Book Review

I am just an ORDINARY MAN

G S Subbo

I am not a great bibliophile but I was very keen to read the book of G S Subbo after I came to know of its publication from Face book. This was because I know Subbo, both of us having worked in the same organisation and more importantly I was familiar with his writings through his blog which I found highly enjoyable. So with great expectation I ordered a copy of the book. I took about two days to finish reading the book as I am a bit slow reader. I must admit that I have enjoyed reading the book, every line of it from beginning to end.

I am just an ORDINARY MAN is indeed a fascinating book, a book written in an autobiographical style but it is something more than an autobiography. The author has narrated some events of his life some real and some imaginary and uses the same to portray the inner feelings of an ordinary man, his joy and sorrow, pain and relief, hate and love, doubts and believes, fears and fantasies.  I believe that the narrator of Subbo’s book represents every ordinary man or the mankind as a whole and Subbo has talked about every possible feelings and emotions that one can experience in life by beautifully narrating some real events of his life and some imaginary ones. I am sure the reader will identify himself with the author as he starts reading the book.

The author has shown great command over his language in the book. He has dealt with the most complex philosophical subjects like God, death, meaning of life in an easy to understand manner. The book exudes the author’s erudition. However his writings are free from verbose and complex jargon and will therefore be appealing to all and even a not so serious reader like me will highly relish reading the book. Some of the passages like the one on the author’s father and his death is indeed very touching. The passages on God and the author’s letters to God have brought out the questions that are haunting the mankind through the ages about God and His machinations. The issues raised by the author in his letters to God reminds me of what Swami Vivekananda wrote in his paper on Hinduism and I quote the great Swamiji Quote Is man a tiny boat in a tempest, raised one moment on the foamy crest of a billow and dashed down into a yawning chasm the next, rolling to and fro at the mercy of good and bad actions- a powerless, helpless wreck in an ever-ragging, ever rushing , uncompromising currents of cause and effect- a little moth placed under the wheel of causation, which rolls on crushing everything in its way and waits not for the widow’s tears or the orphan’s cry? Unquote.

The epilogue of the book and the imaginary letter of the grandfather are indeed heart-warming. The book’s cover showing the photograph of its author has been most appropriate. The fonts of the letters in the book are of proper size and will not cause any strain on the eye.This may be first published book of the author but it unmistakably bears the stamp of an established writer.  I strongly recommend the book I am just an ORDINARY MAN by not so ordinary G S Subbo to my all friends.               

Euthanasia, Passive Murder or Abetting Suicide

Euthanasia has of late become a subject of intense debate in our country. It has come as a windfall to the T.V. channels which post election were finding difficult to sustain the interest of the viewers in the rather dull political scenario. All the channels now are competing with each other to arrange panel discussions on the subject of euthanasia. Lawyers, scholars, politicians, social activists, religious heads, the honourable judges of the Supreme Court, Central Government, all have joined in the debate. Editorials and articles are appearing in the newspapers. Obviously like any other matters, there are people both for and against euthanasia but it can not be denied that the elite of the country has taken upon itself the onerous duty of deciding the legality or otherwise of euthanasia.

Euthanasia as per Oxford dictionary means painless killing of a person who has an incurable disease or who is in an irreversible coma. It has been argued by the supporters of euthanasia that it if legalised will help the people to die with dignity. It however baffles me how a person  killed may be through a painless process at the instance of his relatives and supported by the doctors and may be vetted by a competent court can be considered as having a dignified death. If absence of pain leading to death means dying with dignity, we may as well decide to kill a person who is in sleep with a lethal injection and say that he has died with dignity because he has not felt the pain of dying. As far as physical pain is concerned, I believe that deaths from hanging, or from electric chairs or from any other methods of execution in today's civilised world involves minimal pain as entire thing happens within fraction of minutes if not seconds. Surely those people were not having dignified deaths. If however the guiding factor for euthanasia is to be the physical condition of the person whose life is to be terminated, there can be two type of cases, one where the person is having an incurable disease but is mentally alive and in another case where the person is in deep coma or in a state of vegetation. In the later case if the life supporting system is withdrawn, it will have no physical or mental impact on the person concerned and the question of dying with or without dignity will not arise. In the former case where the person is mentally alive, one shudders to think what trauma he will undergo when he will find that his relatives and doctors have decided to withdraw his life supporting devices or in other words kill him. In both the cases the relatives will however be spared from spending their time and money on their incurable relatives. A thin distinction has been  sought to be created between what is known as active euthanasia where doctors take a conscious decision to terminate the life of an incurable patient and passive euthanasia where doctors agree to withdraw the life supporting system to a patient. However the end objective of both the cases is termination of life.

