Omar! A speech, he himself will never forget...

Ok, before you read the full text of the speech given by Omar Abdullah (pasted below), you need to follow certain instructions in order to be able to read the Hindi text, which is the 3rd part of the speech and arguably the more passionate part.

The Fonts (files) to be downloaded and the instructions for the same are in the link pasted here. http://164.100.47.134/newls/hindifonts.htm It is a very easy installation process and files are very small, so won't take up your time... After you have done that, close the browser and open the link again, but remember to do so only in Internet Explorer. It will not work in any other browser.

I urge you'll to please make time (only a couple of minutes, for downloading the fonts) to read this.

It might be argued that Farooq Abdullah has had a major role in destroying Kashmir and its Integrity, all for the glorification of his self. It also might be argued that his son Omar Abdullah has followed similar methods of working as the leader of The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (J&K NC). But, what cannot be argued is the passion Omar showed in the speech he gave during the Trust vote in the Lok Sabha...

SHRI OMAR ABDULLAH (SRINAGAR): "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I think that it is a matter of great misfortune for Parties like mine.… (Interruptions) I do not know whether the Rs. 1 crore that was shown here is genuine or not. But I think that it is extremely unfortunate that if nothing else, this Rs. 1 crore is seeking to buy the silence of Parties like mine who are not being given an opportunity to speak in a correct manner in this House.… (Interruptions) I have been a Member of this House for 10 years, and I have never disturbed this House in these 10 years. I have sat with them and I have sat on this side, and I have never disrupted a speaker and yet here they do not have the courtesy to listen to what I have to say.… (Interruptions) I am a Muslim, and I am an Indian. I see no distinction between the two.…

(Interruptions) I see no reason why I, as a Muslim, have to fear a deal between India and the United States of America (USA).… (Interruptions) This is a deal between two countries. It is a deal between, we hope, two countries that in the future will be two equals.… (Interruptions)

Sir, the enemies of Indian Muslims are not the Americans, and the enemies of the Indian Muslims are not 'deals' like this. The enemies of Indian Muslims are the same enemies that all the poor people of India face, namely, poverty and hunger, unemployment, lack of development and the absence of a voice. It is that we are against, namely, the effort being made to crush our voice.… ( Interruptions)

I am not a Member of the UPA, and I do not aspire the Membership of the UPA. But I am extremely unhappy with the way in which my friends in the Left have taken on this self-imposed position of being the certifiers of who is secular and who is not.… (Interruptions) Until a few years ago, I was a part of the NDA and I was a Minister with them. The same Left people considered me as a political untouchable, and they considered me an outcaste because I was a part of the NDA. Today, the same Left people are telling me that all secular Parties must unite with the BJP to bring down this Government.… (Interruptions) I made a mistake of standing with them once. I did not resign on the question of Gujarat when my conscience told me to do so, and my conscience has still not forgiven me. I need not make the same mistake again.… (Interruptions)

आप लोग अमरनाथ की बात करते हो, आपने अमरनाथ का आरोप लगाया,...(व्यवधान) आप एक जगह दिखाइए, जहां पर किसी कश्मीरी ने यात्रा के खिलाफ बात की हो, जहां किसी कश्मीरी ने कहा हो कि हमें यात्री नहीं चाहिए, जहां यात्रियों के ऊपर हमला हुआ हो।...(व्यवधान)

हमारी जमीन का मुद्दा था, हम अपनी जमीन के लिए लड़े और मरते दम तक अपनी जमीन के लिए लड़ेंगे, लेकिन हम आपकी तरह फिरकापरस्त नहीं हैं।...(व्यवधान) हम आपकी तरह कम्युनल नहीं हैं। हम मस्ज़िद नहीं गिराते और मंदिर भी नहीं गिराते। ...(व्यवधान) वहां एक सौ साल से ज्यादा अमरनाथ की यात्रा चलती आ रही है और जब तक कश्मीर में मुसलमान हैं, श्रीनगर और अमरनाथ में आपकी यात्रा चलती रहेगी। ...( व्यवधान)

अध्यक्ष महोदय, मैं यह बात दावे के साथ कहना चाहता हूं कि इन लोगों की तरह मेरी सियासत बदलती नहीं है, आज इस तरफ और कल उस तरफ। ...(व्यवधान) हमने सेक्यूलर फोर्सेस के साथ हाथ मिलाया है और मिलाते रहेंगे। The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (J&K NC) will vote to support the Motion moved by the Prime Minister. Thank you."

