Nationalism over verse

When poems become anthems.

Written by Khaled Ahmed | Published on:June 12, 2015 12:06 am - 

In the last week of April, Abdul Majid Sheikh’s book, Lahore: 101 Tales of a Fabled City (2015), was released. It again brought to the forefront that Pakistan’s anthem was first written by a Hindu poet of Lahore, Jagannath Azad. Three other national anthems — of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — were composed as poems by another great Hindu, Rabindranath Tagore.

Sheikh says, “The Lahore poet Azad was commissioned by Quaid-e-Azam to write Pakistan’s national anthem three days before the creation of Pakistan in 1947.” He claims that Muhammad Ali Jinnah actually approved the song by Azad and the text was publicised, but can quote only the two top lines: “Ae sarzameene paak/ Zarray hain tere aaj sitaron se tabnaak/ Roshan hai kehkashaan se kaheen aaj teri khaak/ Ae sarzameene paak (O, sacred land of Pakistan, the stars themselves illuminate each particle of yours/ rainbows illumine your very dust).” Azad thought the task was urgent and finished the poem in three days.

When the politicians surrounding Jinnah objected to the anthem’s authorship, Jinnah is supposed to have snubbed them. But after his death, the National Anthem Committee (NAC) apparently ignored his choice and commissioned it afresh. It finally chose the present anthem in 1954. Unlike Tagore, who wrote his work and then composed the music to it, Pakistan got another greatly talented man, Ahmed Ghulamali Chagla, to write the tune for it first. He was a member of the NAC. So was poet Hafeez Jullundhri, whose verse was finally chosen from 723 submissions. Needless to say, Jullundhri was greatly admired by the Muslims of India for writing a history of Islam in verse. Chagla had died in 1953, before the committee selected the verse to his music.

Interestingly, both Jinnah and Chagla were from Gujarat and wrote their names in the Gujarati tradition: Ghulamali instead of Ghulam Ali and Mohamedali Jinnah, instead of the current Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as appearing in his school register. Both were Shia and would be under great risk today living in Pakistan. The Taliban would have added both to the list of the Hazaras they have massacred in Quetta. Jinnah’s resthouse, not far from Quetta in Balochistan, has been blown up by Baloch nationalists and was recently reconstructed. Today, Jinnah would have been in the crosshairs of both the Baloch insurgents and the Taliban.

Jullundhri’s anthem was a work of genius. But for one preposition (ka) that makes the lyric Urdu, the lines are all in Persian, to lend gravitas to the message (Persian has always been a discourse of persuasion for South Asian Muslims). But today, under the new brand of Islam inherited teleologically by the state, he would have attracted the mischief of the Taliban for using “khuda” for god, instead of “allah”. The Taliban has killed for lesser transgressions. Most Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have changed the traditional goodbye word, “khuda hafiz”, to “allah hafiz”. “Khuda” has been rejected as a pagan word. Today’s Pakistan would have rejected the anthem.

In Bangladesh, the national anthem is, in fact, Tagore’s poem, “Amar Sonar Bangla (our golden Bengal)”, which he wrote in 1905, not as a national anthem to a nation, but “as opposition to division of east and west Bengal by the British”. Today, an internally divided Bangladesh is poised for a controversy over a national anthem “imposed on the state” by the founder of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Of course, accidental anthem-writer Tagore, wrote what became the Indian anthem in heavily Sanskritised Bengali. Tagore wrote his poem in 1911. “Jana Gana Mana” was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem in 1950. Another poem by him about Sri Lanka was actually translated into Sinhalese and set to music by Sri Lankan genius Ananda Samarakoon, a Tagore pupil, in 1940; it became the national anthem of Sri Lanka in 1951.

One word about the irony of it all: Tagore was the non-Western genius who prophetically opposed nationalism that was to destroy not only Europe but also greatly damage the nation-states of South Asia. National anthems are unfortunately used by all nations as war songs.
He foresaw nation-states suffering from the disease of nationalism invented by demagogues to keep the nation united through fear of a designated external enemy.

