Nothing Intended: Chalo ek baar phir se ‘communal’ ho jaayein….

                                                By: Ashutosh Asthana

Television debates are on full swing, newspapers are flooded with the news and every noble laureate of the society is discussing about the matter openly. I am talking about the Yakub Memon hanging! The past two decade after the Mumbai bomb blast was the assessment period for the judicial system of our country in which the judiciary has passed with the flying colours. After twenty years of trial, Yakub Memon was given death penalty. All his hope was annulled when his last support system, the mercy plea filed for the consideration was cancelled by the President and his hanging was upheld. In the wee hours of July 30^th, Memon was hanged till death! All these trivia is easily available through every news channel and newspaper, so I am not going to show my intelligence on this case any further.

The after effect of this hanging is more interesting though! It is clearly shown on social media. My friend list on facebook is producing wise, wiser and wisest of men these days. Those who were never interested in politics, those who seriously have no idea that under which act, law or ‘kanoon’ Mr. Yakub Memon was arrested, those who are least bothered to know that Indian soldiers are being killed in attacks by Pakistan on the borders, are posting with all there ‘par intelligence’ factor on facebook regarding this case. A clear line of demarcation has been made which has created two major groups. Earlier, the groups which were made as, ‘Hang Yakub’ and ‘Save Yakub’ has now changed to ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’. Friendship is getting bitter, intellectual breed is becoming communal!

Yakub Memon

In the midst of such situation those who choose to stand apart are being considered ‘Politically dead’! So I have also decided to be communal on my part! According to me, Yakub Memon was a terrorist and so the punishment given to him is just! Moreover he was a Muslim and so he should be hanged! Why is that every terrorist is a Muslim? Just like Ajmal Kasab, Yakub Memon was given a correct treatment and I support it! 

 But, what about Godhra Massacre? What about Naroda Patiya Massacre?  What about Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodani? Ohh God! Please help! These questions are creating obstacles in my way to become a true communalist! It is better to ignore these questions, and simply say, it is a different matter!

Rather I can join the second group! Yakub Memon was the most guiltless person created by God! He was never a part of the Mumbai Bomb blast case; neither had he done the conspiracy nor did he provide his car for the blast! Even he surrendered himself to the authorities. He was innocent; this case is just the murder of Human Rights in an intellectual society. He is ‘Shaheed Yakub’. Muslims are targeted in this country. They are not safe in this country, the authorities are against us! But isn’t the second bomb blasted near a Mosque, where many innocent Muslims were killed? How is that the Interpol arrested Yakub from Kathmandu while he was trying to escape? How is that Ujjwal Nikam told to a reputated newspaper that Yakub never wanted to surrender? If justice is not for Muslims in this country that why did Yakub got the opportunity to file curative pleas, mercy petitons? Again such unanswerable questions! What should I do? 

In this scenario if I will be on a neutral platform then I will be considered ‘Politically Dead’ by the eminent scholars of social media! But the truth is, this matter requires being on the neutral platform! A terrorist is a terrorist after all! Irrespective of religion because terrorism has no religion! How does it affects that Yakub Memon was a Muslim or Hindu or an alien! The only thing that should affect is that a person who was involved in the plotting of Mumbai bomb blast case should be punished. The law found him guilty to such an extent that he was given death penalty. Sanjay Dutt is still in jail because of being convicted in the same bomb blast case. We all our Indians first, and then anything else. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was also a Muslim, can anyone on this earth claim that he was not given what he deserved in this country!

 Social Media is a big platform to discuss issues, so it will be wise for the social media bugs to discuss on issues for something constructive. A discussion just for the sake of discussing and being communal when the nation wants you the most, is not at all cool! 

 The time will not be far in such light, that communal riots will take place on social media, unfriending and blocking will be the weapon!

It is better to be ‘ajnabee’ (stranger) on social media than to be communal for such issues!

Happy Reading!

 

Nothing Intended: Oops! The scam took a wrong turn!

                                  By: Ashutosh Asthana

Everything was going smooth out there, papers were being leaked, nepotism was at its best, bribe, forgery, everything was planned but the scam took a wrong turn in Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board is making headlines these days for such odd reasons which the M.P. government and the board members would have never thought of.