It will be argued that in case of men and women with incurable disease but mentally alive their consent will be taken before invoking euthanasia. But is it possible for a person in an excruciating condition on account of a serious disease to be in a proper state of mind to express his or her true desire? Even if a person on his  own volition asks  doctors and  relatives not to prolong his life, it has to be kept in mind that he  is doing so as he feels that his sufferings will not be over unless he dies. When one commits suicide he does so not because he loves to embrace death but he wants to escape from the agony, suffering or utter humiliation he might have been through. If deaths from suicides are not dignified death, how can deaths from so called mercy killing, another name of euthanasia be termed as dignified deaths? If incurable disease be the criterion for invoking euthanasia, what about those who are born with incurable disease or deformity which makes their living throughout their life dependent on others. Will euthanasia  be applicable on those hapless kids and why not as they will not be able to lead any life of dignity always living on the mercy of others. Further what is an incurable disease itself can be subject of debate, what is incurable may  be curable tomorrow but by that time a man's life will be terminated through euthanasia. It will be like sending a person to gallows without a comprehensive fair trial. Michael Schumacher's coming back from a prolonged state of comatose has proved that medical science can do wonders today. Aruna Shanbaug's case has shown that even a person in a state of vegetation for three decades can be loved very intensely by people around her.

The protagonists of euthanasia talk about dying with dignity, but what about living with dignity. Today a vast number of people in our country are not in a position to live with dignity. Against this backdrop any talk about dying with dignity appears to be a cruel joke. The words like living with dignity and dying with dignity are meaningless to a large number of people in our country who do not have two meals a day, have no shelter to live, have no clothes to wear.  Euthanasia will however ensure eliminating those who are burden on the society and can no longer contribute anything to their families and society. Children will be able to get rid of their ageing parents, parents will not  have to bear the burden of their permanently deformed children, one's longevity can be directly linked to his contribution to country's GDP, respect for the elders and sympathy for the hapless will be things of the past, the volume of dictionary will be reduced as the words like gratitude, grateful and similar meaning words will be out of circulation, the true demonic nature of man will be exposed all thanks to euthanasia and it's protagonists. No wonder  human tribe has been described as the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth. It is indeed shocking that man in today's civilised world with all its material power and spiritual knowledge can consciously think of terminating somebody's life to bring an end to his pains and suffering. The idea to me is revolting.

Before I conclude I like to mention a poignant story that appeared sometime back in the Kolkata dailies of a very old couple respected and admired by the neighbours. The husband and wife were in intense love with each other and could not think of separation even by death. The husband was in advanced stage of cancer and was to die shortly as per the opinion of the doctors. He however was in great agony thinking always what would happen to his dear wife once he dies. So he finally decided to kill his loving wife so that she does not have to bear the pangs of separation from him . After killing his wife he called the police got himself arrested and died after staying in police custody for some time. Is it a case of euthanasia and if not why it is not?

God and We

God is a source of infinite mystery to mankind. The questions that is haunting man through the ages is whether God exists or not. The vast majority of people believe that God exists but there are   also many people who do not believe in God. There are atheists who say that there is no God. Many people who call themselves rationalists say that as the existence of God can not be proved scientifically, they do not believe in God. However they overlook the fact non existence of God has also not been proved scientifically.