Tagore set the tune to both the national anthems of India and Bangladesh; the tune for the Sri Lankan national anthem was also suggested by him. He didn’t know the poems would become the anthems of three nation-states that would often brawl with one another. The fourth state ignored its “national poet” Allama Iqbal while choosing its national anthem, but in India, a poem of his, “Saare Jahan se Accha”, is an unofficial national song. Thus the two great poets must mourn as they look down and see how the nations that loved their works are treating one another.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nationalism-over-verse/#sthash.md6S6495.dpuf

Vedanta - Knowing Is Joyous

ISHAN CHAUDHURI





Somewhere down the line, proclaiming oneself as ignorant has become a hallmark of virtue. People are regularly heard to take pride in the fact that they don't know things.`Oh, I don't read books' or `I don't watch that kind of movies' has become a general refrain of `coolness'. In a reversal of roles, people who once exclaimed being informed in certain aspects of culture and life now prefer keeping mum, lest they be construed as ponderous showoffs or, worse, snobs.The trend of being proud of possessing a curious, hungry mind has suffered over time.Wearing one's ignorance on one's sleeve is, of course, a virtue made out of necessity for most people.
But the earli er embarrass ment of not knowing has been replaced by pride. It is also in reac tion to the genuine snob who can be such an incentive for people to want to be considered ignorant. Being an `intellectual', a veritable gaali in our age, has come to mean a boring personality who loves listening to his own voice, and who looks down upon others less informed than him. This was not the plan.
The intellect is marked by playfulness, the way a youngster collects stamps or keeps a scrapbook or `curates' her Facebook page. To take in knowledge and to bandy it about is not a dry crusty activity, but can be as joyous and fulfilling as, say, dancing, singing or eating out. To know is not an embarrassing thing. It is a thing worth flaunting, and spreading.

the speaking tree - Let's Talk About Yoga And Meditation

Discourse: J Krishnamurti





Let's talk about yoga and meditation. Everybody seems to be terribly interested in yoga.They want to keep young and beautiful. Shall we begin with that? (Laughter). I thought you would be interested in it. (Laughter). Yoga has now become a business affair like everything else. There are teachers of yoga all over the world, and they are coining money , as usual. And yoga at one time ­ I've been told by those who know about this a great deal ­ it was only taught to the very , very, very few.Yoga doesn't mean merely to keep your body healthy , normal, active, and intelligent. It also meant ­ the meaning of that word in Sanskrit means `join together' ­ joining the higher and the lower. I don't know who joins it, but that's the tradition. And also there are various forms of yoga. But the highest form is called Raja Yoga, which is the king of yogas. There that system, or that way of living was concerned not merely with the physical well-being, but also much more psychologically . There was no discipline, no system, nothing to be repeated day after day. But to have a brain that is in order that is all the time active but not chattering, but active, that activity ­ the speaker is interpreting all this. Probably they wouldn't tell you all this.The speaker has talked to various scholars and pundits and real yoga teachers. There are very few of them now.
So to have a very deeply , orderly , moral, ethical life, not just merely perform various postures but to lead a very moral, ethical, disciplined life, that was the real meaning of the highest form of yoga.Thereby you kept the body healthy .Body was not first, was not of primary importance. What was of primary importance was to have a brain, a mind, a well-being, that is clear, active ­ not in the sense of movement, but in itself active, alive, full of vitality. But now it has become rather shallow, profitable and mediocre. We were taught ... the speaker was taught ­ oh, many years ago ­ something that could not be taught to anoth er. Let's leave it at that, shall we? Is that enough talk about yoga?
Could you go into it more?
Krishnamurti: Or you want me to tell you what I was taught? (Laughter) I'm sorry , I can't tell you.(Laughter) It's not to be taught to the casual. It is some thing that you do, perhaps ev ery day as the speaker does for an hour, to have perfect control ur body. So that you are watchful. of your body . So that you are watchful.
I won't use the word `control,' but to watch your body , not make any movement, any gesture, which is not observed. There is no unnecessary movement of the body . But it's not controlled. That's where the difference is.May we drop that subject and go on to something else? I know you are reluctant, because you think, perhaps you may consider yoga to be something to be practised day after day , to develop your muscles, have a muscular body .It's not that at all. It is something you live all day long. Something you watch, observe, and be clear about ... When you see those hills behind there and the blue sky and the line of those mountains against the sky ... for a second, the greatness of the mountain drives away all our pettiness, all our worries and problems and all the travails of life ­ for that second. Then you become silent and look. Right?
(`Meeting Life' ­ Third Public Talk in Ojai, May 1985. Courtesy: KFI)
Log on to speakingtree.in and post your comments there. Ask you vendor for the Sunday special yoga issue of The Speaking Tree dated June 21.