Before commenting on any issue it is important to understand about this Vyapam thing which is trending throughout the media. The Madhya Pradesh Vyavasaik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam) is a government organization which was setup in 1982. It is responsible for conducting various entrance examinations in the state. The entrance tests are the base for recruiting employees to government jobs and for admissions to educational institutes in the state. This government body came to limelight with the scam attached to it in the near past. The scam involved top officials of the organization, ministers and businessmen taking bribe and selling top posts in government offices to undeserved candidates. Complaints of indiscretion began to come up during 1990’s and the first FIR against the organization was filed in 2000. Till then also everything was under control. The real problem started from 2013 and till today this scam is increasing the TRPs of every news channel.

As I said earlier this scam was smoothly paced and the ‘scams-ters’ were not facing any big issues, it was running as a normal healthy scam! Scams like this have already come up in our country, just like the TET scam of 2012 in which the prime accused Dev Kumar Pandey, an associate of former director of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education Sanjay Mohan, was arrested in February, 2010 for allegedly collecting money from candidates who appeared in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), 2011, to assist in their selection. Its normal in our country that such tiny scams of few crore are aroused! Scams of this magnitude have always been usual in Uttar Pradesh. In March this year in Mathura, nine invigilators, including a centre superintendent of a school in Baldeo block, were suspended for allowing students to copy from one another. The suspended teachers, including the centre superintendent, were arrested after SDM Mahaban Vishwa Bhusan Misra, a member of the flying squad, lodged an FIR against them for allowing mass cheating at their centres during the evening shift. The daughter of a state minister was allegedly caught this year while cheating in the ongoing Secondary Education Board examination in Nathnagar block in Sant Kabir Nagar. Every year hundreds of cheaters who run their chain in Uttar Pradesh are caught for providing cheating material to the students appearing in the Uttar Pradesh boards exams.

It was nothing new in our country, so why did this case, got such immense status? 

Governor of MP, Ram Naresh Yadav

The turning point of the scam came when people associated with this scam were being killed due to obvious reasons in mysterious manner. The reasons were that either the pawns of the game were no more needed as they have become a threat who could leak about the case or killing those who were investigating about the case. Anamika Kushwaha, a Trainee Sub Inspector, Narendra Singh Tomar, an Assistant Veterinary Officer at Raisen, Vijay Singh Patel, a pharmacist posted at Shajapur District Jail,  Namrata Damor, a first year student of MGM Medical College, Indore, Amit Sagar, a veterinary student in Mhow etc. were among the few who were killed in different manner related to this case.

People are killed in this country every day, isn’t it! Likewise these people were also like many others got killed in this case but this case came to public eye when Arun Sharma and Dr DK Sakalley deans of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur were added to the list of death tolls related to the scam. It became high profile when Madhya Pradesh’s Governor Ram Naresh Yadav’s name was linked to the case and his son, Shailesh Yadav, one of the accused in this scam was also mysteriously killed. Recently the death of a journalist Akshay Singh triggered the anger of people making this case trending on social networking sites and making it the breaking news of channels. Till now more than 40 people have been killed in this case.

Journalist Akshay Singh

The Madhya Pradesh Government formed a Special Task Force (STF) to examine the scam in 2012. The Congress-led opposition expressed concern over neutrality of the STF and demanded a CBI probe, but the government declined to fulfill this demand. The opposition also demanded the Chief Minister for his resignation on ethical grounds in relation of alleged involvement of his ministers and relatives but the Chief Minister had termed it as “mudslinging” by the opposition due to the defeat in Lok Sabha election 2014. On November 5, 2014, Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected Digvijay Singh's petition for CBI probe and instead ordered setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) to act as a supervisory body for the court. The SIT is a 3-member team chaired by Justice Chandresh Bhushan, a retired Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. With the growing pressure Chief Minister of MP has asked for a CBI probe into the case, but the High Court has cancelled the request as it is not under its jurisdiction. The congress is demanding the Supreme Court to set up another SIT which will govern the CBI in the case. It is obvious that the parrot is still in the cage and thus mere CBI probe will be of no good to the people.

CM of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan

With all the politics going around justice for the aspirants and family of those killed is still awaited. Heating up the political arena and increasing the TRP will not help.

Justice where are you?

The case is serious, still, Happy Reading!

रेत पर देखा निशान !!