Then there are agnostics who believe that it is not possible to know whether God exists or not. Even among the theists i.e who believe in God, the perception of God varies from person to person. Although God is the main focus of all the major religions of the world, perception of God varies from religion to religion and their followers. Many believe that there is only one God, while some believe in multiple Gods. Before the advent of Christianity the Greeks and Romans used to have number of Gods. While some major religions like Christianity and Islam believe in only one God, Hinduism allows its followers to believe both in one God and multiple Gods. Among the Hindus there are monotheists who believe in only one God while many other Hindus and their number is very large who believe in number of Gods. Even among the monotheists the perception of God varies. While some are of the view that God has created this universe and He is not a part of the universe, many monotheists feel that God is no different from His creations and He is very much part of the universe. Opinions differ on whether God has a form or He is formless and if He is not formless whether He has the image of a human being and if so whether He is male or female. Ancient Greeks and Romans had and many Hindus have both male and female Gods.

The mysteries surrounding God do not end here. The functioning of God is  an area which probably creates the maximum confusion. All the believers tend to agree that God is all powerful and merciful. If it is so why there are sorrows and miseries on the earth, why one man is happy while the other man is unhappy, why one man is born rich and enjoys all the pleasures of life while many suffer the pains of poverty throughout their lives in the kingdom of an all powerful and merciful God? The concept of fruits of our karmas or actions being sweet and bitter depending on our good and bad actions though prima-facie appears to be logical can not hold good in the final analysis as why an all powerful and all merciful God will allow any person at all to do anything bad and faces it's consequences. Are we going to believe that God has given us free will to attempt to do whatever we like and face the consequences and He is a mere onlooker  who after fixing the rules of the game enjoys our both success and failures, our happiness and sorrows, our ecstasies and anguishes and occasionally favouring those who worship Him day and night. Is this universe a big chess board for God and all of us are mere pawns in His hand?

If we are to believe those monotheists who say that there is no duality in the universe and everything in the universe is the reflection of God, the Absolute one, the situation becomes even more complex. In such a case all of us are parts of Him and our actions are His only or in other words we have no free will and since our every action is engineered by Him only we can not be held responsible for our karmas good or bad. Whatever our saints and sages, our religious gurus of the past or present might have said or are saying, the functioning of God defies all logic. However the believers who have abiding faith in God will say that God can not be reached through logic and can be experienced through faith and complete surrender to Him. But then the rationalists and the agnostics may counter them by saying that the so called experience of God by the believers is nothing but some sort of hallucination. The believers will say that God can not be seen by the naked eyes but can be seen through our inner eyes, He is beyond senses and therefore can be realised and felt deep in our heart. The materialists will say that the so called realisation of God in our hearts is of no meaning if it does not help the hungry getting food, orphans getting home, weak and poor getting protection. The common man's predicament is best expressed by none other than Swami Vivekananda in the following words Quote Is man a  tiny boat in the tempest, raised one moment on the foamy crest of a billow and dashed down into a yawning chasm the next, rolling to and fro at the mercy of good and bad actions- a powerless, helpless wreck in an ever - ragging, ever rushing, uncompromising current of cause and effect- a little moth placed under the wheel of causation, which rolls on crushing everything in its way and waits not for the widow's tears or the orphan's cry?Unquote.

So the debate about God, His existence, His image, His way of functioning goes on and will go on endlessly. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa had once said that if there is anything in this world that has not been defiled by human tongue it is the word Brahmn (God) because nobody so far has been able to  describe God properly. And probably nobody will ever be able to do so but still search for God continues as it is probably the most fascinating subject and will remain so for the eternity. It is the quest for God that has given to mankind the great religions, the great scriptures, the great intellectual writings and discourses, has given birth to many great souls who have helped in shaping human civilisation. So the quest for God will go on, it is a fascinating journey where journey is more important than reaching the ultimate destination. Man may never know conclusively whether God exists or not but there is no denying that search for God has been and will be the greatest rewarding experience of mankind.

General Election 2014, a Performance Review of the leaders

2014 General Election in our country is round the corner. The first phase of the election is less than a month away. Expectedly the political scene is warming up with the contestants plunging headlong into the election battle.

