THE JOURNEY OF A LEGEND Chp-02

8/2/2019 THE JOURNEY OF A LEGEND Chp-02

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Honble Minister of Soviet Union ReleasingShri Harbhajan Singhs book Soviet Cinema-its impact

Dedicated to theSecond Historic andMeaningful Visit ofGeneral Secretary

CPSU MikhailGorbachev to India In

November 1988.

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ChapterH arbhajan Singh...A n A ut hor A ll The W ay

ORN with a RICH PEN - a Gift of the Gab - it wasquite evident from Harbanjan Singhs early childhoodwhen he started contributing to house magazines right

from his School Days before graduating to College Timesthat he had a bright future.

Shri Harbhajan Singh, working on Gods creativePrinciple, started writing to make people aware to the dayto day subjects of National importance like that ofCommunal Harmony.

So getting into journalism was but natural - being theson of Sardar Durlab Singh - a veteran journalist, and theIndian Observer offered all that Harbanjan Singh needed - aready vehicle. What more he could ask for without having

B

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Started writ ingto make people

aware to the dayto day subjects

of Nationalimportance like

that of

CommunalHarmony.


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to go knocking like others for job from newspaper tonewspaper.

An acknowledged prolific writer on a wide variety ofsubjects contemporary socio-political affairs, trends incinema international affairs and travel and tourism-giftedwith a literary flair- besides he authored more than a scoreof books in addition to editing and publishing widelycirculated magazines.

Dedicated toResurgent

PEOPLE OF INDIAand to my esteemed,mentor and source ofinspiration my father

late SARDAR DURLABSINGHfreedom fighter and

revolutionaryjournalist-author

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In his capacity as the General Secretary of the AllIndia National Unity Conference he penned "The Nationon Trial" while leading the people's movement for the unityin the country that too at a time when the fundamentalistswere preaching for separatism. At a time when foreign

powers were exploiting the disgruntled and anti-socialelements in Punjab, Kashmir and Assam raising their uglyhead with demands for Khalistan, Azad Kashmir,Gorkhaland, Bodoland giving alarming red signals to thepeace loving countrymen.

The Book Nation On Trial running into three

hundred pages was released by Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharmathe then President of India. The National Challenge was

Dedicated toPromote National Unity

andNational Integration

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released by Shri Shivraj Patil, then Speaker Lok Sabha. AndShri Vasant Sathe was all praise for Harbhajan Singh while

releasing his book Tit led "Nation At Cross Roads".

All the books were distributed free of cost to anumber of Universities Colleges and Libraries to spreadthe right message to educate and inform the younggeneration and people in order to condemn and suppressthe nefarious designs of separatists throughout thecountry.

Indira Gandhi A Prime Minister Assassinated hepenned down in record time after Indira ji's unfortunateassassination by her own securitymen at her officialresidence at Safdarjung Road.

Union Minister Shri Vasant Sathe Releasing his Book - Indira GandhiA Prime Minister Assassinated. Also seen Justice A.N. Grover

Chairman Press Council of India

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Indira Gandhi APrime MinisterAssassinated hepenned down inrecord t ime after

Indira ji'sunfortunate

assassination.


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Because in his considered opinion public awarenesswas a must.

Killings of innocent people here and there in bombblasts and otherwise caused panic among common people,

the man in the street didn't feel safe, the country lost anumber of people who mattered and some politicalparties were busy dividing the country people in the nameof religion, language and caste to create their respectivevote-bank. The Mandir-Masjid issues aggravating theproblem still further with minorities not feeling safe. Hencethe urgent need to educate and inform the

people at the grassroots level about the gravity of thesituation.

Harbhajan SinghDedicated the Book to

One and the Only OneSmt. Indira Gandhiand the GreatSon of the Soil

Shri Rajiv Gandhiwho Lived and Died for the

Unity of the Country

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Harbhajan SinghDedicated the Bookto the memory of

Late Shri Rajiv Gandhion his

51st Birth Anniversary20th August, 1995

Being a great optimist he invited the views of many alearned scholar, intellectual, statesman with their expertcomments in short articles providing food for thought tothe countrymen on various burning problems facing thecountry and articles went a long way to serve the nation in

its revived search for regaining some of its lost glory onceagain that of Sone Ki Chiriya.

Through his various books Harbhajan Singh tried hisbest to offer a Blueprint for a Better India for people to livein harmony and with a feeling of amity and brotherhood -

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Live and Let Live - In his well written articles HarbhajanSingh raised many challenging issues - Poverty, wipingIlliteracy for Quality Education, Unemployment, Health,Population, Corruption and the like and strived forsolutions in real earnest.