                             लेखक: आशुतोष अस्थाना 

आस्था और धर्म के संगम में जीवन को जीते देखा
देवताओं के देवत्व को और साधुओं की साधना को देखा
अमृत की वर्षा को देखा गंगा की पवित्रता को देखा
आँखों में पुण्य की लालसा लिए श्रद्धालुओं का सैलाब देखा
और देखा मैंने उस मीलों दूर फैली रेत को
हर तरफ थी वो
कुछ अनकही सी बात थी उसमें
छुपाए अपने अंदर करोड़ों निशान
वह कदम जो गुजरे थे उस पर से
वो निशान जो बसाया उसने अपने सीने में
कहने को तो वो है सिर्फ पानी उसकी महत्वता तो इन्हीं
कदमों से झलकती है
उसकी पवित्रता की निशानी इन्हीं से तो बनती है गंगा की
कहानी।।
कदमों के हर निशान को यह रेत अपने में समा लेती है
कोई फर्क नहीं है न ही कोई ऊँच-नीच है इन निशानों में
सिखाते हैं यह निशान हमको जातीयता तो है इंसानों में
कौन राजा है कौन रंक
रक्षक कौन है और कौन है भक्षक
कौन देव है और कौन मनुष्य
समान है यह निशान
कहीं दूर से आते आपस में वो मिल जाते मंजिल तो एक ही है उनकी
जो कभी नहीं मिलते आपस में यह निशान उन्हीं की एकता
की है पहचान
वह निशान नही है मराठी गुजराती पंजाबी और सिंधी
एकजुट होकर जीवन को जीना सिखाते है।
मुख होते नहीं उनके फिर भी वो बोलते हैं
यथार्थ का परिचय करा कर भावनाओं का रस घोलते है।
माँ गंगा से मिलने को बेचैन किसी नागा के उत्साह को
दर्शाते
किसी पेश्वाई के गुजर जाने का एहसास जताते
तो श्रद्धालुओं की भीड़ में कभी-कभी खो जाते।
कभी ये खाकी वर्दी की मदद भी कर जाते 
तो कभी किसी भटके को रास्ता दिखाते
तो घिसटते हुए किसी बूढ़ी भिखारिन की फटी बिवाईयों के खून को
सूरज की लालिमा के भांति अपने में हैं बसाते
कुछ नन्हे निशान उस पकड़ा-पकड़ी के खेल सेें बन जातें
तो वो गहरे निशान किसी के अन्त पे रोते इंसान की पीड़ा बताते।।
लोग आते गंगा में डुबकी लगाते और चले जाते
यह निशान लेकिन सदा उनका परिचय कराते।

इस कुछ दिन के शहर में उनकी याद हेशा दिलाते।

Nothing Intended: Shruti_Seth, a Daughter not fit for 'The Selfie'

                                           By: Ashutosh Asthana

Scrolling down the news feed of Facebook, I saw a proverbial face of television industry after a long time. It was difficult to recollect the name of that girl. I casually started scrolling further when again another photo of that girl came up. I remember she was a supporting actress in the film ‘Fanaa’ and anchored a famous comedy show, “comedy circus”. I was curious to know why was she on facebook, oh yes! She was Shruti Seth. I read her news and then understood the whole matter.

For all those who are still unaware about the so called ‘kaand’ in which Shruti Seth has indulge into, I would like to tell that the ‘shararat’ famed actress has done a shararat on social media by criticizing on Modi’s campaign, ‘#SelfiewithDaughter which he announced in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ recently. For her criticism she is now facing a real hard time, as the whole social media community has stood against her. For the past few days she is battling a barrage of staunch criticism on Twitter, where she openly criticized PM’s selfie campaign.

With more analysis than actually needed on this matter, I reached to the following point that unnecessary limelight is being given to this issue. Our Pradhanmantri launched the campaign while expressing the Indians his ‘Mann ki Baat’ so if we go by the constitution of India every Indian has the freedom of expressing his or her ‘Mann ki Baat’ just like the Prime Minister, so why such hue and cry on this statement of Shruti Seth who only meant that bigger issues related to women should be resolved than clicking a selfie!

