My column in TOI today on Indo-Pak peace, posted here. Do read, would love to know your thoughts. Also read the comments left on this blog, which often tend to be very interesting and insightful as well.
I would start by the rude truth “No one gets everything!” Though peace with PAK is good to hear it didnt happen, it isnt happening, and for some good reason it wont happen. Sorry for my pessimistic thinking.
I admire the home work you did to know the defence expenditure of India. To remind you PAK isnt the only troubling neihbour we have. Chini Bhai (China)is just above our head. If not for PAK we need to defend from China as well. Just as we were thinking about peace with Pak, they took Kashmir from us, China too helped and got its share (Aksai Chin). Would you say Peace with China too ?
Why we should not make peace with Pakistan for one simple reason, they don’t need peace. They need Guns and Battle,even if we dont like we need to live that way only. We made Shimla peace, they attacked the next year. We send Lahore bus, they attacked Kargil. We send Samjauha Express, they come in that same train to attack Delhi. We just took our eyes of Coast, they attacked Mumbai. Aman ki Asha will not be fulfilled, and I pray it doesn’t, coz they take that an oppurtunity and plot bombs that kills my innocent brethern
well written… i agree that peace is the only way forward… but ur view that money should be diverted frm defense to development makes sense bcoz of our massive poverty.. but for offering peace we have to become superpowerful with respect to pakistan.. only then their army will find some sense n bend in diplomatic discussions.. for that to happen we must privatise our arms manufacturing system.. just like what china,usa,russia,israel etc. has done.. then we dont have to buy those latest but highly over-priced weapons frm other countries..and we do need superior arms bcoz of our threat to china.. for that we should privatise our arms production system.. which will in process save millions of dollars which wont be req. in buying foreign arms.. and can be diverted to developmental projects.
sir,
kindly write about ur Jabalpur experience in ur blog. it would definitely add to boost up the spirits of ur jabalpurites fans….and to maintain the euphoria ever since u visited.
Kudos to ur thoughts, u wrote it very well!! However, it is easier said than done. There are lot of hurdles, which would obligate to initiate a momentum like this, from our leadership. After-all, this is how they are & they want it to be.
Anyways, we only can wish of things getting better, but cannot do something for that better!! The reason being, the moment you raise ur voice, u go in peace…. by none other than our owns.
The apathy is so strong that people who want peace just work on 9 to 5 jobs, do some shopping and go to sleep. The rest are on the LOC trying to save the other rest. There can be no ‘forever’ peace.
Not too sure whether CB reads our comments? But still I want to express!!
The article is good. Very simple but crisp in idea. I thank him for redefining peace. It may perhaps be useful for the ones who still misinterpret peace with love!
By the way what is the difference between ceasefire and peace? Aren’t both the same? If yes then India has done enough from its part.
Borders are never positive. Differences in currency value are never good.
Border and currency difference are the biggest enemy to the peace. I strongly believe that it is impossible to restore peace unless worked at a world level. Now it is 2010 which puts us approx 4610 years ahead of the Mohenjo-Daro civilization. So how can we act foolishly when alone in India we are annually producing 7000+ PhDs?
The term “peace” must have been politically created. And it will last till the time ego is present within bureaucracy. The existence of ego in the bureaucrats is as old as the bureaucracy itself. In fact ego must have created bureaucracy. But point to note here is that both are created by humans. Hence it can only be corrected by humans. Any way who else we can expect?
Irony of the story is that human life span is insufficient to solve these issues. Even Gandhi and Lincoln failed to restore complete peace! So what can a common man do? It’s only the suffering which comes into our account. We live to witness the never ending foul play of bureaucrats and ego.
Issues such as Pakistan, Gaza, Al-Qaeda or Israel are never going to end. Gracefully we should leave it for our great^ (infinity) grand children. As they also deserve their part of enjoyment!
From my part I am not going to waste my life. I have put forward my steps for teaching poor students, motivating labors and enlightening the minds of the beggars. These steps could be smaller but are valid. Cant do more than this!