He was for the political system to conduct itself insuch a manner as to inspire confidence and a sense of moralupliftment in the younger generation who wallowed inutter cynicism. The youth, he exhorted, must feel goodabout the country and must be made to appreciate that thisnation belonged to them and that opting out was no

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The book is here toPromote CommunalHarmony and Peace

Honble Sushil Kumar Shinde Releasing Mr. Harbhajan Singhs Book The National Agenda.Also seen Dr. Bhisham Narain Singh, Shri Vasant Sathe and Subarami Reddy


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option. That there was a big need to make the qualitativeimprovement in our education system in order to liberatethe young minds rather than bog them down with bookish

knowledge. Relevancy to the educational needs of boysand girls in the rural areas had to be so reoriented as tounleash the creative capacities of the masses. The thrustarea was the foremost being Excellence in Education. Freecompulsory education upto Higher Secondary Levelcapable of building character and teaching the joy of lovingothers. According to him it was time for us to redraw ourpriorities for we had the best brains. Priorities where thehuman being matters and the countrymen feel that theyhave a place under the Sun.

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Dedicated to the Memoryof

Late Shri Rajiv Gandhiwho

Lived and Died

forNATIONAL UNITY

ANDNATIONAL INTEGRATION


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From His Book

MY INDIAHis views on MY INDIA were much appreciated

...are being reproduced.

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In Democracy it's the people those who matter,because they decide the fate of the country at the ballotbox. Infact the real people those who vote, live in small

towns and villages. According to the survey 80% of thepopulation lives in such areas and they do vote and electtheir representatives, whereas in metropolitan citiespeople caste their votes in a low percentage. The biggestachievement of the country is power to the people, thosewho elect their representatives, power to the people to


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elect the party of their choice. Its not a small matter. Ibelieve, if the country is great, if the country is united, if thecountry is strong, if the country is developing, it is becauseof the people of this country and not because of the leadersof the country.

India is the country of 110 crores population, and ithas got various problems too, mainly the over populationof the country. Our country is bigger than the entireEurope i.e. U.K, Germany, Denmark, France etc. There isno control on population, where there is a need to educateand inform the people about the gravity of the situation.

What will be the shape of the country after 50 years?The population will be more than double, and we don'thave the resources and the means to provide food,accommodation, education, clothes, medical treatmentetc. a realistic approach to the problems is needed.

Indian civilization is the oldest civilization on thisplanet. Rich in its heritage and grand in its traditions, Indiahas outstood for the quality and variety of its founded

religions. Even in the twentieth century, its father of thenation, Mahatma Gandhi has served the trouble-tornworld as the undisputed champion on the Afro-Asianfreedom.

As the time marched on, India too experienced itsmoments of weakness and strength. Once it achieved itshard earned freedom in 1947, its belated endeavorstowards its delayed economic progress becameperceptible. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of anindustrial, modern and new-India set the ball rolling for anIndian journey towards a better tomorrow. Our last fiftyfour years since independence, although not a long period

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in the historic context, were certainly significant as a periodof nation-building activity, comprising the spheres ofhealth, family planning, transport, education and socialwelfare. However, much remains to be done.

India's diversity, in the matter of its religions,races, languages, dialects, customs and costumes, is afascinating subject and has served as a primary sourcefor the global interest in this great nation of overone thousand millions. Its unity in diversity, althoughdisturbed by the recent spurt of terrorism, is a rareanthropological phenomenon, which can't be dismissed

with a shoulder's shrug.

Notably, when India became free, we weremanufacturing very little and that too of no economicsignificance, but looking at the scenario today, we aremaking virtually everything, under the Sun like cars, trucks,aeroplanes, nuclear applications, guns, missiles and whatnot. Let's thank to those sons of this country, who have

made India one of the fast developing countries in theworld.

But, at the same time, we are facing problems onvarious fronts, facing various challenges for which manyreasons can be attributed.

The corruption stigma on India, is one of them. Weth

are the 7 ranking corrupt nation in the world. In the pastfew years, various scams and scandals have come to lightinvolving Ministers, Parliamentarians, bureaucrats. Forhow long can this be tolerated. Indian judiciary has playedan important role, took major decisions and fixed various

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ministers and bureaucrats. Many cases are still pending invarious courts.