The political as well as the atmospheric heat is going to intensify in the coming days and by the time the election process begins in mid April the deadly combination of political and atmospheric heat can be unbearable for the contestants. But our political aspirants are brave hearts and are prepared to go to any length, to undertake any hardship to succeed in their mission to serve us, the people of this country. They say that their hearts bleed for the people of this great country especially the poor, the downtrodden and the minorities and therefore theirs bull’s eyes are the Parliament from where they can serve the suffering humanities.  Some cynics and their numbers are quite large who however feel that the lure of power and the endless perks and privileges that come with it and the opportunity to amass wealth are the driving force behind the mission of our leaders. But then our leaders are too thick skinned and mentally too strong to be affected either by the scorching heat of the impending summer or the uncharitable remarks of the cynics. They do not care about the reports that keep coming occasionally that their assets have doubled or trebled within five years of their getting elected to the positions of power. 

While election campaign has already started in full swing, with all too familiar endless speeches by the contestants and rallies organised by different political parties, rhetoric and barbs, posters and graffiti on the walls, expert analysis and debates on the press and electronic media, we find some new interesting features in this General Election like campaigning through social net working sites and most interestingly the sharp rise in the number of Prime Ministerial aspirants. While the number of candidates keeps on increasing every year, this year being no exception, there had not been any occasion in the past where there had been so large number of claimants for the post of Prime Minister.  On a very conservative estimate there are at least eight claimants for this high position this year.  A large number of regional leaders have expressed their aspirations for this position. These satraps are the supremos in their respective regional parties and are using their leverage to clamour for more powers for the states in the name of federalism.  Each of these regional leaders wants to have at least a decisive say in formation of the next Government at the centre if not the position of Prime Minister for himself or herself.

All political parties including the two big national parties it appears have come to the conclusion that there is no alternative to coalition Government at the centre. This is in spite of not so happy experience of the working of the coalition Governments of the past. The pulls and pushes of the various coalition partners had hampered smooth functioning of the Government and prevented formulating many policies and programmes. The word policy paralysis has come to be associated with this type of coalition Government.  While the two big parties are desperately trying to get as many allies as possible, the various smaller and regional parties are weighing the pros and cons before deciding which side to align with. Some parties are keeping their option open till the election results are out.      

Ours is a democratic country where we should be having a Government for the people, of the people, by the people as they say. Democracy means a form of Government in which the people can vote for their representatives to govern the state on their behalf. Election on the basis of adult franchise is therefore the most important ingredient of democracy. However in a democracy people’s participation in governing is limited to exercising their franchise and electing their representatives for the various levels of the Government. People have actually no say in the actual running of the Government which is left to the elected representatives. It is therefore of utmost importance that the right type of people are elected as our representatives. It is unfortunate that people with dubious background and no proven record of competence not only contest but also get elected and occupy high positions of power. No political party has shown any inclination to amend the electoral laws to prevent the entry of people with criminal background into the electoral fray. Notwithstanding the efforts of Election Commission and the Supreme Court to cleanse the election system, not much has been achieved in this direction mainly because of unwillingness of all the political parties to cleanse the system.

Notwithstanding many imperfections our democracy has survived unlike many of our neighbouring countries, people are showing more and more enthusiasm to exercise their franchise, people from different walks of life are coming forward to enter the electoral battle and most importantly the politicians have started realising albeit slowly that the voters can no longer be fooled by tall promises only. The people now expect performance from our rulers, results and not mere promises. The General Election 2014 should be an occasion for performance review of our politicians and political parties.

Holi, Festival of colours

Today we are celebrating Holi, the festival of colours. It is also called Dol Purnima. Holi like Deepavali or Diwali is a national festival of the country and is celebrated throughout the country. While Diwali is festival of light, Holi is festival of colours. Light and colours are the two most important ingredients of human happiness for which man has been yearning through the ages.