Poor Shruti who was just trying to be a ‘messiah’ for Indian women didn’t expected that she would have to face such hate tweets on twitter but was this a gimmick to capture the much needed limelight for this television actress. I mean when did we last saw Shruti Seth in the shoes of lead actress in a movie or serial although after this incident it seems that she has learnt good ‘rajneeti’ with her previous experiences. Calling the PM selfie obsessed and writing a note to the people of India, all these things doesn't put in place for an actress like her who is rarely seen recently. In the recent past Shruti was nowhere to be seen but now the whole social media is packed with Shruti Seth’s tweets. At least people like me, who even forgot the name of this actress will now remember her for the next few months. In many ways it is not Shruti’s fault, it is we the social media users who make topics trending in the media.

Well I didn’t feel anything wrong in Shruti Seth’s statements, but the intentions behind commenting on the campaign, I seal my mouth on that! I leave up to you all, you know it better.

Happy Reading!     

पिंजरा

                                                     लेखक : आशुतोष अस्थाना

मेट्रो की भीड़ में घुटन होरही थी।  आँखों में  नींद थी, शरीर थका हुआ था।  लग रहा था कहीं  से एक बिस्तर और तकिया मिल जाए, बस रात भर के जागरण को तुरंत विराम दे दूंगा। मेट्रो में लगे स्टेशन चार्ट की ओर देखा, अभी तो आधे घंटे का रास्ता बाकी था (आप ने इसी से अंदाज़ा लगा लिया होगा की मैं भारतीय हूँ! वो क्या है की हम भारतीय रास्ते की दूरी  किलोमीटर से नहीं समय से नापते हैं!) बगल में अख़बार पढ़ते एक सज्जन बैठे थे, और सामने कम उम्र की लड़की जो अपने स्मार्ट फ़ोन में कुछ देख कर मुस्कुरा रही थी।  नींद का आलम कुछ ऐसा था की बाकियों का चेहरा ठीक से याद नहीं है।

सुबह के 9 बज रहे थे और मैं अपनी रात की शिफ्ट कर के घर जारहा था।  अबतक तो आप समझ गए होंगे की ऊपर दिया हुआ वर्णन मेरी ही स्थिति का है। खैर किसी तरह अपने आप को जगाने के प्रयास में चारो ओर नज़र घुमाई तो देखा की मेरी सीट से कुछ दूर एक लड़की बैठी थी। आकर्षण का केंद्र उस लड़की का चेहरा नहीं था, बल्कि उसकी शार्ट स्कर्ट थी जो सिर्फ मेरा ही नहीं कोच में बैठे अधिकतर लोगों का ध्यान अपनी और आकर्षित कर रही थी। हम उम्र लड़कियां उसे जलन से देख रही थीं, बड़ी महिलाएं आश्चर्य से और पुरषों की बात क्या करें! लड़के तो बीच-बीच में दर्शन कर ही लेरहे थे लेकिन मेरे बगल में बैठे श्रीमान जो अखबार पढ़ रहे थे वो कनखियों से उस लड़की को निहार लेरहे थे। नज़रें घुमाने के बाद मैंने स्टेशन देखने के लिए खिड़की की ओर  देखा। कीर्ति नगर स्टेशन पर गाडी रुकी, यात्रियों के एक बड़े  हुजूम ने गाड़ी में प्रवेश किया और कई लोग गाड़ी से उतर गए।

ट्रेन चलने के बाद जब मैंने उस लड़की की ओर फिर से देखा तो वो जा चुकी थी। उसकी जगह पे एक सात या आठ साल की लड़की बैठी थी।  उस लड़की के बगल में कम उम्र के एक सज्जन बैठे थे जो उसके पिता ही लग रहे थे और सामने की सीट पर उसकी माँ बैठी हुई थीं। कोमल सा चेहरा, चंचल स्वभाव, प्यारी सी मुस्कान, वो छोटी लड़की बहुत प्यारी थी! उसने गुलाबी रंग की एक फ्रॉक पहनी थी जिसके  निचले हिस्से से वो बार-बार अपनी नाक साफ़ कर रही थी। वो अपने पिता के साथ बातें कर रही थी और उनकी गोद में सर रख के लेट जारही थी। सामने बैठी उसकी माँ उसे घूरती तो वो फिर से सीधे बैठ जाती। जब ऊबने लगती तो फिर से अपनी फ्रॉक उठा कर अपनी नाक साफ करती।  जब उसने दो या तीन बार ऐसा किया तब उसकी माँ ने उसे एक रुमाल देदिया। फिर भी उस बच्ची को फ्रॉक से नाक साफ करने में शायद मज़ा आरहा था। उसकी माँ फिर से उसे आँखे दिखाती और फ्रॉक नीचे करने के लिए बोलती, माँ को गुस्सा करता देख वो लड़की थोड़ा डर गई और अपनी फ्रॉक को अपने दोनों हाथों से नीचे अपने घुटने तक करने लगी।