I request all to understand that peace is our basic human right. Fight for it. And please don’t stop your breath till the time you get it!
hi chetan sir,
i am first time writing any blog, well fristly i will like to congratulate and thanks for your Novels and then i wanna explain you my story if you are interested to write another novel
I am calling you ‘Sir’ because you are an IITian and I am from REC, Bhopal. TO say ‘Sir’ to you is justified. Sir, may be that this is not the place to write what I am trying to write here, but Still I hope that you would read and give your comment.
Sir, I have done Civil Engineering from REC, Bhopal in 1997, have worked for 10 years with NHPC and for past 2 years in EIL, New Delhi. But I have never been a Civil Engineer by heart, but a very soft, delicate and thoughtful Poet. I have not gone in the field of writing long stories but have passion to write Prose and short Poetries. In Hindi, I have written many Kavitas, Ghazals by heart and of lengths.
Not because I seek any help from you, but because I know that a person of your calibre can really tell me rightly, if I write really good; I am writing below some of my own written 8-10 lines. If you can please spare your most valuable 5 minutes to read these lines and give me your (really invaluable, for me) comments over them, I will be ever grateful to you Sir. These go as :
Phir ek baar bhula hai Karn ko Kunti ne,
Phir ek baar Kaikeyi ne maanga hai Ram ko Vanvaas
aur phir ek baar vivash huwe hain Pandav,
Chhal ka shikaar ban, raajya chhodne aur jaane ko adwaitwaas
Ye jhooth ka mithak kabhi tootata kyon nahin,
Satya ye naalaayak kabhi jeetata kyon nahin,
Sabhi sirf nek hon, bhale hon, aisa ho sakta kyon nahin,
Kab tak haran hoga maa Seeta ka, Raavan kab tak karega attahaas,
‘Yada-yada hi dharmasya….’ phir kyon kaha gaya shaashtron mein,
Baar-baar main janam lunga, kyon kaha Paarth-Sarathi ne,
Kitne hi Bhasmaasur, kitne hi Kans roz khade hanste samaaj mein,
deen-heen sa rota Maanav, phir bhi chamatkaar ki usko aas..,
Hey Ram, abki na jao Vanwaas ko tum,
Maryaada Purushottam, apne Maanav ki madad ko daude chale aao tum,
Mata Kunti abki na tajna apne hi ank ke pratham-paatra ko tum,
Bahut Janmaashtami man chuki, Hey Shri Krishna abki khud aao tum,
Tumhaari ore dekhkar rote hain deen-vivash sab jan-parijan,
Bahut andhkaar hai phail chuka, ab tum sab mil karo prakaash.
Phir ek baar bhula hai Karn ko Kunti ne,
Phir ek baar Kaikeyi ne maanga hai Ram ko Vanvaas ….!
Chetan Sir, I know it is not easy for you to respond to everybody like me. And I request you to not to respond me either. But, only if you feel that I have also written really like ‘everybody’. If you feel that I have written something different and that too differently, just acknowledge me. Your acknowledgement would be more than someone else’s blessings for me.
insightful article.Defence in Pakistan indulge in civilian jobs too like taking up contracts and other R&B works and holds high regard with the people over there but it is also a sign of Pakistan being a failed state.Army is a huge organisation in Pak and no clearcut demarcation is seen between forces and civilians unlike in India which makes it difficult to cut the budget and moreover ARMY is one of the biggest employer!
hi chetan….
i js luv the way u write,and also the way u think…keep it up…
i wish more n more peole read ur articles…i’l definitely make a change in attitude of peopl,who r against peace and harmony….
Peace can only happen if the Pakistani people will realize by themselves that what ever they are doing is wrong,its not good for their own country and people , they are not going to achieve anything with all this scrap and if they spent the same amount of resources for the development of their country where this country can reach?But the question is who will make them to realize this??and what time will it take for them for this reformation??
They need a strong leader,democracy,education,and peaceful time to even think about peace.Right now they don’t have anything.They have military ruling them and we don’t know who (which countries) r ruling this military.50% of theirs population is below poverty line and uneducated.from educated population 50% r brain washed and wrongly educated , that is even worse then being uneducated.how can we think such country to think of moral issues??
as a neighbor ya we can help them out but the problems are
1) If India will say its a day they will think it must be night right now.their minds are set like that.
