हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले

 Pranaam!! The title of this post is sourced from beautiful lines written by मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब, a famous personality who needs no introduction. I quote

                                                             "  हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले

                                                                बहुत निकले मिरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले                                                              

                                                                 डरे क्यूँ मेरा क़ातिल क्या रहेगा उस की गर्दन पर

                                                                 वो ख़ूँ जो चश्म-ए-तर से उम्र भर यूँ दम-ब-दम निकले

                                                                  निकलना ख़ुल्द से आदम का सुनते आए हैं लेकिन

                                                                  बहुत बे-आबरू हो कर तिरे कूचे से हम निकले  

                                                                 भरम खुल जाए ज़ालिम तेरे क़ामत की दराज़ी का

                                                                अगर इस तुर्रा-ए-पुर-पेच-ओ-ख़म का पेच-ओ-ख़म निकले ........"

                Desire is a universal emotion among living beings. For some, it is a basis of growth in life. It can be utilized for betterment of life if monitored properly else it can ruin our life due to aggressive pursuit of desires. Once, human mind is overpowered by strong desires (greed), We tend to lose the control on our brain and consequent activities. We tend to forget what is moral and just in pursuit of desires. Therefore, it is very important to tame our mind through meditation so that we get the capacity to have control over our desires. I experienced it in my life several times that how a very strong desire damaged the sense of proportion and judgement. Eventually it brings sadness and confusion.

             As I have mentioned in my earlier post that I started to re-read the posts written by Pujya Swami ji. In year 2011, Swami ji has written a very beautiful blog on the DNA of desire. It can be read under the title " The DNA of Desires..One desire leads to another. Like the human DNA, desires have their own DNA. Awareness is the key to tame them." It is a beautiful blog with a funny story. The message given in the funny story is very important. One can easily understand the desire and its impact on overall life.  

Urge for Self Transformation??

 Pranaam!! after my return from Sri Badrika Ashram, I am spending my time more on reading spiritual books, meditation, reading blog posts of Swami ji, attending course on self-purification and art of meditation. So many things in a stretch brought immense satisfaction and peace of mind though with occasional unwanted period of disturbances and mental turpitudes. Afterall, old habits die hard. In my attempt to re-reading old blog posts of Swami ji, I found very interesting post on 'Self Transformation". I thought to share it for the benefit of all the seekers who might find it useful.

                       It is a series of posts by Swami ji. I am finding it extremely useful for all the seekers who want to achieve permanent peace. This series of blogs started in year 2011 and continues in the year 2012. In the beginning Swami ji discussed in length on 'Mauna: The Practice of Observing Silence'. These articles are full of wisdom, deep meaning and provides solutions in a very easy language which can be followed by anyone working or non-working person. The only condition is the discipline to follow the prescription. I found a very beautiful line by Swami ji in one article  "The urge to talk arises directly from the restless mind '. In spiritual growth, mind is the key point where one needs to focus all the time as it is the origin of every wanted or unwanted though. If we can control or tamed it with keen observation, it would be easy to tread the path of self-transformation with swiftness. I hope that my journey on self-transformation path will be successful with blessings of Swami ji owing to the constraint of my profession and other worldly affairs. I wish every reader of this post to start this beautiful journey at the earliest.

Small Act of Kindness

 Pranaam!! I have one family living with me at my residence in New Delhi which have designated descent helper's quarter. The family comprises fun loving and humble couple with young and adorable daughter named Binni. Her mother is our cook who makes delicious food. Her father works as a driver in some private firm.  Binni is very cute and studies in class-4. I have my younger son aged 4yrs. He is fond of Binni as she used to come inside our living area and plays with my younger son. Today is the Birthday of Binni. Before leaving to office, I asked my spouse to arrange surprise party to the kids at home along with Cake. My wife organized a small surprise party to Binni with lot of balloons in the garden area. Though I am sitting in my office and unable to see the function Live but when I spoke to my wife on phone to check out the happening at home, i was able to listen the laughter and noise behind. I can sense the charged atmosphere at my residence. I am feeling very happy to organize a birthday function for the daughter of my helper without whom I am unable to function properly. I am grateful for their devoted service for my family. This small gesture makes her parents very happy. My kids are happy and of course Binni is very very happy. I am feeling very happy. It appears that being kind has exponential effect. If you invest one unit of effort it bounced back with 100 unit of happiness i believe. That is why, Swami ji always preach for being kind always. To my surprise, I received one notification in my E-mail today with subject "os.me Digest: Ho! Ho! Ho! " Which has the link for one blog post written by Swami ji  on "The Opposite of Kindness". It is a very beautiful post on kindness which has one heart touching story of old women selling walnuts on the road. I feel that kindness is one of the virtues if one can inculcate in oneself, most of his/her problem will sort out immediately. I am working on this aspect seriously. I wish Binni a very happy Birthday and bright future. Comments are welcome.

Grateful..Grateful....What else??

