While it is OK to start with the worst assumption of a terror attack, I hope sanity prevails and we also consider the perspective that it is a (debatably) novel way of protesting by a set of smart but disgruntled youth and we give them what they deserve: a dialogue with the powers that be, a chance to understand why they are going through what they are going through, what is being done to get the economy to a stage where equitable growth becomes a key metric. If this can trigger a broader dialogue and solutioning for the youth, this would be a watershed moment for the country.

Highest level of leadership skills are required to be able to muster the courage and see this event in this way. Anything less, and it is very likely we will see a variation of “Rang De Basanti”, the iconic hindi movie where the characters get influenced by Bhagat Singh and decide to speak up against the corruption and injustice they see in the system which got their friend killed, and kept stepping up till all of them are killed because it was easier to kill them, and much harder to answer their questions or address their concerns (of course, it is a movie, so it had way more drama than this!).

Crisis shows the true leader, and I am waiting to see it – in executive, in judiciary, and in legislature.

How does the judiciary respond – does it go along merrily with the UAPA charge against them and let them languish in the jail, or do they hold the police accountable to a timely and swift resolution and get these youth back to where they belong – amongst the concerned citizens?

How do parliamentarians see it – an opportunity to corner the government of the day (or defend, depending on which side you are on), or a time to introspect and work together to solve the problems raised here through conversations and effective policy-making?

How does the executive see it – an inconvenient situation showing them in bad light, or a reminder of inefficient processes that need to be addressed with citizen’s participation and support?

However, the most important indicator is, how does the prime minister see it – an inconvenient truth that puts a blemish on a stellar image of the country and needs to be dealt with with iron hands? Or a moment to show highest form of leadership and endear himself to the youth of the nation – forgive them for their youthful indiscretion and inviting them to a have a dialogue about the problems they see and the challenges they don’t see; showing them that highest form of leadership is about courage, about showing care, about engagement, and not about clenched fists and cloaks of invincibility?

How the events unfold in this saga will tell a lot about the democracy we are, the leaders we have, and the India we build.

I hope we will look back to this moment and be able to say that a Gandhi-inspired protest on Dec 13, 2023 changed the course of the discourse in the country and created the great nation we are and we deserve to be.

Image credit: IMDB

    १
कौम को,
क्या हुआ,
क्यों हवा,
जल रही,

धर्म क्यों,
सर चढा,
हर बशर,
क्यों खुदा,

आंधियां,
वो चली,
जिन्दगी,
बुझ गयी,

सोचते,
हम रहे,
लाश बन,
के खडे,

कब तुम बदले थे?
कब हम बदले?
कब सब हुए खफ़ा?
       
      २
क्यों शाह बने हैं,
जो खून सने हैं,
क्यों वे शह पायें,
जो खून बहायें। 

कट्टरता ने तख्त संभाला,
धर्म को, जन्म को, अस्त्र बनाया,
जुर्म बढा, फ़िर भी हम चुप हैं,
बद कोई हो, पापी हम हैं। 

अब न्याय करे वो,
संहार करे..
कात्यायनी मां!

अब वार करे वो,
मातंगी, कालजयी!
अब आये, कालजयी,
देवी मां, कालजयी!


कालजयी!
कालजयी!
कालजयी!

इस सुबह में, बात ही कुछ और है। 

चहचहाहट, सरसराहट,

लालिमा की चमचमाहट,

कह रहे सब, गौर कर लो,

नव प्रभामय, यह नवेली भोर है।

क्या नया है, जानते हो?

स्याह धुल कर, श्वेत बन कर,

क्यों बढ़ा है, जानते हो?

विश्व-व्यापी संक्रमण को बाँधने,

मृत्यु के तांडव-तिमिर को साधने,

प्राण का संचार करने,

शत्रु का संहार करने,

हो चुका है, 

शक्ति का अब आगमन। 

देता सबको तन-मन का बल,

उसके हाथों का जीवन-जल,

वह जीवन-निर्झरिणी, उसने,

पिया संक्रमण का हालाहल। 

कौन है वो? 

पूछते हो, नाम क्या है?

आई, माँ, या अग्रजा,

‘सिस्टर’, या उपचारिका,

काम में दम, नाम में क्या?

