Sun over Water & Energy Potential

First of all, let me make myself very clear. Anytime I start talking about energy, electricity, power etc. I am doing it in an absolute and firm context of my well researched, well considered and therefore a deep and entrenched opposition to nuclear - energy, weapons - you name it.

A pilot program in Gujarat, from last year, had completely escaped my attention. The project was to generate 1 MW of electrical energy by covering 1 km Narmada canal with solar panel; additional benefits include saving on canal water evaporation, and eliminating need for additional land and avoiding displacement. Even though this idea has emerge from the Modi state, I still like it.  And, the idea appears to have been picked up by Karnataka -BJP Gujarat's sister-state .Karnataka has 1 lakh kilometers of irrigation canals and with 1 MW per kilometer potential, you work out the math.

The idea has been particularly endorsed by the Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah for replication in the Damodar valley, especially since, as he says, the cost of solar energy generation has dropped to Rs.7/unit from Rs.18/unit.

Now, with a good idea like this, can we get rid of all big, bad ideas that are expensive, dangerous to life, hazardous to health, polluting of environment, irrational, and unnecessary, like nuclear, thermal, large dams etc etc.

Gujarat Grief, Gujarat Guilt : Ten Years Old on 28/2/2012

The original blog contained poems reproduced from 'After Gujarat and other Poems' by Seeme Qasim - without permission. Seeme's poems authenticated my imaginations of Gujurat violence; they pained  my waking days and scattered nightmares into my dreamless nights.
With apologies to Seeme, I have now deleted her words.

Whatever caused this...
















also deliberately caused this...




           






















































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Lest we forget....


...we are all born 
from ashes 
of the same stars 
that celebrate our nights, 
and are children 
of the same Sun 
that warms our days... 
We are all the same 
and also the One - 
the Universe 
and also its illusion
We are all One.                           ---- Arati Chokshi
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** all images are taken from a google search for 'gujarat riots'

Seditious on Wheels

It was around 9am in the morning. I was in a second class compartment on Jaipur express, headed back towards home i.e. Bangalore. The train hurtled at a heady speed with loud clangs over rhythmic roar; kaleidoscopic greens and browns rushed past the open windows. It was monsoon time. And, I was full of excitement and hidden laughter at what I was about to do.

Gowru and I were returning from a national meet of People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), held in Jaipur. Recently PUCL had launched a nationwide campaign of collecting a million signatures from across the country to support of its petition of repealing the Sedition Law to be presented in the winter session of the Parliament. Gowru and I had decided to inform, educate and seek support for this signature campaign on this train.  We had some empty sheets of paper, a long lined notebook, a couple of pamphlets with additional information,a few copies of the petition itself, a few pens etc. We intended to be seditious - that is, proclaim disaffection towards a law of this land, which criminalizes verbal or vocal expression of disaffection towards the State. Our stand was simple - we were free and would not allow ourselves to be subjugated by a defunct old relic of the British Raj - the law of Sedition, IPC 124(a).

The results first - we had an incredible success! Over the next day and a half, we collected more than a thousand signatures - from a variety of people, rich, poor, young, old, men, women, educated to those with absolutely no skills in reading or writings, from migratory labor to IT professionals. We roamed the entire length of the train and got signatures from ticket collectors (TTs), staff of the pantry car, security officials. With each and every adult on this train we sat down, made eye contact, smiled, spoke in great earnestness and sincerity on issues of freedom, right to expression, issues of democracy and its challenges, and the ideals of a truly free society. We spoke up against fears, collective good, the struggle and satisfaction of a righteous act. We touched on subjects of development, and its sacrifices - and those who bear the burden of this development. We spoke and people listened, interacted, expressed, communicated - showed anger, laughed, pondered and invariably signed. Many wanted to support the campaign on internet (http://repealseditionlaw.in/), some others also wanted to become PUCL members or start their own new PUCL chapters.

The exercise had turned out to be far more than just an act of collecting signatures. It was a lesson for me in the high value of human relations, and in the power of expressing rational free thought. We were uniformly received with courtesy, openness and warmth. Many thanked us well for our efforts, some even insisted on feeding us. I learnt that I would never again write off the people of this nation as less intelligent, apathetic, subservient, self-serving or lacking imagination. I glimpsed the enormous possibility for change and saw first hand the scope of hope. In open engagement with hundreds of people, I found myself lacking to not have known them better before - to have not bothered to really know Us.