 Pranaam!! Last weekend, I visited the place in western Uttar Pradesh for some family function. Since, it is very cold nowadays, I saw people sitting around fire to make themselves comfortable. I saw kids running on the field. Some have shoes and some not. Lot of village people don't have adequate woolen clothes to cover their body. I got so emotional by seeing the state road transport bus whose windows were not properly closed and people were travelling in that bus including kids. All of them must be feeling very cold and uncomfortable. I was travelling in SUV which is fitted with advance gazettes. Instant sense of gratitude and emotion of gratefulness filled my heart. In the day-to-day life when we think that we are struggling a lot to maintain our lifestyle, we tend to forget that how our life is comfortable which might be a distant dream of millions of people. In one post Swami ji wrote a beautiful article on 'Wake up-Time is running out'. It has very deep meaning for each one of us regarding life and how to live it. As I started reading further, I am getting the significance of the concept of feeling grateful all the time. As Swami ji wrote in one post "No matter how terrible things may be, there is still plenty everyone has to be grateful for. Being grateful for what you have helps you to be positive and strong". It is such a powerful and beautiful message.  

    On my return journey I bought some good quantity of  peanuts from road side vendor. I ate some of them. I liked the sound when I crack the cover to take out the peanuts. They were very tasty and specially in winter. When I reached my residence at New Delhi in late night, lady employed at my residence opened the gate with a very warm welcome smile. I thanked her for her presence at the odd hours of winter night. Since, it was very chilled outside, so I thought to gift all those remaining peanuts to her. She felt so happy to receive these peanuts to crack and eat at leisure. Such small acts of giving makes me so happy from inside. That's the reason, Swami ji always preach to give,give and give. That is the surest path of happiness I believe.  

     Last week, I read on Os.me, one heart touching experience of Diya Om ji in Kenya and how she felt grateful for everything she has in her life. The similar emotions overpowered me during my visit last weekend. I am just grateful, grateful and grateful for everything I have in my life and pray to Shri Hari to bless everyone with happiness and comfort.    

Are You Losing Track on the Path of Sadhana??

 Pranaam!! Sometimes, I experience wave of emotions full of negativity or depressing thoughts. Then times come, when everything looks so awesome, beautiful and divine. I start doubting whether I have split personality issue. How is it possible that within same person, a deep emotion of spirituality emerges and sometime tsunami of negative and all bad thoughts strikes at lightning speed. 

     After reading the numerous posts of Swami ji and going through discourses, I realized that such things are very common. Nothing to worry about it. Infact, I don't have any split personality, I strongly believe. The average human mind experienced 60000 thoughts in 24 Hrs as per Swami ji. So, thoughts per se are not good or bad. It is the nature of mind to enjoy negative thoughts. Thoughts will come and go. We need to be alert and mindful all the time to filter our thoughts. If we try to control the incoming flow of thoughts, we might not be successful. However, if we can be just remain spectator of these waves of thoughts, then we may experience that suddenly the speed of incoming thoughts decreases. We can imagine our mind as a football field and thought as a football. One thought in the form of football comes in, it bounces over the grass on field and moves out of field. Then another thought in the form of football comes in and bounce back. We are silently watching the bouncing of our thoughts. Is not it a beautiful imagination? So, key is being mindful. If we are mindful, then we would not be chasing a particular thought and we will not engage with it. Because engaging with a particular thought is dangerous as it will start a karmic cycle as we will pursue to achieve the objective of that thought particularly if it is for wrong things. Therefore, I realized that whenever I feel to lose the track in Sadhana, I need to work on my mindfulness quotient through meditation and devotion with discipline. Sometimes, I feel that loosing mindfulness in between must be the reason behind downfall of some of the famous Saints (If I can call them so) in India in last few years. Since, human mind is always an erratic organ which tries to engage and enjoy negative thoughts, so if someone stops being mindful then whoever he or she may be, will definitely fall prey to such negative thought and in that course, might lose the track of Sadhana.

   So, the crux of my reading so far is to be mindful and alert always. For that, I need to work upon my meditation sessions routinely. I need to be kind and grateful all the time. This is my take on the above topic. Comments are welcome.

Is 'Chhota Recharge' Required Frequently??

 Pranaam!! Yesterday, I had a very beautiful and fruitful evening. I visited Sri Badrika Ashram in the month of November this year. We accidentally met few devotees on the tea shop located outside the Ashram. We exchanged numbers. Last week, I thought to invite these devotees on dinner so that I can get some opportunity to discuss about Swami ji and various other spiritual talk. They obliged my invitation and visited my residence yesterday evening. I was very happy to receive them. We discussed various issues ranging from our native place, present profession, international and domestic politics but 95 % of our time spent on discussing about the Ashram and Swami ji. This is one of its kind get together. We all were so happy to describe our own deep connect with Swami ji. Generally, in such social gatherings, chit-chat surrounding with unnecessary topics usually happens but yesterday it was all about Swami ji and how to grow spiritually. Is not it beautiful?