On this day of Holi, people from all walks of life enjoy sprinkling colours on others with gay abandon forgetting all the barriers of age, status, gender, caste, language. No other festival probably creates such care free atmosphere and generates enthusiasm as Holi does.  People on this day virtually throw to the winds their daily schedules and indulge in riots of colours almost unmindful of any other thing. Holi symbolises man's yearning for joy and happiness, his desire to  break all the barriers and restrictions imposed by the society, to  love and embrace all, both friends and foe, rich and poor, the weak and the strong, the humble and the mighty. Holi brings out the true nature of man which is to  love all, share joy and happiness with others. As spring the season in which the festival is held is the season of love so also Holi is a festival of love, unlimited and unbound.

On this day of Holi let us hope that this sharing of joy and happiness with others will not be restricted to this day only, let us hope the festival of Holi will help us to realise the futility of various artificial divisions of class and castes created by the society which has dug chasms between man and man,let us hope that this festival of love and joy will remove the vanity from our mind, melt the ego in our heart, will make us realised that all of us are same our outward differences notwithstanding.

Death and Religion

Death and Religion

The only certainty in this uncertain world is death. If there is something inevitable in our life or for that matter in anybody’s life it is death. Each one of us has to die sooner or later, some day or other. But in spite of its inevitability and should I say also because of its inevitability death scares us. The fear of death increases with our age not necessarily because we feel that we are getting closer to death but also because of the fact that the realisation of gravity of death and its consequences starts dawning on us as we move from the youth to the middle age. Normally it is from the middle age that we start seeing death from close quarter when we start loosing our old relatives and loved ones.

Apart from the inevitability there are many other factors of death which scare us, the uncertainty of the time of its visit being one such major factor. It is ironical that though death is a certainty in the life, a person never knows when it will strike him. Death is also often associated with the experience of extreme physical pain though there have many instances when a person dies without feeling any pain like a person dying in deep sleep. The thought of possible death of our loved ones, our near and dear ones especially as they approach old age constantly worries us as we never want them to depart from us.

Various religious beliefs strangely enough heighten our fear of death. Most of the religions do not accept that death is the end of everything of the dead person. It is the most common belief that after death, the dead goes to heaven or hell depending upon his good and bad works in his mortal life. This concept though may act as a deterrent form doing consciously any sinful act also is a cause of constant worry to us as we are never sure whether we are doing the right type of good work which will qualify us for a place in the heaven after the end of our life on earth. Many religions believe in rebirth after death and this instead of giving any mental relief to us only adds to our worry as we are never sure what type of life we will be able to enjoy in our next birth. Here again the weight of our good or bad work will determine the type of life to which we will be entitled in our next birth. The very idea of re-experiencing in another life after death all the trials and tribulations that we are undergoing in the present life not only makes us uncomfortable but indeed makes us scared. Further there is even no guarantee that that our next birth will be in the form of a human being, it can be in the form of some animals or even some other lower species in case the volume of our bad works so justifies as the law of death and the concept of reward and punishment for good and bad works are supposed to apply uniformly to all living beings on this earth.

Hinduism believes in the concept of each of us having within our body a soul which is indestructible and therefore remains untouched even when a person dies. The soul which is supposed to be a part of the infinite power that pervades the universe moves from one body to another after the end of each life cycle till it gets merged with the infinite. This is called the stage of Moksha when one becomes free from rebirths again and again. It is believed that one can attain salvation in one birth while others may have to undergo hundreds of births with all the pains and sufferings of each birth before he can achieve Moksha.  This is no doubt a profound idea which is probably based on the concept that every object of the universe is a part of the infinite soul.

It appears that while science does not attempt to venture beyond death religions always give great importance to what is likely to happen after death to instil a fear of reward and punishment after death in our mind so that we do not deviate from the path of righteousness, to make us realised that the path of righteousness will lead us to heaven or better life in the next birth and ultimately to Moksha when one gets submerged in the infinite and enjoys eternal bliss and peace. Thus it appears that it is necessary to have the fear of death in us as it helps us to remain in the right path of truth and justice. A person without any fear of death and what happens after death may not hesitate to do whatever he feels like for his material benefit, his temporal gains even at the cost of others and the society in which he lives. This however does not apply to the great enlightened ones who in their life have realised the presence of the infinite  and therefore are free from all fears including the fear of death.                