2) we have thousands of problems to solve within our own country..
3) trust??
These are all the questions to answer and problems to solve…but ya the solution is only one that is peace … but we don’t know when ?? who ?? and where ?? of this solution
Some very good thoughts there! But expecting Democracy in Pakistan is like asking USA to start minding its own business. IT JUST WON’T HAPPEN. The formula that every Democratic Party in Pakistan ever uses, to come to power is – “We will fight for Kashmir”. Our Government will tame India..Blah blah. You will agree that every country has its own DNA. A country that was born out of hatred and that has not changed in the last 50-60 years does not know what it must be like to have peace. Their anti social elements have no other business…if peace with India prevails then they will go out of business.
Secondly, you have gone into the economic aspects of the Defense Budget of both the countries. Pakistan does not have to worry because they are using US donations to fight against India. Musharraf has already admitted this on national television few months back. But coming back to your point, the cost of around $40 billion dollars is according to me a very very conservative figure. What about cost of human lives that both the nations have lost, and will continue to lose. How much are you going to value those lives at? The opportunity cost of losing one’s limbs, or parents or youth…it’s too goddamn costly to put a value!
If India can take care of its own democracy first, ensure that the borders are sealed – not just on the western side but also the eastern side, use the best equipments for its defense, without compromising procurement deals, then I think we can atleast hope to continue our normal lives.
I live in Hyderabad and from what I have heard from one of my local drivers here, “Hyd Old city” is home to hundreds of kids who lost their families in Gujarat riots. He said, these kids are all potential human bombs being raised for an occasion. How is our great Indian democracy going to help in preventing these bombs from going off…when it could not prevent the riots itself?.
As I began Chetan – All very good thoughts. But to me they seem nothing more than a farfetched dream. I know it’s not the most positive way to look at things, but as the old saying goes – That’s the way the cookie Crumbles
Hey Mr.CB,
I would start by the rude truth “No one gets everything!” Though peace with PAK is good to hear it didnt happen, it isnt happening, and for some good reason it wont happen. Sorry for my pessimistic thinking.
I admire the home work you did to know the defence expenditure of India. To remind you PAK isnt the only troubling neihbour we have. Chini Bhai (China)is just above our head. If not for PAK we need to defend from China as well. Just as we were thinking about peace with Pak, they took Kashmir from us, China too helped and got its share (Aksai Chin). Would you say Peace with China too ?
Why we should not make peace with Pakistan for one simple reason, they don’t need peace. They need Guns and Battle,even if we dont like we need to live that way only. We made Shimla peace, they attacked the next year. We send Lahore bus, they attacked Kargil. We send Samjauha Express, they come in that same train to attack Delhi. We just took our eyes of Coast, they attacked Mumbai. Aman ki Asha will not be fulfilled, and I pray it doesn’t, coz they take that an oppurtunity and plot bombs that kills my innocent brethern
-Rajesh
Hey CB,
Why dont we invade PAK and make them understant we need peace at all cost
Hey.How much they Paid you for publicizing 3 idiots
Hey.Instead of writing join politics in near future.PEOPLE WILL DEFINITELY LISTEN.AND power prevails more than words.
well written… i agree that peace is the only way forward… but ur view that money should be diverted frm defense to development makes sense bcoz of our massive poverty.. but for offering peace we have to become superpowerful with respect to pakistan.. only then their army will find some sense n bend in diplomatic discussions.. for that to happen we must privatise our arms manufacturing system.. just like what china,usa,russia,israel etc. has done.. then we dont have to buy those latest but highly over-priced weapons frm other countries..and we do need superior arms bcoz of our threat to china.. for that we should privatise our arms production system.. which will in process save millions of dollars which wont be req. in buying foreign arms.. and can be diverted to developmental projects.
sir,
kindly write about ur Jabalpur experience in ur blog. it would definitely add to boost up the spirits of ur jabalpurites fans….and to maintain the euphoria ever since u visited.
Kudos to ur thoughts, u wrote it very well!! However, it is easier said than done. There are lot of hurdles, which would obligate to initiate a momentum like this, from our leadership. After-all, this is how they are & they want it to be.