मैं अपनी सीट पर बैठा बस उस लड़की को देख रहा था, अब जैसे ही वो अपने पिता के गोद में दुबारा लेट रही थी तो अपने दोनों हाथों से अपनी फ्रॉक नीचे कर रही थी।  मुझे वो देख कर कुछ अजीब लगा। उस छोटी सी बच्ची ने ऐसा क्यों किया, मेरा मतलब है की क्या उसके फ्रॉक उठाने पर उसकी माँ का डाटना समझ आरहा था? क्या उसे ये समझ आया होगा की उसकी माँ उसे क्यों बार -बार फ्रॉक नीचे करने के लिए बोल रही थी? उसके लिए तो वो खेल था, मेट्रो के उस उबाऊ रस्ते को काटने का! तो क्यों उसकी माँ ने मना किया? मुझे ऐसा लगा की उस एक पल में उस माँ ने उस छोटी बच्ची को 'लड़की' होने के मायने बता दिए शायद वो पहली सीढ़ी थी जहाँ उस लड़की की खुशियों को दबाया गया। आगे ना जाने कितने ऐसे मौके आएंगे जब उस लड़की को त्याग करना पड़ेगा। समाज की बनाई रीतियों में उस माँ ने उस छोटी सी बच्ची को जकड़ दिया। मैं यूँही बैठा सोच रहा था की अचानक बगल वाले आदमी ने जो अखबार पकड़ा था उसमें मैंने पढ़ा, की 5 साल की एक बच्ची के साथ हैवानियत की गई है!
सारे प्रश्न चिन्ह् दूर होगये, सारी उलझनें खत्म होगईं!

तभी एक भूकंप उठा! मानस में! कुछ देर पहले की घटना याद आई! वो लड़की याद आई, उसकी पोशाक याद आई! लोगों की नज़रें याद आईं! उस बच्ची की ओर देखा जो अपने पिता से बातें कर रही थी। कैसा सुख का अनुभव हुआ होगा उसकी माँ को की उसने अपनी बेटी को आज इस समाज में रहने का पहला पाठ पढ़ाया। उस लड़की की स्वतंत्रता छीन ली! लेकिन हम ही तो हैं उसकी स्वतंत्रता छीनने वाले! उसका बचपन छीनने वाले! अब उस लड़की की माँ उसे ये नहीं बताएगी की  क्या पहनो, वो अब उसे बताएगी की क्या ना पहनो, वो उसे ये नहीं बताएगी की कहाँ जाओ, लेकिन वो उसे बताएगी की कहाँ मत जाओ।
मन व्याकुल था, 3 स्टेशन और थे, जल्द से जल्द घर पहुँचना चाहता था।

एक मासूम परिंदे से आसमान का कुछ हिस्सा छीन लिया गया है। जिससे गिद्ध उसपे मंडरा सकें। कुछ समय में थोड़ा और हिस्सा छीन लिया जायेगा! थोड़ा और, कुछ और! अंत में उन मासूम परिंदो को एक पिंजरे में बंद कर दिया जायेगा। सिर्फ उन गिद्धों से बचाने  के लिए। और जो परिंदा पिंजरे तोड़ के खुले आसमान की ओर उड़ना चाहेगा, उन्हें साथी परिंदे गिरी हुई नज़रों से चौंक कर देखेंगे, और वो गिद्ध,…  वो उसे खा जाएंगे! जो परिंदे बच जायेंगे उनके पर काट दिए जायेंगे जिससे वो फिर ऐसी गुस्ताखी ना करें!
दुःख है की उन गिद्धों की प्रजाति का मैं भी हूँ!

स्टेशन आगया  था। मैं उतर गया। आज़ाद परिंदे को जाते हुए देखा, और अपने घर की ओर चल दिया…
वो भूकंप था, अभी भी है, आगे भी रहेगा.......  