                 In such a materialistic time horizon, four of us were sitting and discussing about spiritual growth and wellbeing of everyone. During discussion, a thought came into my mind and immediately I shared it with the guests. I thought to share with all of you as well through this post. During spiritual journey, sometimes We feel very high, and everything seems going well and suddenly without any exact reason, we start feeling low and might lose interest in doing any spiritual practices for time being. This is the right time when we should go for Ashram visit or attend Swami ji's discourse on whatever media possible. It can be termed as 'Chhota Recharge". Chhota Recharge is required to reinforce the wisdom and rejuvenate the desire for spiritual growth. It is a very normal phenomena most of us might be facing. So, nothing to worry about. Just go for Chhota Recharge.  If somebody who is living in the extreme materialistic world situation and want to achieve real spiritual growth, he/she need to frequently recharge himself/ herself by visiting Ashram, or reading books by Swami ji or watching HIS videos. It is essential because, one may not have so much of internal strength to face the realities of world without hampering his/her Sadhana. To strengthen it, one needs to go to Ashram in between and get himself/herself blessed with Sri Hari and Swami ji's darshan. This must be the reason behind the message of Sri Tulsidas ji when he wrote the following beautiful lines:

                                                  एक घड़ी आधी घड़ी ,आधी की पुनि आध , तुलसी संगत साधु की ,काटे कोटि अपराध।
  # भावार्थ -तुलसीदास जी ने सुसंगति के महत्त्व का बखान करते हुए कहा है कि साधू अर्थात् भले एवं सच्चे लोगों की अतिअल्प संगति भी हमारे जीवन से कई प्रकार के कल्मष एवम् पापों को हर लेती है।

It is always important to have good circle of friends or relative around as they influence one's internal psych..By visiting Ashram or reading about Swami ji and HIS books, the thought of being mindful, being kind and grateful reinforces again and again. We can be more mindful if we constantly remind ourselves to be so else the path of Sadhana is very slippery. We need to continuously monitor our thoughts and actions.

      The guests shared their journey of spiritual growth and learning and so I. I felt so blessed to have them at my residence yesterday. We parted at 11PM in the right with lot of happiness and best wishes to each other in our heart. I was thinking that how Swami ji is connecting strangers of similar interests. How Lotus app is bringing miraculous changes among masses. So many good things are happening around, so much of kindness is being spreaded on daily basis. The trigger point is Swami ji only. I wish all the devotees a very happy New year. I pray to Sri Hari that in the coming year, May I get the strength to self-purify myself and achieve greater heights in Sadhana. I wish all the devotees a blessed and peaceful year ahead. I wish a good luck to every fortunate soul who is already on the journey of Chhota Recharge in the Ashram this week.

Selfless Charity is Source of Happiness

 Pranaam!! I am writing a post after a long gap. Hope each one of you must be in pink of your health and attaining new heights in Sadhana and meditation continuously. I was not on sabbatical . I was writing L.L.B. 5th Semester Exam actually. After the exam, I went to my hometown to attend some social work. On the way to my home town I was reading Ram-charit-manas. I found the following Chaupai very meaningful [Though each and every line written has very deep meaning]

                        "कीरति भनिति भूति भलि सोई। सुरसरि सम सब कहँ हित होई॥"

                        भावार्थ-
                        कीर्ति, कविता और सम्पत्ति वही उत्तम है, जो गंगाजी की तरह सबका हित करने वाली हो।

I gave a deep thought over it and interpreted in a way that if you are a very famous man due to your wisdom, money power, political power or due to any other reason, if your name and fame is not doing  any welfare work to the masses then it is useless and meaningless. Similarly, you may be a good and famous writer but if your writing is not useful to the common man, then it is useless and meaningless. At the same time, you may be wealthy and may be minting millions of dollars every day but if this money or wealth in any form is not being used for the welfare of public then it is also useless and only accumulation of wealth which will bring problems in future.

      It is such a powerful line which made me think for very long time. Tulsidas ji was such a great saint who only can write such a beautiful and meaningful powerful lines with deep meaning. If we can follow his advice given in above Chaupai then world will be a very different place to live. This is the subtle meaning behind the myriad of discourses by Swami ji on Daan, Charity and being compassionate and loving. If we are not doing it, then we are in-fact wasting our life.

     Now coming to my own experience this past week. I went to my hometown. With the help of village Pradhan [Elected Village Chief], We identified 20 poor families and 40 other families who are poor and don't have enough resources to sustain their lives in a better way. We distributed 20 sewing machines to ladies of 20 different families and blankets to other 40 families. I was observing the faces of the recipients of these goods. They all were so happy to get these goods. The sewing machine can be a very important tool to make the rural woman self sufficient and empowered. They can stitch clothes and even can produce handkerchiefs and other daily usage items. By selling these things, they can have continuous source of income which will help their kids to study in good schools and can be helpful in medical emergency. It has been observed in several studies that whatever small some of money if one can generate continuously every month, it has huge multiplier effect on the whole family. One Sewing machine if properly used and maintained can help generations of same family. I hope, with the help of these sewing machines, at least We might be successful in making 20 ladies empowered which in turn might help average five other family members to live with dignity and self respect. 