Anyways, we only can wish of things getting better, but cannot do something for that better!! The reason being, the moment you raise ur voice, u go in peace…. by none other than our owns.
The apathy is so strong that people who want peace just work on 9 to 5 jobs, do some shopping and go to sleep. The rest are on the LOC trying to save the other rest. There can be no ‘forever’ peace.
u r amazing person who write amazing books 4 amazing readers…
Not too sure whether CB reads our comments? But still I want to express!!
The article is good. Very simple but crisp in idea. I thank him for redefining peace. It may perhaps be useful for the ones who still misinterpret peace with love!
By the way what is the difference between ceasefire and peace? Aren’t both the same? If yes then India has done enough from its part.
Borders are never positive. Differences in currency value are never good.
Border and currency difference are the biggest enemy to the peace. I strongly believe that it is impossible to restore peace unless worked at a world level. Now it is 2010 which puts us approx 4610 years ahead of the Mohenjo-Daro civilization. So how can we act foolishly when alone in India we are annually producing 7000+ PhDs?
The term “peace” must have been politically created. And it will last till the time ego is present within bureaucracy. The existence of ego in the bureaucrats is as old as the bureaucracy itself. In fact ego must have created bureaucracy. But point to note here is that both are created by humans. Hence it can only be corrected by humans. Any way who else we can expect?
Irony of the story is that human life span is insufficient to solve these issues. Even Gandhi and Lincoln failed to restore complete peace! So what can a common man do? It’s only the suffering which comes into our account. We live to witness the never ending foul play of bureaucrats and ego.
Issues such as Pakistan, Gaza, Al-Qaeda or Israel are never going to end. Gracefully we should leave it for our great^ (infinity) grand children. As they also deserve their part of enjoyment!
From my part I am not going to waste my life. I have put forward my steps for teaching poor students, motivating labors and enlightening the minds of the beggars. These steps could be smaller but are valid. Cant do more than this!
I request all to understand that peace is our basic human right. Fight for it. And please don’t stop your breath till the time you get it!
Great work Chetan…something all Indians wish of..
Mansi
hi chetan sir,
i am first time writing any blog, well fristly i will like to congratulate and thanks for your Novels and then i wanna explain you my story if you are interested to write another novel
I read ur article its really meaningful…
Chetan Sir,
I am calling you ‘Sir’ because you are an IITian and I am from REC, Bhopal. TO say ‘Sir’ to you is justified. Sir, may be that this is not the place to write what I am trying to write here, but Still I hope that you would read and give your comment.
Sir, I have done Civil Engineering from REC, Bhopal in 1997, have worked for 10 years with NHPC and for past 2 years in EIL, New Delhi. But I have never been a Civil Engineer by heart, but a very soft, delicate and thoughtful Poet. I have not gone in the field of writing long stories but have passion to write Prose and short Poetries. In Hindi, I have written many Kavitas, Ghazals by heart and of lengths.
Not because I seek any help from you, but because I know that a person of your calibre can really tell me rightly, if I write really good; I am writing below some of my own written 8-10 lines. If you can please spare your most valuable 5 minutes to read these lines and give me your (really invaluable, for me) comments over them, I will be ever grateful to you Sir. These go as :
Phir ek baar bhula hai Karn ko Kunti ne,
Phir ek baar Kaikeyi ne maanga hai Ram ko Vanvaas
aur phir ek baar vivash huwe hain Pandav,
Chhal ka shikaar ban, raajya chhodne aur jaane ko adwaitwaas
Ye jhooth ka mithak kabhi tootata kyon nahin,
Satya ye naalaayak kabhi jeetata kyon nahin,
Sabhi sirf nek hon, bhale hon, aisa ho sakta kyon nahin,
Kab tak haran hoga maa Seeta ka, Raavan kab tak karega attahaas,
‘Yada-yada hi dharmasya….’ phir kyon kaha gaya shaashtron mein,
Baar-baar main janam lunga, kyon kaha Paarth-Sarathi ne,
Kitne hi Bhasmaasur, kitne hi Kans roz khade hanste samaaj mein,
deen-heen sa rota Maanav, phir bhi chamatkaar ki usko aas..,
Hey Ram, abki na jao Vanwaas ko tum,
Maryaada Purushottam, apne Maanav ki madad ko daude chale aao tum,
Mata Kunti abki na tajna apne hi ank ke pratham-paatra ko tum,
Bahut Janmaashtami man chuki, Hey Shri Krishna abki khud aao tum,
Tumhaari ore dekhkar rote hain deen-vivash sab jan-parijan,
Bahut andhkaar hai phail chuka, ab tum sab mil karo prakaash.
