In protest against the dark forces of corruption and food adulteration that are wrecking our lives, I shall urge all of you for your participation and support for a Nationwide Black Diwali march on Wed. 26th October morning 10am-12am. In Delhi, it will start from Central Secretariat Metro Station to India Gate.
A key trigger for this protest is to save our children from poisoned milk from the modern Putnas called Mother Dairy and other such around the country dishing out this cocktail of poisoned milk from this age's Putnas. Will today's Krishnas emerge to rip apart their poison yielding breasts? We shall also celebrate that day when it happens.
The Ra.One of corruption in the form of mega-scams such as 2G, CWG, reckless urbanisation, "stingy" poverty line and numerous others is still having a roaring laughter over its invincibility. It also appears in the form of "development" in the form of the "Green Revolution" which is destroying our food system.
Ravan in the disguise of Green Revolution
Noted social activist, eminent farmer and one of the leaders of Chipko Aandolan and presently founder-leader of Beej Bachao Aandolan, Vijay Jardhari writes in his book on Barahnaja - Prosperous Traditional Agricultural Science, in a chapter titled : The Relentless Battering on Farmers in India (as I translate from Hindi):
"Farmers are getting battered. They didn't give in for considerable time but are now succumbing to the relentless battering. It seems as if that's their fate. In today's scenario, the first assault is from the very democratically elected governments, which implement the "new" development policies in the name of helping the farmers. But the real beneficiaries are the multi-national companies such as Mons(ter)anto (italics added), corporate and traders. This is the hidden form of the assault.
Green Revolution in India too was a similar form of disguised assault on farmers. If they hit straight, farmers would have struck back but the assault of Green Revolution was wrapped in an alluring and titillating form. This heinous assault reminds us of Sita's harana (kidnap). In those times, seers,sages and monks were highly respected. People used to pray and yearn for their sermons and blessings. They were fountains of kindness, compassion and knowledge. Such was the trust on them amongst people.
So, when a saint appeared before Sita, when Ram and Lakshman were not around and she was alone in the cottage, during their exile in the forests, she came out of her cottage to offer her alms. It was only when the saint refused to take the alms from inside the protected line that Lakshman had drawn. That meant that anyone who tried to trespass the protected line called Lakshman Rekha would be reduced to ashes. It was out of sheer respect for saints that Sita stepped out of the Lakshman Rekha. Ravan who was disguising as the saint, to draw Sita out, appears in his real form and kidnaps her.
Just as Ravan, Green Revoultion appeared in the disguise of development, progress and prosperity. Which is snatching away the traditional seeds and the traditional knowledge of farming practices from us."
Ravan today appears in several forms. Another disguise is the allure and promise of luxury housing from monthly installments, energy guzzling devices, private cars, shopping malls and together a new kind of lifestyle.
Ravan in the disguise of Reckless Urbanisation and Food Adulteration
"Food adulteration in India seems to be getting deadlier by the day. First we had some unscrupulous dairy farmers in western Uttar Pradesh inventing synthetic milk - a deadly cocktail of urea, caustic soda and vegetable oil. Then we had reports of fruits, particularly mangoes, being ripened with calcium carbide and now, there are reports of fish being made to appear fresh with formalin."
This is just another form of corruption. According to dairy experts, healthy milk for human consumption will cost close to Rs. 100 per kg. As city limits keep gorging outwards, the cost of land, cost of fodder or the cost of transportation and losses when you have to bring this highly perishable commodity into the city from far is high and getting prohibitive. THIS IS A READY RECIPE FOR ADULTERATION OF A FOODSTUFF THAT WE FEED DAILY TO OUR CHILDREN. Vegetables grown on sewage along the drains and injected with chemicals to grow faster and painted to ripe faster or last longer are similarly loaded with toxic chemicals and posonous heavy metals.
As fuel price rocket further up, this is creating compounded problems of fuel adulteration and city pollution.
Once again, it is the Ravana of reckless and self-obsessed urbanisation in cohorts with greed and corruption, which is winning the battle.
Once again, it is the Ravana of reckless and self-obsessed urbanisation in cohorts with greed and corruption, which is winning the battle.
Diwali is the celebration of Ram's return to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravan. Today, as I share as a poster below, dark forces have kidnapped Sita, first by showing her the allure of luxury apartments thru' EMI stretching the city limits outwards, power-guzzling devices for ever larger numbers and shopping malls instead of the golden deer in the mythological story.
In the earlier times, seers,sages and monks were highly respected. People used to pray and yearn for their sermons and blessings. They were fountains of kindness, compassion and knowledge. Such was the trust on them amongst people. People have similar respect and admiration for "material progress" and "prosperity" today. That's what makes the Sita of today to cross the Lakshman Rekha of environment limits and pay the "price" to be a part of all the "material progress" and "prosperity".
In the presently unfolding story, the trap of progress and prosperity is so vicious that she may not even realise that she has been duped and captivated.
This Kartik Amavas on 26th October, it's Ra.One who is winning, in yet another disguise.
To share this story, raise awareness and as a mark of protest against the perpetrators and accomplices of these heinous crimes, I shall urge esteemed members for support and participation of a Black Diwali protest march on the 26th October, 10am-12am from Central Seretariat Metro Station to India Gate.
Ravan in the disguise of India's Planning Commission
In our action, we shall also be joining in and expressing our solidarity with Dr. Sandeep Pandey, social activist against this another corruption - the stingy and shameful definition of THE POVERTY LINE, which is in reality THE STARVATION LINE as the world knows it :
This year the festival of light Diwali will be plunged into darkness for Magasaysay awardee and social activist Sandeep Pandey. There will be no crackers, no illuminations and no festivities. Sandeep ji will be also on a five day fast from Diwali at his ashram in Lalpur of Hardoi district around 55 km from Lucknow.
"We are protesting against this ridiculous definition of poverty given by the planning commission which says that person doing expenditure of Rs 32 per day in urban areas as Rs 28 per day in rural area, will not be considered below poverty line."
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