            During the whole process of arranging this donation camp, I realised that the nature comes to support you from all sides. Due to cost competitiveness, We purchased the sewing machines from Kanpur. Now the questions was of safe transportation from Kanpur to this rural village which is around 120 Km from Kanpur. Suddenly, one of my friend called me and I discussed my problem with him and immediately he arranged safe transportation of goods with excellent packing free of cost. Similar other incidences happened during this charitable event where I realised the importance of giving. Nature tried to return me in multiples. I got so emotional that it is difficult to explain my feelings in words. I was full of gratefulness to Sri Hari [The experience I will share later on]. After the event, We all were so happy and felt peace in our heart. So the takeaway from my last week experience is give and give with both hands without expecting anything in return. Nature is bound to return to multiple times... Comments are welcome.

Hey, Are You Jealous After Seeing Progress of Others??

 Pranaam!! It generally happen that whenever We see the materialistic growth of somebody specially known one be it relative, close friend or even neighbour, the first feeling come to mind is of jealousy. If you are extremely kind and generous, then you might feel elated and happy else most of human being developed the emotion of jealousy. I used to feel very disturbed whenever I develop such negative emotions about others. I used to curse myself and used to think that my Sanskar is not good or I am not a good person. I am recalling a beautiful Chaupai ( चौपाई) on this emotion written by Tulsidas ji in Ram-charit-manas

             "जग बहु नर सर सरि सम भाई। जे निज बाढ़ि बढ़हि जल पाई॥
                सज्जन सकृत सिंधु सम कोई। देखि पूर बिधु बाढ़इ जोई॥"         

        भावार्थ-
                हे भाई! जगत् में तालाबों और नदियों के समान मनुष्य ही अधिक हैं, जो जल पाकर अपनी ही बाढ़ से बढ़ते हैं (अर्थात्‌ अपनी ही उन्नति से प्रसन्न होते हैं)। समुद्र सा तो कोई एक बिरला ही सज्जन होता है, जो चन्द्रमा को पूर्ण देखकर (दूसरों का उत्कर्ष देखकर) उमड़ पड़ता है॥

This चौपाई in-fact summarise the whole thing. Tulsidas ji categorised human beings in two types : one who are like pond or river and others (which are very few in numbers) are like Ocean. The first type feel happy on the growth of self only and second type feel happiness on the growth of others. So, the target of every one should be to fall in the second category. However this task is not very easy. It needs courage, discipline and self discovery.

      I attended the 'Self Purification" course available on os.me. This programme contains beautiful lessons by Swami ji and Vrinda Om ji.It has one lecture on Jealousy.It is a good course, one should attend if someone wants to go on journey of self purification. In some other lecture of Swami ji, I observed that Swami ji told that thoughts are as such not good or bad. Millions of thoughts come and go in a human mind very day. The problem starts when we start engaging with these random thoughts. So, I interpreted his message in a way that even if negative emotion of jealousy comes to your mind first, then you should not worry about it or must not feel bad about it. We should be mindful in such situation and we should immediately divert our attention from this negative emotion of jealousy and start thinking about good part of somebody against whom we developed a negative emotion just now or we can divert our attention to something else. Therefore, the easy way to fall in to the category of ''Ocean type'' as per Tulsidas ji, We need to be mindful always. To become mindful, We must meditate everyday. With practice and sincerely attending self purification path, we may start feeling less of emotion of jealousy and more emotion of happiness in the achievement or growth of  others. This is my take on above Chaupai (चौपाई)....comments are welcome.

जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे.....

Dear Bloggers.... I got up early morning today and went to drop my elder Son to school. On the return journey, I had the privilege to go to Nehru Park , a very beautiful and well maintained public park for running. I have the habit of listening some discourses by various saints available on you tube while running. From last many months, I am listening you-tube channel 'The Quest' apart from Swami ji's discourses. I got a very sad news as soon as I logged in to the channel about the demise of noted philosopher Sri Himmat Sinha ji. My heartfelt condolences. I was listening to him from last so many months and developed an emotional bond. He was probably 96 years old but had very sharp memory and had vast knowledge about our religious scriptures. The Quest channel tried to record his discourses on various topics. I am very grateful for this channel for recording and preserving his discourses for the benefit of mankind. I was deeply sad today in the morning. I though that it was very bad day for me.

          After completing my running, I sat in the park and completed my meditation routine on Black lotus app. I returned home with very heavy heart. I was not feeling good. However, I need to visit one school located near Khan Market  to enquire about admission of my younger son in pre- school. Getting admission in nursery is a very tough task in Delhi. I have applied in top three so called best schools ,two are located near Khan Market and one is located in Chanakyapuri area. Since, my elder Son is studying in a very prestigious school located in Chanakyapuri so on sibling basis, my younger son got admission there but my spouse was not happy as she wanted to get admission for my younger child in some other school. So, We both went to school near Khan market. In my heart, I was sad and thought that it is a futile effort to visit the school as I was almost sure that admission process is almost over and We will be getting negative response from school. I have Swami ji's hand made photograph in my dining area. Silently, I glanced at Swami ji's photograph and prayed ," please take care of this issue Swami ji". I was not bothered much about the admission as my kid already got admission in a very nice school at Chankyapuri. We went to the school at Khan market. To our surprise, the person came with admission form and asked us to fill the details. My spouse asked him whether we are getting admission today. He nodded in positive and asked us to submit the fee and other necessary documents quickly. We were not prepared for this surprise. Somehow, We arranged the documents and submitted the form. The school offered us the welcome letter for my younger son...... STOP....there is another surprise we got while filling the admission form  in the school itself. I got a call from admission office from another very prestigious school located near Khan market and asked me to report tomorrow morning to meet Principal for admission matter. It was full of surprises today.

