World Loses Its Only Hindu King

Nepal had already lost the distinction of being the only Hindu state of the world, when the country’s popularly elected parliament proclaimed it to be a secular state (i.e. a state without any official religion) by shedding off the status of a Hindu state (i.e. a state with Hinduism as the official religion). And on 28th May, 2008 it also lost the “remaining distinction” of being the world’s only Hindu kingdom, with a special assembly voting to abolish the 240 years old monarchy.

King Gyanendra, who till the other day was the world’s only Hindu king, has now turned into an ordinary citizen of Nepal. He and his family has been given 15 days of time to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, the abode of his ancestors for years, which the government plans to convert into a museum.

While it is certainly true that the Nepalese royal family was infamous for its lack of respect for democracy, at the same time nobody can deny this fact that the King (i.e. the Monarchy) had already become too weak to create any hindrance for the smooth flow of democracy in the country. Under such circumstances, it was meaningless to abolish the monarchy completely. Rather, it could have been very much retained – by keeping a strong control on the lavishness of the royal family members – as the Nepalese King was some sort of a national icon, something like the “National Emblem” of the country.

However, the Maoists were determined to completely dethrone the Monarch and abolish the monarchy. It is not that they considered the King to be a threat for the smooth functioning of democracy. Their only interest was to see their leader Prachanda as the first President of the country, a long cherished wish of Prachanda which he has never tried to hide. At last his dream has come true.

It may be nice that Nepal is now free from the clutches of its royals. But is it a better situation to be under the clutches of Communists, who themselves are not known to be very respectful of democratic norms? Only time can answer this.

Photo courtesy: www.abc.net.au

The Recent Spate Of Frequent Power Cuts Has Made Life Miserable In Noida

The recent spate of frequent power cuts has made life miserable in Noida, the high-flying satellite town located in the outskirts of New Delhi.

Despite being small in size, Noida enjoys a prominent position in the entire India for various reasons, like being the host of the offices of various reputable companies, both Indian and MNCs. In fact a particular area of Noida, viz. Sector 62, is well known in the entire National Capital Region (NCR) for the offices of various prominent IT companies located in that area. The town is also known for the presence of famous educational institutions, like V.V.Giri Labour Institute, Amity University (one of India’s top private universities) and the Asian Academy of Film & Televisions (one of the top film schools in the entire Asia).

Another key feature of Noida is its Software Technology Park (STP), one of the best STPs that the country boasts of.

Moreover, Noida is perceived as a great place to stay, with lots of people buying/constructing flats/houses here without opting for proper Delhi. It is a trend that has been boosted by a host of favorable factors, like a comparatively cleaner environment, tranquility, greenery, abundant water supply, etc.

However, the recent frequent power cuts experienced by the “Noidaites” are seriously hampering all the pleasures of staying in this beautiful town. It is of course not a charming experience to find the lights going off when one has just started his dinner, just ten minutes after coming back to home from office where he had a grueling day. It is equally frustrating to miss a favourite programme on TV in Sunday noon, or to have a bad sleep in the night with the fan unable to comfort you because of the lack of electricity.

I hope that the concerned authority is very much aware of the inconveniences that the Noidaites are facing, and will take all the suitable steps soon.

The Shocking Indifference Of Delhites

I was on my way to office, Espire Infolabs, in the Santro car of my beloved colleague Mr Amit Bharti. While Amit was busy in driving the car and also responding to the relentless calls at his mobile (he is the Administration Manager at our organization, and therefore a very important person), I decided to browse through the pages of “The Times of India” that I had bought in the morning. And in the very first page I came across this news that left me, well, shell-shocked.


Man dies bleeding on road but busy city doesn't care

NEW DELHI: A callous, heartless city. Yet another incident, this time at the Ashram Chowk in south Delhi, showed exactly why the capital has earned this dubious tag. On Monday morning, a 52-year-old freelance journalist lay bleeding at the busy crossing for nearly an hour after his bike was hit by a speeding minitruck, without any sort of medical help coming his way.

The victim, Shams Tabrez, bled to death on the road.

Worse. Dr Anil Sharma, a neurosurgeon at AIIMS, who happened to be passing by and rushed to help the victim, was rebuked by other motorists for abandoning his vehicle on the middle of the road for the sake of a "dead man".


"When I tried to stop a few cars coming from the opposite side to take the victim to a hospital, they just refused saying they did not want their seat covers ruined. When I went back to him, the man had died. He could have lived if help reached him in time," Dr Sharma said. The doctor was going to AIIMS when he got stuck in a jam at Ashram. "I was told that the pile-up was due to an accident that had taken place 45 minutes ago. I got off from my car and rushed to the victim, who was lying in a pool of blood. Only two bikers had stopped by to help. They told me they had called up the police half an hour ago, but no one had turned up."




I have only one question. Are we, the proud Delhites, at all civilized? Or is it so that the fast pace of our life has robbed us of all our sensitivities and humanness? How could the people on the road let the man die in such a manner? How will they feel if such callousness is shown to any of their relatives or close ones under similar circumstances?

We are so smart in criticizing the apathy of the Indian politicians. We hold them responsible for everything – the slowdown in economy, the worsening law and order situation, and so on. Have we ever bothered to look at ourselves? Have we ever tried to identify the flaws in our characters, and rectify the same? How can we have the right to criticize our so-called leaders (some of whom are certainly intolerable), when we ourselves are burdened with so many flaws?