             

Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhash Chandra
Muscles of iron and Nerves of steel

The month of January is an important month in the calendar of modern India. It is not only the month when our country became democratic Republic 64 years ago, it is also the month which has birthdays of two great sons of mother India, Swami Vivekananda born on 12th January 1863 and Netaji Subhash Chandra born on 23rd January 1897.

I have always a great fascination for these two greats as apart from both being truly great in the every sense of the term they have between them striking similarities. They were born within a span of 34 years in British India. Both of them lived a short life. While Vivekananda could not complete even 40 years of mortal life, Netaji Subhash was barely 48 years old when he died if the air crash theory is accepted. Vivekananda was born at a time when the Brahminical rituals had overshadowed the pristine glory of Hinduism, the Christian missionaries were getting foothold in the country and the elite of the society was getting exposed to western education and culture. Subhash was born at a time when the countrymen had started feeling the pangs of colonial subjugation and the breeze of nascent nationalism was blowing across the country.

Both are perennial source of inspiration to millions and millions of Indians cutting across the barriers of states, language, religion, caste, creed and communities. Both were stubborn fighters of the highest order, Vivekananda a warrior monk who fought for the glory of India’s religion and culture while Netaji Subhash was a relentless fighter for India’s freedom from the British rule. Both were born with rare talents.

 Narendranath whom the world knows as Swami Vivekananda was endowed with great physical prowess and brilliant intellect. His brilliant intellect helped him to embrace with equal zest not only the religious texts of Hinduism, the Vedas, Vedanta, Puranas and the Indian epics but also the Western languages and their philosophy, the scriptures of all the major religions, as well as all the modern secular subjects. Subhash had a brilliant academic carrier securing a first class in the university honours examination and then getting selected in the ICS, the most prized job for the then Indian aristocracy.

Unconquerable will and indomitable courage were the hallmarks of both these great personalities. Vivekananda was not deterred by the abject poverty which had befallen him after the sudden death of his father and did not give up his spiritual quest. He could muster courage to travel through the length and breadth of the country on foot as a Paribrajak without a penny in his hand to have a feel of India and her great diversity. He showed extraordinary courage to go to America and address the august assemblies there to proclaim the glory and the greatness of Hinduism and Indian culture. The courage which Subhash showed in his great escape form his house arrest at Calcutta to Germany to wage a war against British to free India may not have any parallel even in the most sensational fictions. His voyage from Germany to Japan in submarine at the height of the Second World War is a saga of unbelievable courage. Both are the true Indian icons of courage, determination and will power with muscles of iron and nerves of steel.

Both Vivekananda and Subhash were patriots of the highest order. Vivekananda’ speeches and writings which are quite voluminous are testimony to his great love for India and its people, the poor, the downtrodden, the low casts, the outcasts. Subhash sacrificed his whole life for his country. Instead of choosing a cosy life which he could have after getting selected in the ICS, he plunged headlong into the freedom struggle of the country.

Both were endowed with great organising skill. Vivekananda set up the Ramakrishna Math and Mission an organisation of monks with its branches now spread through out the country and abroad to serve humanity as embodiment of God. The way Subhash rejuvenated and galvanised the Indian National Army, the Azad Hind Fauj into a fighting army to fight the British army is an abundant proof of the extra ordinary organising talent that he possessed.

Vivekananda a devout Hindu and the great reveller of oriental culture and religion before western audience was also a great believer of equality of all religions and was always against religious fanaticism and bigotry. Subhash who himself was greatly influenced by the writings of Vivekananda  always believed in religious harmony and his Azad Hind Fauj was an ideal mix of people of all religions and genders.

The lives of these two great men are burning examples of the old maxim that we live in deeds and not in years.     

Aam Aadmi

Aam Aadmi is the most popular word in the vocabulary of all the politicians of our country irrespective of political affiliation. Every politician worth his or her name swears in the name of Aam Aadmi day in and day out. The election manifestoes of all parties always remain full of promises for Aam Aadmi. Every politician and our so called leaders are always eager to portray themselves as true friends of Aam Aadmi. The word Aam Aadmi has assumed so much importance in Indian context that a political party has since been formed in the name of Aam Aadmi which has already caught the imagination of many people and has got remarkable success in its election debut.