       Though, my day started at a very sad note but due to Swami ji's blessings We got pleasant surprises one after other. In the month of December, when I was filling online admission form for my younger Son, I prayed silently to Swami ji that kindly bless my kid for his bright future. In fact, during my first visit to Ashram during the month of November, I was lucky to get the private audience from Swami ji and that time also We seek the blessing of Swami ji for our both the kids. When I got the surprises today as mentioned above, I felt so blessed and humbled that I can't explain in words. I am grateful to Swami ji and to almighty for everything happening in my life. There is so much struggle to get the admission of a kid in nursery in a good school in Delhi and here is a kid who are getting calls from three most prestigious schools of Delhi. What else the proof , Swami ji can give regarding his blessings to his followers. I am constantly reminding the beautiful Bhajan Swami ji used to sing in Ashram " जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे,,जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे".....It is my truth today....I wish the similar blessings in every one's life...God is so kind...the world is very beautiful...There is nothing to complain about...in fact we don't have any right to complain about anything..We need to return to the world multiple times of every good thing happening in our life.. We need to be kind..compassionate...loving....caring..be mindful....LIVE...LOVE...LAUGH ...Comments are welcome...I am quoting the lyrics of beautiful Bhajan below for readers benefit.

                                      जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                      जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                      नानक दस मुख ते जो बोले ईहा उहा सच होवय
                                      नानक दस मुख ते जो बोले ईहा उहा सच होवय
                                     जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                     जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे

                                     चतुर दिसा कीनो बल अपना, सिर ऊपर कर धरयो
                                     चतुर दिसा कीनो बल अपना, सिर ऊपर कर धरयो
                                     जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                      जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे

                                       किरपा कतख अवलोकन कीनो, दस का दुःख बिदारयो
                                       जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                       जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                       कंठ ले अवगुण सब मेटे, दयाल पुरख बकशिंद
                                       कंठ ले अवगुण सब मेटे, दयाल पुरख बकशिंद
                                       जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे
                                       जो मांगे ठाकुर अपने ते सोई सोई देवे

Somebody is Saved from Exploitation

 Dear Bloggers! I have acquainted with one entrepreneur in Delhi. He is very down to earth and kind. He is in to manufacturing of bakery products. Some of the cakes manufactured by him are very popular. Last night, I got a panic call from him regarding one e-mail purported to be sent from one government office. I asked him to send me the screen shot of the mail. On the glance of it, I smelled it something wrong with the e-mail. I promised him to do something tomorrow whatever is possible in my capacity. I happened to know the top-level officer of that particular department, so I shared the screen shot of the E-mail to him. Fortunately, that officer took this matter promptly and enquired about it in the department. It was found that though that E-mail was sent by the proper officer from his official E-mail id but the content was not approved by his immediate superior which needs to be done as per the established procedure of law. When the reason was asked from that lower officer, he was not able to reply properly.

            Just now, I got a call from my friend with a very joyful voice. I asked him the reason. He told me that just few minutes back that officer who sent that threatening mail called him and asked the forgiveness profusely. He thanked me for all this. I felt humbled and thanked almighty for knowing the person in that department by chance who came for his rescue immediately. I wondered how many such incidence might be happening every day where there is every chance of misuse of authority and exploitation of common man. I am grateful to God that today I was able to bring smile on the face of at least one person and his entire family who was in tremendous pressure since last two days….LIVE…LOVE…LAUGH…be kind…Comments are welcome. 