धात्री है वो, आदि-शक्ति का मूर्त्त-रूप है,

इस संकट में, वो अमर्त्य, अमृत-स्वरुप है,

श्रद्धानत हो, वंदन कर लो, करो समर्पण,

मृत्यु-तिमिर छँटने को है, किलकेगा जीवन। 

सब ने कुछ-कुछ,

खोया चन्द महीनों में।  

कुछ ने खोई – 

सुख-सुविधायें,

पार्टी-वार्टी,

बाजे-गाजे,

शोर-शराबे,

दारू-बाजी,

सैर-सपाटॆ। 

कुछ ने खोई – 

भरी जिन्दगी,

जीवन संगी,

खिलता बचपन,

मां का आंचल,

सघन मित्रता,

इच्छा शक्ति। 

कुछ ने सब कुछ,

सब ने कुछ-कुछ,

देखा भी है। 

कुछ ने देखी – 

दवा फ़रेबी,

हवा फ़रेबी,

ओछी सत्ता,

जीर्ण व्यवस्था,

निर्मम शासन,

उथले भाषण,

धन-लोलुपता,

मृत नैतिकता।

कुछ ने कुछ अच्छा भी देखा – 

अपरिचितों की उदारता,

सहकर्मियों का सम्बल,

मित्रों की संवेदनशीलता,

अपनों का त्याग,

इच्छाशक्ति का विजयनाद,

सक्षम नेतृत्व का चमत्कार। 

अब सवाल ये हैं – 

आपने क्या खॊया?

आपने क्या देखा?

आपने क्या पाया?

आपने क्या सीखा?

कैसा देश चाहते हैं आप?

कैसे अपरिचित?

कैसे सहकर्मी?

कैसे मित्र?

कैसे अपने?

कैसा नेतृत्व?

कैसी सियासत?

कैसा नेता?

कैसी नैतिकता?

अगर ये सवाल,

बेचैन कर रहे हैं आपको,

तो आपकी नैतिकता अभी बाकी है,

और देश को बदलने के लिये,

बस इतना ही काफ़ी है।

It is out to prove its idiocy,

What vanity! What haughtiness!

Insensitivities rule, such pettiness,

Shallow deeds, pictures glossy,

“Humanity” is missing, without being missed.

Everyone is always ready to take offense,

Everyone is ultra sensitive,

A word uttered is a gauntlet thrown,

Every opinion bites – known or unknown,

No one dares to be inquisitive,

Nonsense is posing as the new sense.

Politics is now the religion of the land,

Leaders are the brand new Gods,

Un-questioned, all-powerful, beyond-reach,

The new sense is the sermon they preach,

Compliance is expected, debate is at odds,

Worship is worthy, criticism banned.

When intolerance becomes the dominant force,

When vanity suppresses individual freedom,

When blind faith is the new norm,

It is time for the soul to leave the form,

It is time to destroy the hollow kingdom,

Time to end the cycle, take it to the source.

Humanity deserves to die, for sure,

When politics becomes immoral, people should prevail,

But if people are complicit, there is a price to pay,

Let them kick and shout, take it all away,

There will be pain, let them wail,

Light beyond darkness! what an allure!

Here are some of the books that I used when I was a student almost 30 years ago, and I find that they are still the favorites!

Fundamentals of Physics, by Resnick, Halliday

A remarkable book, and if you have to choose only one book to study from, this is the one. When I studied (1990-91), it was a thin book, now it weighs more than 5Kgs!

Problems in General Physics, by I E Irodov

A great collection of really tough physics questions. You can also find solutions book for this, which can be a good companion book. When I was studying, this book was a craze, and people who used to regularly quote from this book a question they had solved, were considered genius!

Plane Trigonometry, by S.L.Loney

Coordinate Geomtry, by S.L. Loni

Algebra, Hall & Night

Mechanics and Probability, by Bostock and Chandler

Advanced Organic Chemistry, by Bahl and Bahl

Recommendations from a friend

A problem book in mathematical analysis, by G N Berman

Problems in Mathematics: with hints and solution, by Govorov et.al.

Science For Everyone: Aptitude Test: Problems In Physics

Others

University Chemistry, by Bruce H Mahan

Organic Chemistry, by Morrison and Boyd

Concise Inorganic Chemistry, by J D Lee

Concepts of Physics – Part 1 and 2 – by H C Verma

Problems in Calculus of One Variable, by Maron

Textbook on Integral Calculus by Gorakh Prasad