The other setback, we got, is due to the politicalinstability, which gave shocking waves to the people, living

in the country and even of the guard at the top broughtinstability, because at the Centre, different parties cameand joined hands to form the Government, while everyParty was having a different ideology. The decision,however, had to be reached at. Those, that were made,remained weak in character and lacked in effectiveness andimplementation. The bureaucracy took the politicians for a

ride, which resulted in our economic setback, theinvestors, on the other hand, were not coming forward toinvest in an unstable country. Therefore, the homeinvestment showed downward trend and the foreigninvestments shied away.

It is important to mention here that during theCongress rule, when Dr. Manmohan Singh was the

Finance Minister, he had introduced various reformsresulting in an increased flow of foreign exchange fromabroad and many multi-national companies had set upestablishments in the country. That era was of comparativeprosperity and progress. Though the next Governmentof NDA followed the same reform, yet not being a singleparty Government, it could not complete the unfinishedtasks.

There are different opinion on the issue of the entryof multinationals in the country. Some hold the opinion thatit will be a disaster for the domestic industry, while otherssay that a competition will bring in a healthy atmosphere. It

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cannot be predicted as to what will be the future scenario,but there are mixed reactions from the common man andbusinessmen about the flow of multinationals in thecountry.

The biggest challenge that the country is facingtoday, is of national unity. It is not that the country is notunited, but some political parties are ruthlessly dividing thepeople in the name of religion, language and caste to createtheir respective vote bank. The regional demands forbifurcation of states are the illustrations in point. Mandirand Masjid issues are aggravating the problems. Minorities

are not feeling safe and secure today. There is an urgentneed to educate and inform the people at the grassrootlevel about the gravity of the situation. If the people do notremain united, country will never progress.

The remarkable role, which the Indian media,comprising the Print and Electronic Media, assume specialsignificance in this context. The mass awareness is need of

the hour, both in the matter of defeating the fissiparousforces of terrorism and the naked practice of corruption.This responsibility may be seriously undertaken byElectronic and Print Media.

The public awareness of the gross ill, infecting thenation is the need of the hour, and it must begin at the grassroot level. An offshoot of this problem is the dreadeddisease of terrorism. Practically every State is nowthreatened with this menace and every day reports appearin the dailies about the killing of innocent people here andthere in bomb blasts or otherwise. A state of panic exists inthe country and the commonman is not feeling safe. We

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have also lost a number of people who mattered, to theugly monster of terrorism.

Frankly speaking the threat of terrorism has its rootin our neighbouring nation, which is hell-bent to create

chaos in our country. The terrorists are being trained by it.The terrorists include the worst fanatics and meanmercenaries. They are all out to create confusion. Thisproblem can be solved only with the active participation ofthe people of this country, because the Government alonecan not provide security to each and every human being.

The unemployment in India is also one of thereasons for the ugly existence of terrorism in the country.The young unemployed men, in search of a quick buck, dolook here and there for the destructive jobs for money. Inspite of that, they are aware that they are heading for adisaster and they are taking the nation toward destruction.

The challenge of unemployment also needs to be

met at a war footing. It is rightly said that 'an idle mind isDevils Workshop'. The growth of employmentopportunities shall also go a long way in curbing terrorism.

If you just look around, one of the basic problems ofthe country is its growing population which is increasing byleaps and bounds, with the result that every town or city iscrowded. Not only that, every hospital, school and collegeis crowded too and millions of people are unemployed.There is an urgent need for strict legislation to control thepopulation, but no political party is ready to take theinitiative to give the slogan, One is Enough', because all thepolitical parties are afraid of losing their vote banks. We

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have the same area of land. Although we have increasedthe use of our resources to some extent, yet the explosionin our population has taken us no where. We must learn alesson from China and experts should study their methodsfor checking the population growth. Here, education is

also needed to inform the people about the gravity of thesituation and about the shape of things to be, with thepresent casualness about our population problem.

The education is an equally important factor to meetthe challenges, because only an educated man canunderstand as to where we are going wrong?' Because of

over population, we are unable to provide education andemployment to every one, but in spite of that, educationremains every one's right. Today, the education is a costlyproposition, the children, after having basic necessaryeducation, are unable to get admission in the schools andcolleges. If the nation is educated, the problems can besolved and challenges can be met at every stage, moreeffectively.