Nothing is impossible....Iron will magic

Source:- open search engine

Dear Bloggers!!! Today, during my tennis session, I met one person who has impacted me a lot due to his true-life story of struggle and survival. He is a nice tennis player and after our practice session, we chatted for few minutes. There, I found a man standing in front of me full of positive energy, self-confidence, gratitude towards God and service inclination to society. He is working in Fire department. In 2004, there was massive accident of fire in one area of Delhi. He was deployed to defuse the fire. He went there with his colleagues. The fire was so intense that the fire department were unable to control it and lot of building debris fell upon these brave fire fighters. As a result, seven of his colleagues lost their life on spot. He was lying under the huge pile of hot debris of building material. He was burnt severely and maximum bones were also broken. His legs were broken, and his backbone also got damaged. Somehow, he was taken out from that pile of debris after a great struggle, immediately he was shifted to one hospital where his friend was working as Doctor. It is not difficult to imagine that the survival chances in such situation is very less. The family was completely shattered, and everyone were praying to God for his speedy recovery. His doctor friend was trying his best to recover his friend whose body has been burnt and broken from many places. In fact, the whole body needs to be reconstructed a fresh. For plastic surgery from face to legs, it needs certain part of body flesh which can be cut and pasted at other places. It was getting difficult for the doctors to find any safe part of flesh for such plastic make over. He painfully recalled that in spite of such pathetic and hopeless situation, his mind was active, and he was able to speak. Due to God's grace, one of his hands had some part intact where medicinal injection were given. It appeared to him that God has deliberately left his one hand intact so that he can get medicine and recover. His doctors used to ask him what he thought lying on the bed in such difficult situation. He told me that he always replied with confidence that it is the wish of God only, I am ok with whatever suffering I am going through. Since, it is a wish of God, I am taking it with respect. Such was his positive thinking and strong will power to survive, he slowly recovered. Doctors suggested him to not to get physically active as it might lead to paralysis of the body. Such advice from doctors made him sad but he thought that if he continues to lie on bed, definitely he will have mental issues and might fall in depression. So, he decided to go against the advice of his doctor friend however in a slow pace. 

    Subsequently, he received three Gallantry awards for distinguished service, bravery and over all commitment to serve the country. He is still working with fire department and six years of service is still left. He has very cute grandson and very happy family. He is very fit now and plays tennis regularly. He told me clearly that he is enjoying every second of his life given as 'Bonus' by almighty. He does not have any regrets or bad memory or any grudge against anyone. He is helping other people by motivating them and helping them in whatever way he can do. Everyone in his department called him Doctor now. He is a great motivator and believe in action. I pray to God for his long and healthy life. His name is Sri Dr Dharmpal Bhardwaj [I took his permission to take his name]. Presently, he is posted as Deputy Chief fire officer, New Delhi. I am grateful for today's time I spent with him, and I am filled with huge positivity today. He is a living example for an idea that nothing is impossible in this world. If you have iron will and blessing of God, you can cross any obstacle in life...keep on blogging.

What is the Reason Behind the Uneasiness/restless Mind?

 Dear Bloggers, Why mind is so restless? What is the reason behind the permanent status of sadness? I used to ponder on these questions frequently. It is difficult to find easy answers, I guess. I used to doubt on myself whether I am suffering from mild depression? Do I need consultation from some doctor? Though, apparently, everything seems good and there are no other symptoms of depressions at all. It indicates that it is not mild depression, it is something else. With God’s grace, good health, good family, stable job with time bound promotions and increment, healthy Childrens etc etc. Then what is the reason behind the permanent feeling of sadness in the back of mind. I read somewhere that one should always be in same mode, in extreme happiness and in extreme sadness.  If one is able to maintain status quo, he/she is termed as awakened soul. My interpretation might be wrong, but I think such interpretation led me to dull lifestyle where I am unable to celebrate success openly or show emotions during rainy days in life. Someone can correct me on this. 

      Going through all such ups and downs, I reach to the conclusion that one should do something which makes one very happy internally and get the feeling of satisfaction. I zeroed on writing. Someone might find satisfaction in doing something else. I found joy in writing something on different topics. I think, there is joy in creating something. This is the basic fundamental of mother nature. Every creature around us is busy in creating something, be it animals, plants or human being. If we start creating something with mind fullness, then I think that will give us immense satisfaction. Seeding any idea, sowing it, working on it and seeing it grow give a different feeling altogether. I don’t know whether I am able to convey my feelings clearly today, but I think it is important to know the source of restlessness as early as possible. It will happen only when We give time to ourselves, sit in solitude and ponder over the real issues. For me, creating something gives me pleasure. Since, I don’t have much time to construct something physically, so I think creating something in the form of writing is one of the easy things to find inner peace. I may be wrong but at this juncture, I am trying to gain peace through writing. Suggestions are welcome. keep on blogging. 

Is my kid misguided? The Halloween effect !!!

Retrospective evaluation...Hazaron Khaweshein Aishi..ki har Kwahish pe dam nikale