Phir ek baar bhula hai Karn ko Kunti ne,
Phir ek baar Kaikeyi ne maanga hai Ram ko Vanvaas ….!
Chetan Sir, I know it is not easy for you to respond to everybody like me. And I request you to not to respond me either. But, only if you feel that I have also written really like ‘everybody’. If you feel that I have written something different and that too differently, just acknowledge me. Your acknowledgement would be more than someone else’s blessings for me.
insightful article.Defence in Pakistan indulge in civilian jobs too like taking up contracts and other R&B works and holds high regard with the people over there but it is also a sign of Pakistan being a failed state.Army is a huge organisation in Pak and no clearcut demarcation is seen between forces and civilians unlike in India which makes it difficult to cut the budget and moreover ARMY is one of the biggest employer!
its an awesome experience to read your article.. well wrote, well thought, well compiled.. Bravo!!
hi chetan….
i js luv the way u write,and also the way u think…keep it up…
i wish more n more peole read ur articles…i’l definitely make a change in attitude of peopl,who r against peace and harmony….
Peace can only happen if the Pakistani people will realize by themselves that what ever they are doing is wrong,its not good for their own country and people , they are not going to achieve anything with all this scrap and if they spent the same amount of resources for the development of their country where this country can reach?But the question is who will make them to realize this??and what time will it take for them for this reformation??
They need a strong leader,democracy,education,and peaceful time to even think about peace.Right now they don’t have anything.They have military ruling them and we don’t know who (which countries) r ruling this military.50% of theirs population is below poverty line and uneducated.from educated population 50% r brain washed and wrongly educated , that is even worse then being uneducated.how can we think such country to think of moral issues??
as a neighbor ya we can help them out but the problems are
1) If India will say its a day they will think it must be night right now.their minds are set like that.
2) we have thousands of problems to solve within our own country..
3) trust??
These are all the questions to answer and problems to solve…but ya the solution is only one that is peace … but we don’t know when ?? who ?? and where ?? of this solution
Some very good thoughts there! But expecting Democracy in Pakistan is like asking USA to start minding its own business. IT JUST WON’T HAPPEN. The formula that every Democratic Party in Pakistan ever uses, to come to power is – “We will fight for Kashmir”. Our Government will tame India..Blah blah. You will agree that every country has its own DNA. A country that was born out of hatred and that has not changed in the last 50-60 years does not know what it must be like to have peace. Their anti social elements have no other business…if peace with India prevails then they will go out of business.
Secondly, you have gone into the economic aspects of the Defense Budget of both the countries. Pakistan does not have to worry because they are using US donations to fight against India. Musharraf has already admitted this on national television few months back. But coming back to your point, the cost of around $40 billion dollars is according to me a very very conservative figure. What about cost of human lives that both the nations have lost, and will continue to lose. How much are you going to value those lives at? The opportunity cost of losing one’s limbs, or parents or youth…it’s too goddamn costly to put a value!
If India can take care of its own democracy first, ensure that the borders are sealed – not just on the western side but also the eastern side, use the best equipments for its defense, without compromising procurement deals, then I think we can atleast hope to continue our normal lives.
I live in Hyderabad and from what I have heard from one of my local drivers here, “Hyd Old city” is home to hundreds of kids who lost their families in Gujarat riots. He said, these kids are all potential human bombs being raised for an occasion. How is our great Indian democracy going to help in preventing these bombs from going off…when it could not prevent the riots itself?.
As I began Chetan – All very good thoughts. But to me they seem nothing more than a farfetched dream. I know it’s not the most positive way to look at things, but as the old saying goes – That’s the way the cookie Crumbles
Money. Is not the end game. Get it mate.