(गिद्ध बनो, ज़रूर बनो, लेकिन अपनी उड़ान से, नीचता से नही....)

Why do we Indians have a soft corner for Salman?

                                         By: Ashutosh Asthana

Once upon a time in bollywood a new hero was born. He was just like any other male protagonist who was trying hard in his initial days to come in the limelight, to gain success and to become a great actor. He was not very tall like the angry young man, nor did he acquire great dancing skills like Shammi Kapoor and Mithun Chakrvarti. He didn’t possess great acting talent like Rajesh Khanna or the actors of that time. He only had an attitude to always portray himself as ‘larger than life’ character. He is Salman Khan.

From being a hero to being a brand Salman Khan has always shown his unique charisma and style, which he puts by his side while dealing with the public or with the media. During the later 90’s and early 2000’s Salman has always shown himself to be the angry young man of bollywood in real life. Getting into frequent fights and discussions with fellow actors and directors he has always shown his wild side in the media. For the same reason he became the pioneer of ‘body show’ on the screen and started the ‘six pack abs’ revolution in India. He has always maintained his presence in the media and among public for the negative character of his which he displayed for the public. He was among those actors who were never judged for his primary work, i.e. acting but only for the deeds he has done in his life.

One such incident which shook Salman was the 2002 hit and run case in which his SUV rammed into a bakery and killed a homeless sleeping at the side of it. Since then, the angry young man and the hot headed Salman disappeared in the time. The sudden display of emotions, charity and acting in films like Garv and Baghbaan, Salman tried to improve his PR among the people. After a decade of that accident, a new Salman was seen. Helping the deprived, dancing at every second award functions and becoming the host of TV shows. His presence in such scenario complimented in increasing the TRP of channels and his own PR.

The display of such affection during the past one decade made every youth on India to love this actor cum performer with their every nerve. Salman khan soon became Sallu Bhai, and every young girl, boy, elderly people began to think that a great philanthropist actor has been bestowed to this country. He became the prince charming of every young girl and a role model for every teenage boy. We began to get attached to his jokes on 'Bigg Boss', we liked the towel dance, 'Dhinka Chika' became the song of every individual. In such a light we ignored the 2002 incident in which Mr. Khan was drunk and unintentionally murdered a person.

May 6, was a big day for Salman as the session court in Mumbai sentenced him 5 years of jail in the above case. Since the decision has been announced there is unrest and dissatisfaction among the supporters of Khan. People are raising the issue that he has always helped the needy and he should not be convicted. I would not deny the fact that Salman has always showed his good image among the people, he has helped the poor, and what not, but we cannot ignore the fact that the actor has killed a person unintentionally and therefore he should be punished for that. There is no harm in loving an actor but blindly following a person is wrong. How can we put the justice of that person at stake who lost his life in that accident. I also love Salman Khan flicks and in many cases I like the actor too, but with soft corner and ignoring the wrong deeds of any person, will not make us a true admirers.

Counter-Culture Movement: Reviving In India?

                                              By: Ashutosh Asthana

In one of his dialogue from the film ‘Oh My God’ Akshay Kumar told Paresh Rawal, “if you will try to take away the religion of people, then they will make you their religion!” Portraying the religious practices and culture of various religions in a contradicting form in the movie, ‘Oh My God’ encountered with a lot of censure primarily from the ‘so-called’ guardians of the religions. 

Paresh Rawal said in a dialogue that, a Hindu devotee instead of offering milk to God, he should feed a poor who is starving for food for days, a Muslim disciple instead of offering a ‘chadar’ in a mosque should give it to a peasant and similarly a Christian should lighten the house of a needy instead of lighting a candle in a church.

 In spite of facing bitter criticism, being dragged in the court of law and subjugating the creativity of the makers, the film did well and received a huge support from the liberal class who were mostly the urban youth. ‘Hash tags’ and Facebook pages related to supporting ‘OMG’ were made. A similar change in the social structure was seen recently with the release of the much awaited movie of Aamir Khan, ‘Pk’.