 Dear Bloggers...I am sorry to not to write regularly on this platform. Today India is celebrating republic day...On this occasion, I want to wish each one of you a very happy Republic day....On this day, I want to evaluate myself after getting in to civil services...Where was I before the entry in to coveted Civil Services of India and after that...I belongs to middle class family where hard work, honesty, sincerity and discipline are few of the traits which I have learnt from my parents. These traits are part of my solid foundation. It was a tough life before getting in to civil services. After entry in to civil services, I had a dream of serving Nation in whatever capacity I get opportunity. In this process post selection, I think that my life became little bit stable with assured career progression with some powers, aspirations,comfort and perks associated with government job. However in this process of bureaucratic evolution, I found some of the fundamentals were challenged at every time. Some are still with me and some I have left behind unknowingly or to say knowingly...The sense of greater contribution has been lost somewhere..More individualism came in to sacrificing the bigger dream...I feel that at this juncture, I feel empty though I had very comfortable life with happy family and set routine. Being a middle class person, I had dream of doing millions of things simultaneously. Some times, I feel confused and without any purpose...just flowing with water. At this stage of my life, mind is full of ideas/confusions/dilemmas...Some time getting restless after realising that life is actually slipping away from my hand without having much worthwhile to report or recall. There is great dilemma of  "Hazaron Khaweshein Aishi..ki har Kwahish pe dam nikale"...But then I feel that life is always like this..We all the times think that there will be one day when we shall get everything in life and then we shall relax and have fun with several counting in hand about our contribution on this planet. But honestly, apart from doing routine work, very few are lucky to get opportunity to do some thing earth shacking which can impact life of millions...I feel that persons birth is insignificant and death is very very significant event in one's life..We need to strive excellence and positivity. Every big things start with a very small idea. If one can sustain with the idea and put his sincere effort, that small idea can become a big impact idea. I think one should focus on it and try to minimise the distraction. Though in the age of digital world, it is getting difficult to minimise distractions but still through this digital age, we can keep our self motivated and engaged with world...these are random thoughts i had today though to share with all of you...will try to post more often.. Once again, wish you all a very happy new year and happy republic day....keep on blogging..

India and Minorities

Dear bloggers, the minorities in India are in news again and being discussed at various platform due to recent development. Primarily, issue of minorities got flare up due to controversial amendment of Citizenship Act,1955 through Citizenship Amendment Act,2019  popularly known as CAA. The controversy around this amendment Act seems on wrong interpretation and largely on fear psychology of proposed action by central government on National register of citizen preceded by National population register. It is propagated that through these measures,the condition of Indian minorities will be further deteriorated.

    In the above background, let us examine the condition of minorities in India based on facts and statutory arrangements under Indian Constitution.

    Before looking in to the condition of Indian minorities,let us have a brief look on the condition of minorities in other countries. As per the 29^th Annual world report, 2019 released by Human Rights Watch which is a prestigious International body, there are extra judicial killings by the authorities in Philippines. These killings were in the name of war on drugs. In Syria, a devastating war on minority civilians is going on specifically in the province of Idlib leading to mass killings. Saudi Arabia has been alleged for killings and starvation of Yemenis through attack/ blockade. In Burkina Faso, people there reported that by day ,they fear the Army and by night, the Jihadist. Similarly,Turkey and Egyptian authorities have been blamed for locking up thousands for their political views. In Itlay, reports says that government has closed its ports to refugees and migrants.

    Now, We take a look towards the condition of  minorities in neighboring countries of India. This report says that Chinese authorities are torturing Turkic Muslims(Uyghurs) in Xinjiang province. They have been pushed to mass detention centers. These minority Muslims are being forced to disown their Muslim faith under “Re-education” programme. The report further alleges that one million government officials have been deployed to keep watch on Muslim homes in the province by China.

    In Afghanistan, around 10,000 civilians have been injured between January 2018 to December 2018. Report says that Islamic state of Khorasan (Afghan branch of Islamic state) is involved in targeted bombing on minority Shia population.

    In  Myanmar,this report alleges that Military of Myanmar is involved in mass murder and rapes of Minority Muslims which led to forced migration of 7,30,000 Rohingya in Rakhine State.

   In Bangladesh, report alleged that there have been killings by authorities. Around 100 people killed in the name of war on drugs. Around 10,000 suspects have been put behind bar.There are allegation against Rapid Action Battalion for extra judicial killings.

   In Sri lanka, Report says that people of Tamil origin is still waiting for justice for the atrocities done during civil war between LTTE and Sri lankan forces.

  In Pakistan, during 2018, 17 people are on death row under Blasphemy law and hundred more awaits trial mostly from Ahamadis minority community in Pakistan. UN high commissioner for human rights observed that “human rights abuse in POK were of a different caliber or magnitude to those in Indian Kashmir”

     In the light of above discussion, Now we should see the institutional arrangement for protection of minorities in India and what statistics says about Indian Minorities for better understanding.

Indian constitution recognize six minorities in India i.e. Muslims,Christian,Sikhs,Buddhists,Parsis and Jain. In India, the population of Muslims is largest in world only after Indonesia. It is equal to the population of Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The population of Minorities is 19% of India’s total population. Out of 19%, 13.4 % are Muslims only. As per population census of 2001, there are 13.8 Crore Muslims living in India which increased to 15 Cr in 2006.

     If  the data of population Census 1961 and 2001 is compared then we can see that Hindus population has decreased from 83.5% to 80.5% whereas Muslims population has increased from 10.7 % to 13.4 %. Rest of the minorities composition in population remains almost same.

     As per the 66^th round of National Sample Survey data, average household size in urban and rural areas for Muslims is higher than any other religious groups in India. The proportion of land cultivation is more than 4 hectare for Sikhs,3 hectare for Hindus and less than 1 hectare for Christian and Muslims. The literacy rate is highest for Christian in India. The monthly per capita expenditure is highest in Sikhs followed by Christian community. The condition of Parsi community is known to everyone in India and world.They are one of the most wealthy people in India.