But who is this Aam Aadmi for whom our leaders are so worried, so concerned and for whose benefit all acts of the Government, all its programmes and policies are supposedly meant for? How he can be identified, what are his characteristics? Does he belong to the poorest of poor, or he represents the lower middle class, the small and marginal farmers, small traders and petty shopkeepers, the low ranked babus in the govt. offices and private concerns or does he represent all of them? Are the big farmers, the top corporates, the rich industrialists, the high ranking bureaucrats and technocrats, the intelligentsia are not part of the Aam Aadmi ? What about the politicians themselves? Who can claim to be a not an Aam Aadmi? Answer to these questions appears to be as difficult as to searching and finding ones own self. Anandabazar Patrika a leading Bengali daily in its lead editorial of 3rd. January 2014 has described Aam Aadmi as one who does not have access to the corridors of power. According to the above criterion an Aam Aadmi is probably one who can not get his things done without greasing the palms of the authorities, without taking the help of touts and middlemen, whether it is obtention of Passports or Driving license, BPL card or Ration card, Aadhaar card or Voter Identity card, can not admit his  kids into schools and colleges without paying donation unless of course the kids are exceptionally brilliant , who has to always live beyond his means because of his income not keeping pace with the rising prices of goods and services. Shall we say that Aam Aadmi is the one who finds it difficult to have his rights and privileges to which he is entitled?  R.K. Laxman’s common man is probably the most authentic portrayal of Aam Aadmi, one who sees and understands what is happening around but can not do anything beyond that.   

Who is not an Aam Aadmi? Answer to this question is not that difficult to find. All the VVIPs, Ministers and Netas moving with security escorts in cars with red beacons, who are not required to stand in queues anywhere, who are not required to undergo security checks in the airports (within the country), the celebrities, the multimillionaire industrialists, the super rich actors and sport stars can not be called Aam Aadmi.  The mafias and dons of course can not also be called Aam Aadmi.  If Aam Aadmi is one who does not have access to the corridors of powers, a Khaas Aadmi is one who is close to the powers that be. A rich man does not necessarily have easy access to power, but his money can definitely help him to be close to the corridors of power if he wants so. As there are exceptions everywhere there are people who by virtue of their competence can have access to the corridors of power but consciously keep a distance and prefer to live the life of Aam Aadmi.  The concept of Aam Aadmi changes from situation to situation. A person trying to get his work done by greasing the palms of an official in a govt office is an Aam Aadmi while the official concerned receiving the bribe is also an Aam Aadmi in a different situation.

It can not be denied that it is the Aam Aadmis who form the cadre of all the political parties and throng rallies to hear their political masters. Aam Aadmi is the most effective tool in the hand of politicians to make their presence felt. But ironically these political masters will never allow the Aam Aadmis to come close to them by crossing the VIP cordons around them. This is not peculiar to India but true almost everywhere through the ages. True Democracy demands empowerment of the masses, the common man, the Aam Aadmi. Democracy envisages a welfare state and the acid test of a welfare state is its ability to bring an inclusive growth by ensuring not only growth but distributing the fruits of growth among all the people of a country in a fair and equitable manner. It is therefore in the fairness of things that the common man, the Aam Aadmi is not to be made a mere mute spectator to what is happening around him but should be allowed to make his voice heard by the planners and policy makers at various levels. This is however easier said than done in a country of India’s size with its multiplicity of language, religion, caste, creed, community and every possibility of conflict of interests among the people within the Aam Aadmi category. Decentralisation of power is a welcome step to make the Aam Aadmi empowered. It can not be denied that it is the contributions of Aam Aadmi that make a country great. The common man, the Aam Aadmi has always been in the forefront of all struggles, of all revolutions, of all upheavals.   A true leader is one who does not use the vast masses of Aam Aadmi as tools for agitation and protest but who can galvanise them into a gigantic work force for their own progress and development and make their motherland a strong and developed nation