Much ado about nothing, this Ayodhya issue

The judgment day is here. The afternoon of September 30, 2010, will probably go down in history of India as the moment when two religions clashed over a small property on a 2.77-acre plot in Ayodhya.

Guys, get this straight! It’s just a property issue now; something that’s referred to as a title suit.

For all you know, the case will drag on for more years to come – with generations  getting sucked into it – with the party losing the title appealing to the Supreme Court. That’s the judicial procedure.

But we need to open our eyes to this fact – that by losing or winning a legal case, the respective religions do not get enhanced. The spiritual enhancement will have nothing to do with a material structure over which the dispute began in the first place.

Over the centuries, this structure in Ayodhya had become the bone of contention only to prove a point about which religion will come out triumphant.

Basically, it is much ado about nothing.

Wherever you go in the world, where there is religion playing a dominant role, politics follows, and the border between the two becomes so faint that it allows the players to identify one as the other and justify it. We saw that happening Afghanistan where Taliban did that.

Such a threat can be mitigated only by mature thinking or reason. Just keep religion in its place, and get about your lives.

Because the happiness levels in your lives will not ultimately be decided on which party won the case on September 30, 2010, at 3.30pm, will it?

Education dented over religion?

Anxiety ruled among students and their parents with Supreme Court staying the Ayodhya verdict until September 28.

Now, it’s a game of now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t for many primary, mid-school and senior secondary students who are already tensed up over their ongoing examinations.

The holidays that were declared for Friday and Saturday now stand withdrawn after the Supreme Court stayed the Ayodhya verdict, forcing the state governments to withdraw the holiday notices and making the students sweat all over again in the absence of a confirmed communication from the helpless schools.

Why helpless? Because the ban on bulk SMSes continues despite all other things being withdrawn.

Great!

So how are the schools supposed to inform the students or their parents about whether there will be school or not on Friday and Saturday?

See? This is what happens over a long-forgotten structure that has become a symbol of victory or loss for the two religions in question who will unfortunately view the Ayodhya case as a credible indicator of that.

But in the bargain, what we call the future of our nation continues to suffer.

Hey, be a sport, will you!

Indian sports is shining, if nothing else. Is that true? If Mary Kom has shone with her boxing skills, we have the Indian tennis team coming from behind to win over  Brazil in the Davis Cup and enter the World Group. Of course, we had Sushil Kumar shining last week and Bopanna along with Qureshi coming to US Open Finals, though they lost.
What does this say?
Over the decades, experts have been saying that the performance of a country in sports is an indicator of the country’s overall performance; that the standard of living is improving and individuals are able to devote more time towards the sport they are interested in, and excel.
Have we reached that threshold? Or are we still the flash-in-the-pan type of fluke masters who revel in the rare victory here and there?
If you see the vast Indian population, then you will realise how little sports is paid attention to -- by the government, by the schools, by parents.
China has a bigger population than India, but the determined efforts in sprucing up a variety of sports in that country have yielded results that may take several more decades to bear fruit here in India to make a permanent mark in the international arena. Like in soccer, for instance; or hockey (which we once ruled the roost); or even cricket, of which we boast of having the best of players (individual records) but fail to consistently make a mark as a team.
Athletics is one stream which is a surefire indicator of how well a country is doing. There should be a steady supply of quality athletes who can out-perform others at the global stage.
We can get that steady supply only when proper nutrition is guaranteed at the school level. But only nutrition is not enough; the kids need space too, and of course the mindset of teachers and parents needs to change to encourage children towards sports. That is still stuck within a marks-oriented time warp that does not allow children to look out of the window and at the world.
That is lacking in India.
Let’s face it. There is a lot to do to ensure that children grow up to be fit and healthy to beat others at it.
We can’t have just sparklers here and there and then say “hey, we are great at this sport!”.
Probably, that’s the reason why Indian hockey went the way it is going...on the decline. It may win here and there in future, too, but it’s on the decline.
It’s time we pulled up our socks and took sparring position to achieve that future of excellence in sports. When will that happen? Or should we wait and whine even more?

The big day is coming

In exactly a week's time, a few learned people will decide the fate of our nation in the years to come. With due respects to them, we, the people, have then to demonstrate that we are worthy citizens of this country. Maturity levels need to be high; broadness of the mind needs to be there (or created); our visions needs to be widened. I wonder whether we are actually ready for such a big challenge.....By the way, the big day is September 24....