(The above text has been taken from the Lok Sabha website at http://164.100.47.134/newls/textofdebatedetail.aspx?sdate=07/22/2008)

If this speech has not evoked a sense of hope, that we will fight and we will be free from all that is communal and non-secular, even if it is felt momentarily, then what will?

Anthony Palathingal

An Ordinary life!

We all dream about better things in life, but I dream of a better day every morning, only to feel disheartened at the end of it. I find myself defeated and stymied by my life these days. It almost feels like I have exhausted all the best times, at School, College and Uni. There is nothing left that even parallels to what I’ve been through and things I’ve done. Life becomes more complicated as you grow in age, and you begin to experience life in it’s true vicious savagery, unlike the candy-coated youth.

Friends, relatives, people I know, and even some I may have met only for the first time, tell me with great cerebral wisdom that I’m too young to be so pensive and introspect, for life is bountiful and has to offer a lot more than I think I’ve experienced.

Some others, would talk to me about the sufferings around the world, and how my self-doubt does not even remotely count as grief.

But does my life have anything left to give me?! Have I grown too quickly and experienced too much already?! I see people around me more hopeful, more joyful, more content, feelings that I seem to have lost along the way…

I feel I am unable to even laugh without being circumspect and that the innocence of that particular emotion has eluded me long ago.

I wish I could transform this life of mine which is no longer eventful, into something beautiful, something spectacular, something magnanimous, and yet I know that I need to make this life at least worth living. For now though, I’ll have to be content with, An Ordinary life!

Anthony Palathingal

Pot belly vulnerability...

‘I want some 6 Packs, but 8 packs would be fuckin awesome!’ This seems to be the only thing left on the wish list of every tottering, unguarded, narcissistic male, including me!

The jiggling belly, once a sign of prosperity in India, is now loathed by everyone.The abdominal region has gained such obtrusive prominence in recent years, that I’m scared we might lose the curvy, bouncy belly, once and for all.

The 6 packs, once a commodity of only the beefed up men who wanted to become athletes, or even worse, Mr. Universe, is now an insatiable desire of every man. Who is responsible for such gluttonous longing?!

You could blame it on television, on attention deprived models and other celebrities, on energy bars, on commercials portraying only the chiselled men with the hottest women, you could blame it on anything under the sun actually. What remains unchanged is our frailty and our unending hunger to emulate someone else.

None of us therefore are owners of a unique identity, we are always mutating into someone else and these whom we imitate, mutate into someone else and they in turn into someone else. The vicious cycle will continue till we hit a complete 360, and then a new cycle will take over to enrapture our minds some more. I always wondered, if the Human Race was not so easily influenced by such flimsical fancies, how different our world could've been!

But then again, I have no time to waste… I need to work on my very own 6 packs….!

Anthony Palathingal

Suicide, a Crime or Freedom?

Picture this: A man/woman, decides out of free will, that his/her life is not worth living any more, that there is nothing to look up to when they wake up in the morning. There is no drive, no reason to continue in what they believe to be unceasing misery.

Worst of all, if they do fail in what could be their greatest triumph, as they see it, then apart from facing the brunt of humiliation and utter dysphoria in being unable to achieve even death, they have to face the long arm of the law. The Law does not give them the right to end their own life?

Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code says that, any person attempting to end his/her life will be chastised by the law.

Is it fair that if a human being out of free will, decides to end his/her life, if fails, should be punished by the law? Is law suggesting that if you want to end your life, make certain of your intent and capability at doing so, because if you fail, we will punish you!

Shouldn’t they be counselled instead of being punished, or in an even more liberal sense, do we even have the right to curtail a person’s actions, however harmful, on himself/herself?

Is Suicide a Crime or Freedom????

Anthony Palathingal