Reform Our Prisons





Tihar, in the heart of the national capital, exposes the rot in Indian jails

The National Human Rights Commission has begun to scruti nise Delhi's Tihar Jail following a series of reports in this newspaper, exposing lawlessness within the prison. Separately, the Supreme Court is hearing a writ petition on the appalling state of our prisons. The interest shown by these institutions provides an opportunity to decisively reform India's prison system, an area which has long faced neglect. The state of prisons is a measure of how civilised we are as a society and our record, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired. Indeed, we have even gone backwards.Tihar Jail, in the heart of the national capital, is a case in point.Once upon a time Tihar was a byword for prison reform, initiated by Kiran Bedi when she was inspector general of prisons. It included vipassana or meditation sessions, educational facilities, vocational activities, organisation of sports and games. But Tihar is a nightmare today , with rampant torture and sexual abuse of inmates by other inmates. Gangs run wild in the prison and crimes such as murders are plotted, both of those within and outside prison.
There is, therefore, an urgent need to look into and remedy the condition of our prisons. Even convicted prisoners have rights and cannot be entirely stripped of them. But what makes the tragedy even more heart-rending is that the majority of inmates in Indian prisons are not hardened and convicted criminals but undertrials. About 67% of India's prisoners are undertrials, compared with 20% in the US. The consequence in India is overcrowded, unhygienic prisons and a preponderance of young people charged with petty offences at the mercy of hardened criminals.
Thanks to its slowness and laxity , India's judicial system is the principal culprit here. Prison reforms, therefore, need to be a part of larger reforms which speed up and improve our criminal justice system. Current court orders and implementation of existing laws too can help in lowering the incidence of undertrials. Bail is the first line of defence here ­ courts have ruled that bail is to be seen as a rule and not an exception. Above all, India's prison system needs to ensure that it punishes criminals appropriately while giving them a chance to reform and learn new skills, rather than produce more criminals who are then let loose into society .

10 unnatural deaths occur in Indian jails every month

TIMES INSIGHT GROUP





The murder of an inmate in Tihar is no isolated incident, with official data showing that there were 115 “unnatural deaths“ in India's jails in 2013, the latest year for which data is available from the National Crime Records Bureau. That's about 10 unnatural deaths every month.At 5.9 unnatural deaths per 10,000 inmates, Delhi's jails clock more than twice the national rate of 2.8 per 10,000 inmates. Whether this has anything to do with Delhi jails having over twice as many inmates as they are supposed to hold, against a national average of 118% occupancy, is a moot question.
The NCRB's prison statistics in India 2013 shows that of the 115 deaths due to unnatural causes, more than half (70) were officially classified as suicides, 12 were attributed to “assault by outside elements“ and eight to murders by inmates.With one execution and one death due to firing, the causes of deaths of 23 “others“ have not been spelt out.
The highest rates of unnatural deaths (per thousand inmates) were in Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Delhi and Rajasthan in that order. The lowest rates among bigger states were in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The prison statistics also show that barring Chhattisgarh, a state severely affected by Maoist insurgency , Delhi had by far the most overcrowded jails in the country . Chhattisgarh had 15,840 inmates in its jails which had a capaci ty of just 6,070, thus recording an `occupancy rate' of 261%. Delhi's 13,552 inmates were stuffed into jails meant to hold 6,250 people, an occupancy rate of 217%.The national average occupancy rate was about 118%, which shows that while jails as a rule are overcrowded in India, Delhi's prisons are almost twice as congested as the average.

Indians spend more time battling ill-health, says study

A recent global report shows that Indians are spending more time battling ill-health as non-fatal diseases and injuries such as major depressive disorder, anaemia and low back pain have become more prevalent in recent years.

The study published recently in the medical journal, The Lancet, is the outcome of an analysis of 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries.