Firaaq

I finally saw Firaaq, full of forebodings and fears, reluctance and resistance, unwilling to face the post-Godhra genocide in Gujarat, even fictionalised and on a small TV screen, sitting in the living room with my family in Bangalore, far removed in distance and in time from the horrifying events whose scattered pieces still cross my days, and inhabit my nightmares of soiled nights. I saw Firaaq with the dread of guilt, a combined guilt that people of India still have to acknowledge, accept - necessary to absolve ourselves, by first seeking forgiveness. And facing Nandita Das' Firaaq allows one to do that - feel the palpable fears of lives accidentally entangled in the violence that the state unleashed - accidental by the chance of birth - as muslims, in a hindutva enraged India. I felt fears' chill creep down, almost unbearable, in each set of anecdotes collaged - anticipating dreadful violence, horrific events that I would force myself to see, but that do not happen, in a taut, terrifying and tormented script - and through this all, a tiny child running along in long empty streets, big limpid eyes, searching for a parent.

To get even close to, in a most insubstantial, intangible, and non-damaging way, an idea of what we unleashed on our fellow muslim brothers and sisters of Gujarat - and then seek forgiveness, repent and rebuild all that we have lost, we need to first go and see Firaaq.

Last Weekend...

People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and Alternate Law Forum (ALF), Bangalore, co-hosted a very special event.

Harsh Mander's 'Fear and Forgiveness' was released in Bangalore on 5 Sept., Saturday. The event had a number of speakers, besides the author, reporting on the chilling and insidious incursions that hindutva type organizations are making into Karnataka, especially in the coastal belt. Recent times have seen a rapid rise in communalism arising from the divisive politics of hatred that these groups practice to fracture and breakup secular communities. To many, it seemed that the communal climate that is evolving here, terrifyingly mirrors the situation in Gujarat, pre-2002 genocide.

There are many things I carried away from the event. First, the book - now I am no longer looking for an excuse to not read it.

Secondly, the still ringing dire warning by Harsh Mander, that maybe, situations like Gujarat will not repeat, but only because the climate of fear that the BJP state aided Sanghas are carrying out have succeeded in the minority communities accepting a second class citizenry status subsuming their constitutional rights guaranteed within the democratic framework of this nation.

Third, the many stories of hope that Harsh Mander was able to share with us - go buy yourself the book! One thing that struck me is his deep conviction, which I am not able to have faith in, that for every tragedy there were three stories to afford hope, lighten the dark, restore faith...what I could identify with was his experience that the ones who stretched out a helping hand were least often from the upper class (that has replaced our old upper caste tier), often people of the majority faith who found no conflict in their own religious beliefs and the ability to live with the faith of others - these were not acts of bravery but acts of standing up for who they were, even in crisis.

Lastly, was the concept of Nyayagraha, or, inviting justice. Harsh Mander explained it this way - Gandhi's Satyagraha invited truth by breaking immoral laws or constitutional wrongs. Following a code of ethics and non-violence the Satyagrahis forced the justice system to re-examine the righteousness of certain act or law. Within the current scenario of a fair constitution and a viable legal system, the issue at hand is, for the citizens to force the government's machinery to follow the letter of the law, while maintaining a highest ethical code of conduct themselves. The idea is beautiful, its effectiveness really viable, but if, and only if, we all, in the largest numbers, join this battle, take responsibility of our non-functioning, unfair, corrupt, abusive, frequently autocratic, sometimes totalitarian nexus of our political, administrative, judicial service,served by our law enforcers, the security and police force, and enforce accountability, enforce their just and constitutional operation --and we really have no option but to do just this.

Fear and Forgiveness

Once again Abi's blog directed me towards what I would otherwise have missed - a book, Fear and Forgiveness, by Harsh Mander on the Gujarat 2002 carnage and its aftermath, which is excellently reviewed by Chandrahas Choudhury. An immediate reaction to reading this review is 'how many of those comfortable bigots will actually read this book?', how many of those 'wavering' reflect and independently take a stance?, how many of those already sorrowful, sympathetic towards the victims accept responsibilty of being members of this civil society and 'voice their views', anywhere, everywhere, speak out - because that is the least they can do?? When will we ever learn?? that we have far more to lose by keeping quiet.

I will read this book, but only on the reviewer's promise of those humane stories that makes its bleakness less black- not enough pin holes to lighten a night, but just enough to hold promise of an eventual day.