For those who are proud of India

One song, four stories. Thats Rabbi Shergill's new song "Jinhe Naaz hai" for you. Saw this song in TV last week and I was immediately hooked. Yesterday, got a forward containing the song along with the lyrics. It tells the stories of four Indians who were subject to gross injustice. These were four cases which created a lot of controversies during the time they came out.

The song starts with story of Bilqis Yakoob Rasool. During the Gujarat riots, this 19 year old girl's family of 14 was murdered, which included her little daughter also. If this wasn't enough she was gangraped. After such a gruesome torture, she didn't just resign to her fate and suicide. She decided to fight them in court and that paid off recently when some of the culprits including a policeman were convicted and given a double life sentence. Still, it won't be consolation enough for the trauma she underwent.

Next is the story of Satyendra Dubey who was project director of the National Highway Authority of India. His death at the hands of the corruption kings in Bihar shows the ugly side of Indian beaurocracy. This IIT Kanpur product was the first man from his village to study at an IIT. From the start of his career itself, he was known to fight corruption. He was appointed as the assistant project manager for a part of the Golden quadrilateral project. He fired corrupt engineers and once even ordered to rebuild a part of under-quality road. This incident alone shows how commited he was to the development of the country. Seeing the widespread corruption in the upper echelons of the organisation, he shot a letter directly to the PM of India. The only thing that happened as a result of this was that he was transferred to Gaya in Bihar, where he was eventually shot dead. The murder was made to look as an attempted robbery in court. The devious minds that worked behind this crime are still sitting comfortably in their couch.

The story of Shanmughan Manjunath, which comes next in the song is similar to this. He was an IIM Lucknow graduate. The marketing manager for IOC lost his life to the fight against selling of adulterated fuel in petrol pumps. He ordered two petrol pumps in Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow to close down for selling adulterated fuel. When, after a brief period, the pumps started to run again, he conducted raids to these places. And on one such raid, he was shot dead by the petrol pump owner and his accomplices. Contrary to usual practice, this case saw swift action as all the accused were sentenced within 16 months of the crime. Instances like this are which keeps the little that we have in the justice system of this country, alive.

The last story which the song tells is that Of Ms.Navleen Kumar. This social activist worked for the land rights of tribals in Nallasopara, near Mumbai. The builders and land mafia of that area had amassed all the land from the tribals and been doing construction activities. Navleen fought against this and pursued cases against the local mafia. She came into social activism after she her husband was murdered by the land mafia. She was threatened with dire consequences if she continued her fight, once even at gunpoint. Still, she never bowed her head to them. But, One fine morning, on June 19 2002, she was stabbed to death on the terrace of her house. I don't know anything about the progress of this case. Hope it was not swept under the carpet like her husband's.

So, that is Rabbi's song 'Jinhe Naaz Hai' for you. The song is not about the lyrics alone. The strains of 'Jana Gana Mana' played on guitar that comes in between the song is sure to give you goosebumps. From 'Bulla ki Jaana' to this song, Rabbi has grown from a normal musician to the level of a musical activist. The two lines that repeat after every story - "Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan theJinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain"[Where were those who are proud of IndiaWhere are those who are proud]-is a call to each one of us. Its not often that you get to see such lyrics in Indian music. Each of the four individuals mentioned in this song tried to make a difference to the soceity. And they laid down their life for a cause. Its good that we are remembering them atleast through this song. Thanks to Rabbi.

PS-Going home today. So advanced Independence day wishes to all.

your crusader Praveen

60 years young

Happy 60th birthday to my motherland... This is gonna be another post on movies. But a different one at that. This is a tribute to the men who guard our borders, men who fight for people they don't even know, men who love their country more than their family and men whom we all forget. Yesterday, I happened to watch the Hindi movie '1971' about Indian soldiers held as POW s in Pakistan after the 1971 war. Most people won't even have heard about this beautiful movie. Though I've seen the ads some months back, me too never thought this would be so good until my friend Nandan recommended this to me.

After the 1971 Indo Pak war, India handed over all the Pakistani POW s to that country. But Pakistan didn't reciprocate the gesture as it secretly detained 60 odd Indian soldiers. They even duped the red cross into believing that there were no Indian soldiers left in Pakistani prisons. They hid the men in some secret locations close to the border. They were made to believe that they'll be released soon. But some men among them got the plot and decide to escape from the place. The movie follows their escape bid and ends in a very sad and realistic climax. The camera work is splendid, capturing vividly the heaven on earth, Kashmir, in all its splendour. Manoj Bajpai dazzles with some superb acting. The supporting cast is also equally good. The climax will surely leave you misty eyed. And to think that 60 odd men spend the better half of their life in prison unknown to the people of their motherland is really sad.

Only their relatives remember these war heroes now. The government seems to have not even heard about them. 2 days back, there was this news that a 1971 war veteran threatened to suicide on august 15th, 2007 as a protest against the government for ignoring him and not giving him the benefits which are due to him. This is a sad state of affairs since soldiers are the ones whom the whole country owes a lot. And by not giving them what they deserve, the government is showing disrespect to the country itself. They brave bad weather, bullets and so many unfavourable conditions just because they love their motherland. And what do they get in return... apathy from the part of the government and forgetfulness from the self centred Indian citizen.

Its time to change it all. The Indian soldiers should be given pride of place in the society and the benefits that are due to them should be cleared at the earliest. On this independence day, lets salute those forgotten heroes, if not for whom, we may not be walking so freely as now.

Checkout the great Jana Gana Mana Video initiative by A.R.Rahman featuring India's greatest artists. Its shot at the world's highest battlefield, Siachen. As always, when it comes to Indian patriotic music, this maestro is the last word....

Jana Gana Mana by A.R.Rahman and other famous Indian artists

Take a look at my old post on how meaningless Independence day celebrations have become..
http://crusadertvm.blogspot.com/2006/08/happy-birthday.html

also see this video..a foreigner singing jana gana mana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIE9uPm731A

with salutes to the great Indian soldiers,
your crusader Praveen