India is the largest democracy in the world and in ademocracy, the power to elect the government of theirchoice is in the hands of the people, because it is thepeople, who have to take the final decision, for choosingtheir leaders. This is the biggest achievement, the countryhas made in this direction and India is proud of it. We mustremember in this connection, the historic and timetestedtruth that the 'people deserve the Government they have'.The quality of the people and their Government is just thesame. Yatha Raja Tatha Praja. It is true both ways.Wherever there is a glaring gap between the quality of thetwo, the people always overthrow such Government. The

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arrival and collapse of Communism, in Europe, is a befittingillustration in front.

Because of the illiteracy, the democracy in thecounty is facing various bottlenecks. 85% of the

population, living at the grass root level, is illiterate and it isthe people, who cast their votes at the ballot box anddecide the fate of the country at the hustings. When theyare illiterate, they are unable to take the right decision.They are unable to gauge the performance of a candidateor the party. They simply vote on the factional basis ofcastism, religion or linguistic consideration.

Democracy is at the cross road today, because withthe emergence of various regional parties, Nobody isgetting a clear mandate, which was shown in 1996 and1998. The first coalition Government of various parties,could not run its show for too long and hence the UnitedFront Government collapsed after 18 months. In 1998elections, again there was no clear mandate. There is a

coalition Government at the Centre once again. It isconvenience government, consisting of politicalhotchpotch. As the present Government with its variousconstituents have their different ideologies and differentinterests, and only the common motive to rule.

In a poor country like India, we cannot afford to haveelections every year or two by spending Rs. 10,000 croreor more. There is a school of thought, which recommendsthat we must adopt some other system, but that too is verydifficult. Only a stable Government can take a decision onthe issues with proper thinking and debate. Not once, butat many times, this question was raised that we would have

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Presidential form of Government like France, where onlythe President is elected. That too needs a change in theConstitution, which needs guts, courage and stability.

We are passing through an era of coalition and

instability, which is hampering the country's interest atlarge. Many foreign investors are thinking twice, beforeinvesting in India. Money market is tight. There is certainslow-down in the flow of money, resulting in the shootingof prices.

There are Western countries or developed

countries, which have progressed at a fast pace. Thereason is very simple. They have a control on theirpopulation and above all they have a discipline. Discipline isthe key to success of any nation. In any country, which hasdiscipline, its progress is quick.

We have brains, we have infrastructure, we haveresources, we have manpower, but in spite of all this, our

progress is very slow. Our major thrust should be on virtueof discipline. If the people are disciplined, the country isdisciplined, and only then we can truly hope that India canrub shoulders with many advanced countries, in all thefields.

The progress which the country has made duringthe last 55 years has got no parallel. We are self-sufficient invarious spheres. We have made an impact in theinternational arena, multi-nationals and high businesshouses from all over the world are investing in India thatclearly shows that India is safe for investing and India is fastprogressing.


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The change and the betterment is very much visible,a large number of Indian cars of foreign brands made inIndia are running on Indian roads, Coca Cola, Pepsi andPizza culture has practically invaded the Indian market. Theyounger generations are enjoying the fruits of labour put by

the countrymen. Lots have been done, but a lot stillremains to be done.

Indian brains are creating waves in the workpractically in every sphere and if we provide opportunitiesto younger generations, who are dynamic and dashing,they can turn India once again to 'Sone ki Chiriya'.

There is a need of a will on the polit ical level. Thoughroad is difficult because of the various bottlenecks, but toachieve the goal is not impossible.

I have been abroad many a time and happened tomeet cross sections of the society and everyone has praisefor India and its achievements and its people and majority

of the people talk high about the country, but still there is aneed to project India in correct perspective, where ourMissions Embassies and High Commissions abroad havefailed miserably.

In this book, many learned scholars, intellectuals,statesmen and political stalwarts have contributed their

valuable thoughts on various subjects, which largelyconcern the people of our country.

I am grateful to them, because their short articlescertainly provide food for thought to our countrymen.Further more, these articles shall go a long way to

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serve the nation, in its revived search for regaining its lostglory.

I am a firm believer of the wisdom of the people ofthis country. They alone can build India strong, they alone

can provide stability to the country, they alone can bringradical change in the country. Frankly speaking, in a countrywhere there is a political mess, things can be set to orderonly by the people of the country only. I have full hope inthe people of this country, strong believer of religion andGod fearing, peace loving and united. They may be ofdifferent religions, speaking different languages, eating

different food, wearing different costumes but wheneverthe question of country comes before them, they are one,they are united. People of this country are the only hopefor the betterment of this great country.

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People of this

country are theonly hope for

the bettermentof this greatcountry.

THE JOURNEY OF A LEGEND Chp-02

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