The reports says that Years Lived with Disability (YLDs) makes up a major chunk of health problems that impair an individual's mobility, hearing or vision, or cause pain in some way or the other.

The study was conducted by an international group of researchers working on the Global Burden of Disease project and led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

According to the study, in 2013, migraines, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hearing loss were among the 10 leading causes of YLDs in India. Other leading causes included neck pain, diabetes and anxiety disorders.

Between 1990 and 2013, YLDs from diabetes increased by 109 per cent, and YLDs from other musculoskeletal disorders increased by 110 per cent. However, YLDs from anaemia decreased by 12 per cent, the report says.

Diabetes YLDs also increased for men in India during the same period, rising to 136 per cent. YLDs from COPD increased by 76 per cent.

“The health of Indians is increasingly threatened by depression, back pain and migraines,” said Vivekanand Jha, executive director, George Institute for Global Health, India, and the study's co-author.

“At the same time, diseases like iron-deficiency anaemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease are also costing Indians many years of healthy life. It is critical to understand which diseases and injuries are causing disability so that we can effectively allocate resources,” he added.

Worldwide scenario

Between 1990 and 2013, YLDs increased globally from 537.6 million in 1990 to 764.8 million in 2013 for both the sexes. Men and women around the world share the same leading causes of YLDs, with the exception of schizophrenia as a leading cause of YLDs for men and musculoskeletal as a leading cause of YLDs for women.

Musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorder, substance-related disorders, neurological disorders and chronic respiratory conditions were the main drivers of YLDs in 2013. The disease burden of both low back pain and depression have increased more than 50 per cent since 1990.  

The number of people who suffered from 10 or more ailments increased by 52 per cent globally. It is not just the elderly who are affected by YLDs. Although the impact of YLDs increases with age, of the 2.3 billion people who suffered from more than five ailments worldwide, 81 per cent were below 65 years.

Impact of war on health

In 2013, war and conflict were leading causes of YLDs in several countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Lebanon, Peru and Syria. In three countries—Cambodia, Nicaragua and Rwanda—war was the top cause of YLDs. Other notable causes of YLDs in different regions included falls (Central Europe), asthma (a top-10 cause of YLDs in many Latin American countries) and opioid dependence (a top-five cause of YLDs in several West Asian countries).

“What ails you isn’t necessarily what kills you,” said IHME Director Christopher Murray. “As non-fatal illnesses and related ailments affect more people of all ages, countries must look closely at health policies and spendings to target these conditions.”

RICS SBE gives 100 per cent placement to students

RICS School of Built Environment (RICS SBE), Amity University, industry-led institution for real estate, construction & infrastructure, has placed100% of its first batch (2013-2015) of MBA students in top Indian real estate, construction, consulting firms and banks. The average salary offered to students was Rs. 6.7 lakh, with the highest offer of Rs.13 lakh.

MBA Real Estate & Urban Infrastructure and MBA in Construction project Management students pursued career opportunities of their choice within the real estate, construction & infrastructure domains. These programmes were well received by the industry as a provider of high-quality talent to the sector which is set to become 3rd largest by 2020 yet facing 80% shortage of qualified people.

The first placement season has reinforced RICS SBE’s strong standing of being truly industry led academic institution producing industry-ready professionals – much needed in the fast-growing real estate & construction sector.

About 70 top companies actively participated in the campus placement that begun in early December 2014.Top recruiters include KPMG, HDFC, DLF, TATA Housing, ShapoorjiPallonji, Leighton India, Mahindra Lifespaces, Akshaya Housing, JLL, CBRE, DTZ, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, Knight Frank, Liases Foras amongst others.

Prof K. T. Ravindran, Dean Emeritus, RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University said “These unique set of techno-managerial programs have a judicious fusion of academic rigor, real-life case studies and internships with top companies which prepare competent professionals with the right skills, thereby giving a good start to successful specialized careers.”

Sachin Sandhir, Global Managing Director – Emerging Business, RICS said “Placements this year are really a testimony to the strong goodwill and industry backing RICS enjoys as a global standard-setting body for real estate & construction. There continues to be a huge demand for specialized MBA graduates who have the right knowledge and skills required for this industry.”