sillier who can’t write proper language and would not let you write on issues which do not line up their pockets).
The second argument would be to do our dhamma. Irrespective of what wrongs others are doing, it is our duty to be charitable. With this line of argument I am in agreement because I do believe in charity as long as others are willing to dole out. That does not mean I am a total debauch who would not give a penny to anybody. Only recently I have decide to donate some money towards eye operation of some three poor persons, and very I often I do help poor ones of the locality, but I have to maintain this reluctant posture otherwise some scoundrel do-gooder will force me to empty my hard earned pension towards charity (and if I pass the charity through his hands, he will marro [cut] his share too).
Overriding (or ignoring) these two objections therefore let me come back to the organizational work. Those who are raising ‘chandas’ should limit the ‘chandas’ to their personal expenses only, which they may incur for doing what I am going to prescribe. Let the volunteers not busy themselves in buying and distributing blankets. Let them visit Janata Durbar of the Chief Minister and get him to agree to the volunteers working with the official agencies involved in the distribution of aid. The volunteers must thereafter proceed to the aid centers armed with their personal mobiles- with-camera (which I am sure all of them must be having), and keep a record of all the aid activities. Sure enough some of them will also be offered cut money by the government officials (as it happens with numerous televisions channel fellows). All that the volunteers have to do is not to fall in temptation. If any one of volunteers indeed tends to fall, his record may also be kept in camera. Let me tell the volunteers that by doing this kind of work, they will be doing the greatest service to humanity, in case they are interested.
Manzurul Haque (manhaq@yhaoo.com)
Its a very grim situation.Can we utilise this forum to advertise our people to contibute generousely to the cief ministers relief fund or any other reliable agency involved in flood relief and rehabilitation efforts.My appeal to all biharis all over the world come forward and donate generousely.
Dear Mr. haque,
you mentioned :
"The volunteers must thereafter proceed to the aid centers armed with their personal mobiles- with-camera (which I am sure all of them must be having), and keep a record of all the aid activities"
Well , many may not know, actually the Bihar government itself had a team of inspectors moving around with mobile camera phones with some special inspection software, taking images and sending instant reports to the patna disaster mgmt team.
so within a minute of the inspection, these guys were getting exact field situation, which releif camp was functionig and how...to exct details like number of toilets and even their cleanliness.
There is some information about this on http://www.bizframe.com/news/sept032008.htm
I for one, am impressed!!
-Abhishek.
santa clara.
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