The unfortunate death of Shams Tabrez is certainly shocking for his relatives. But what they will find to be most shocking is the extreme callousness shown to him by his fellow Delhites at the time of distress. It is this show of insensitivity that will hugely aggravate the bereavement of Tabrez’s family. They will never forgive the callous onlookers who completely ignored the helpless man lying in a pool of blood, letting him to die a painful death. And make no mistake, the curse of Tabrez’s family will always loom on Delhi’s head.

Shame on you, Delhi! You do not worth being called a city. You are a hell!

Indians Most Prone To HIV/AIDS

A very bad news for all Indians. A recent study has found that we Indians are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS among all population groups of the world. The study, which was the biggest even gene mapping exercise of the Indian people, has discovered that a protective gene marker against HIV-1 is almost absent among the Indian people. This explains the high vulnerability that we are cursed with.

The study also shows that the south Indians are at a greater risk in comparison to their north Indian brothers.

It is now time for us to see whether the Indian government takes any step to address this situation. At least the government can arrange for some suggestions and advices by experts, about how we can take some precautionary measures.

One Of The Rarest Of Rare Phobias – The Fear Of Buttons

It was one of the weirdest news that I have come across in my entire life (and that is certainly not a small time, as I am already 30 something). The said news is about a British girl who is suffering from one of the strangest (and weirdest) phobias that are found in this world – the fear of buttons.

The news says that the girl, Gillian Linkins “can't even stand in the same room as friends and family, who wear them. The sight of buttons sends her into panic attacks. She realised her phobia at the age of seven, when she refused to put on her school blouse.”

The news also quotes the girl saying “I have always been fearful of buttons, especially when they are grouped together……… For me touching a button would be like touching a cockroach. It feels dirty, nasty and wrong. When I was younger my brother used to tease me by opening my mum's button tin. I hide in my bedroom until he put them away”.

No wonder that Gillian’s boyfriend Nate Dorrington always wears clothes with zips.

The phobia, named Koumpounophobia, reportedly affects one in 75,000 people.


The world is really such a queer place. So many strange and peculiar things are happening here, half of which are unknown to us.

However, the news is certainly not funny. It is definitely not a good news that a young girl has become a victim of such an odd phobia, which is seriously hampering her social life. Let us pray to God that she gets rid of this peculiar phobia soon, and starts enjoying a perfectly normal life.

Gillian, all our wishes are with you. You just need to be a bit mentally tough, and self-confident. You must overcome this baseless phobia, and we know that you will certainly be successful in doing so. Good Luck!

Is Nepal’s 240 Years Old Monarchy On The Verge Of Abolition?

This is probably the toughest time that the Nepal’s monarchy is facing in its 240 years of history. King Gyanendra has been told in clear terms by the Maoists – who have swept the recent general election in the country – to spontaneously leave the Narayanhiti Palace (the royal palace of Nepal) and espouse the life of a commoner, enabling the Maoists to go for a smooth abolition of the monarchy. The ultra-leftists have also threatened that in case the embattled King does not quit himself, then he will have to face a forceful eviction.

On the other hand, the King has reportedly refused to quit the palace – the abode of his ancestors – and go for an exile.


It is really an unpredictable political development, with both the sides being seemingly stubborn about their respective decisions. However, in all probability, the King will certainly have to bow down before the Maoists, in case the latter stick to their decision.

But I have a humble question. Is it at all necessary to abolish the monarchy and send Gyanandra for exile? After all, he will no more enjoy the power, influence and command that he and his ancestors used to have, with even the popularly elected governments being forced to pay huge importance to their views, ego, whims, etc. It is quite clear that now the popularly elected government (read the Maoists) will call the shots in every respect, with the King being just a powerless and mute spectator.

Therefore, under such circumstances, what is the use of going for the complete abolition of the monarchy? After all, the Nepal King has always been regarded as a national icon, regarded by various Nepalese citizens as a quintessential part of the Nepalese nationality and culture (like what the British monarchy is for the UK). I will like to humbly remind Mr Prachanda that now he and his followers have grabbed the power, they should now focus on core administrative and policy issues, instead of wasting their valuable time in trying to inflict the extreme humiliation on the King.

A Wall That Divides The Upper Caste and Lower Caste Indians, Literally

Other day I was watching NDTV, India’s premier English news channel and my most favourite one, when I came across this news that left me speechless.

The news was about a wall constructed in the Dare village in the Satara district of the western Indian state of Maharashtra. So what is so special about the wall? Well, it was constructed by the upper caste villagers to restrict the Dalits or lower caste villagers from accessing the community hall. The news showed how tremendously the village Dalits were upset with the matter, strongly demanding the removal of the wall.

We Indians try to gauge the country’s development by looking only at the metro cities (and sometimes at not-so-small-towns). But we hardly take interest in the dismal development rates in rural India, with several villages still deprived of basic facilities like electricity and drinking water. And what is worse is that many of these villages have not even had “social developments”, with age-old taboos, prejudices and biases still enjoying a deep-rooted existence. The government may need some time to achieve adequate physical and economical developments of the Indian villages. But how long does it need to achieve a concrete social development for the rural society, by getting the latter rid of all those nonsensical age-old practices?