This film, just like ‘OMG’, questioned the predispositions which the orthodox society of our country possesses. A satire on the traditions of different religions, ‘Pk’ presented the audience something very serious in a rather non-serious way. From considering the idols of Hindu Gods as a mere ‘battery operated machine’ to making the priests of different religions as ‘managers’, ‘Pk’ in some way shattered the old traditions of people. 

Yet again, the result was the same, protest from religious institutions like Hindu Mahasabha, Bajrang Dal, outrage of people on road, accusing the film as ‘anti-religious’, criticism from religious activists like Baba Ramdev and Swaroopanand Saraswati and the claim for banning the movie from being showed in India. 

The constant production of such films in recent times and relentless protest against them raises a question of worthiness that, ‘is it the revival of counter-culture movement in India?’

Counter-culture movement started mainly after the Second World War during 1960s in United States, when the people of west began to question the customs, the traditions that were made in the society in the past. The movement later came to be known as the hippie culture and the ‘hipsters’ or ‘hippies’ (the followers of hippie culture) began to protest against the traditions.

 From demanding LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights to raising voice against the Vietnam War, from promoting drugs culture to encouraging ‘live-in relationships’, the counter-culture movement gave a severe blow to the ethnicities. Backing up the slogan, ‘If it feels good then do it’, the hippies brought a sexual revolution in the society and sexual concepts of various types accompanied with drugs and rock music were adopted by them as their new religion and customs.

The hippies reached India during the 70s by crossing Europe, Afghanistan and then India. They also crossed the India-Nepal Border and reached Nepal where they lived for some time. After being ignored in most of the parts of our country, hippies took refuge in Goa where they got continuous supply of their needs, be it weed, music or sexual freedom. 

Slowly and steadily the counter-culture movement spread in whole country. Hindi films of 70s and early 80s effectively showed the presence of hippie culture in our country with films like ‘Hare rama hare krishna’   which was released in 1971. Producer-Director of the film Dev Anand pitched the screenplay commendably without supporting the hippie culture but portraying it as it actually was. The impact of such films influenced the youth of the country deeply and the result was that the youth began to question the customs of Indian society.

 Marriage was no more the ultimate goal for lovers, being together while satisfying the physical needs became important. The concept of divorce became prominent in the Indian Society. Till the early 1970s divorce rate in India was 3.6 divorces per one thousand couples per year but later in the 70s divorce rate increased. The invention of birth control pills brought a new revolution and flared the growth of counter-culture movement. Sexual purity was no longer an issue for women. Women openly began to smoke and drink, partying and discoing became new trend for women. Later with time, the counter-culture movement reduced its significance and diluted in the society with ‘liberalisation’ and ‘westernisation’ taking its place.

 

With the advent of 21^st century, the perceptions in the minds of people related to society began to change. From ‘live-in relationships’, the society moved to ‘one-night stands’ and at the present juncture it has moved to ‘friends with benefits’ or ‘no strings attached’ relationships. The Indian society too is facing this change in recent times. These concepts of relationships, though related with relationship theories of the west, are now projecting in our society too. Earlier, during the time of counter-culture movement in India, people only questioned the customs, the rituals and the tradition related to religion or society but now they are questioning the religion and the society as a whole. It seems that the second phase of counter-culture movement is spreading its roots in Indian society.

The growth of campaigns challenging the religion and traditions like the ‘Kiss of Love’, ‘Love Jihad’ and legalising gay marriages and considering transgender as third gender in the society are steps which seems to be adding in the revival of this movement. The ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign which was against the moral policies of the traditional values became the breaking news of every news channel. 

 

All these campaigns and legal steps have divided the society into two different sections of thoughts. One is the orthodox group mostly consisting of the ‘flag bearers of religion’ the religious activists and social groups who protest such activities by citing reference of the thousand year old culture of the country, while the other is the liberal group who have mixture of both the feeling of westernisation and nationalism, who, by their taste, preferences and beliefs want to be western but they do not want to leave their ‘desi’ values in some respect. This section of the society is the most confused section because it does not know, which side to follow eventually. They are disguised in a hippie outlook with rebellious attitude towards every religious practice but ultimately they are bound by that same religion.

It is difficult to say which section out of the two is correct but with the growing ‘relippie’ (religion+hippie) section or the confused class, it is clear that the counter-culture movement is again being introduced in our country, this time in a transformed fashion. There is more to, let’s see, what happens next.