   There are enough safeguard for minorities in India through constitutional arrangement and provisions to provide the sense of safety to Indian minorities. These safeguards are in the form of fundamental rights. Article 14 provides equality before law. Article 15 provides prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion,race,caste,sex or place of birth. Article 25 provides freedom of religion. Article 26 gives freedom to manage religious affairs by minorities. Article 27 gives freedom as to payment of tax for promotion of any particular religion. Article 28 provides freedom from attendance at religious instruction or worship in educational institutions. Article 29 provides protection of interest of minorities and Article 30 gives right to establish and administer educational institutions belonging to minorities.

   It is evident from these provisions that Indian constitution has elaborate provisions for safety of minorities in India and is committed to equality of citizens and responsibility of state to preserve,protect and assure the rights of minorities in matters of language,religion and culture. It has focus on “Doctrine of unity in diversity”.

Apart from it, a separate ministry named “Ministry of Minority affairs” in Central government is established in 2006 to formulate policies,schemes and programme for the welfare and socio-economic development of minorities. Ministry has taken multi pronged strategy for educational empowerment,infrastructure development and economic empowerment of minority community in India.

    There are several constitutional and statutory bodies which have been set up to look after minority issues such as Central Wakf Board, National Commission for minorities, Commissioner for linguistic minorities under Article 350 B of Indian Constitution,  Maulana Azad educational foundation and National Minorities development and finance corporation, etc.

      In 2018-19, 4700 Cr rupees of budget was sanctioned for the minority affairs ministry which is implementing numerous schemes such as Skill India, Seekho aur Kamao,  Nai Manzil  for education and livelihood, Nai Roshni for leadership development for women, Jio Parsi for containing population decline of Parsi community in India and numerous scholarships scheme for minority community.

    Based on above discussion and data, It is safely presumed that there is no reason to fear for minority community. They should feel proud for being Indian and try to contribute in Nation building...keep on blogging

All About Citizenship Amendment Act

Dear Blogger, In past few days, there is lot of resistance on street against the Citizenship Amendment Act recently passed by parliament of  India with thumping majority. Why it is so when parliament enacted it with majority. What went wrong? What are the salient features of this amendment Act? Is the protest against it is based on wrong interpretation of it? Violent protests on the Citizenship Amendment Act  are unfortunate and deeply distressing. Debate,discussion and dissent are essential parts of democracy but, never has damage to public property and disturbance of normal life been part of our ethos.Let me discuss in detail.
        In Greek, it is told that there are three types of people in any country irrespective of its location on the world map. One is 'IDIOTS'.Such category of people are very selfish,self centered and busy in their own lives. They don't have time for society, common issues it faces,etc. In fact they are good for nothing. Second is 'TRIBAL'. Such category of people are concerned about their group of people, their cast and creed. They are better than 'IDIOTS' in the sense that they are at least bothered about their kith and kin,relatives,group of people belonging to their sect,tribe etc. Third is 'CITIZEN'. Such category of people are well informed,concerned about the well fare of whole society.They discuss.debate and reach to a conclusion based on facts. They take time to fight injustice with peaceful means. They are the essence of any successful country.
     Therefore, as per Greek traditions, Citizen means a person who is well informed and who is concerned about the issues which impact Nation as a whole. Now we need to analyze the present violent protest against Citizenship Amendment Act [CAA] in India with the above mentioned criteria in mind. We will find that the opposition seems mindless and without any basis. It appears that whole situation is deliberately created by few who has vested interested in the protest. I am surprised when I see the students coming in streets with wrong logic. It appears that Students have even not gone through the wordings of this Act or the provisions of Citizenship Act.1955 before coming out for protest. It seems more of sentiment and fear about future course of action probably planned by government of the day rather than facts of CAA.
    For any country, Citizens are the main factor. India has enacted Citizenship Act 1955 with Citizenship rules amended from time to time to cater the need of the hour. The latest Citizenship rules were framed in 2009. As per the act, there are five ways to get Indian Citizenship as follows:-

1. Citizenship by Birth
2. Citizenship by descent
3. Citizenship by registration
4. Citizenship by Naturalisation
5. Citizenship by incorporation

     The Citizenship Act,1955 provides for acquisition, determination,and termination of Indian citizenship. As discussed above Citizenship of India can be acquired by Birth (Section 3), by descent (section 4),by registration (section 5),or by naturalisation (section 6) or by incorporation of territory (section 7). Any foreigner on becoming eligible can acquire citizenship by registration or by naturalization irrespective of his country or his community.
     Now, the parliament of India has enacted an amendment to this Act by The Citizenship (Amendment) Act,2019 popularly known as CAA. It has been made effective from 10th January 2020. It enables migrants/foreigners of six minority communities from three specified countries who have come to India because of persecution on grounds of their religion to apply for Indian citizenship. It does not amend any existing legal provision which enables any foreigner of any class,creed,religion,category,etc to apply for Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization modes.Such a foreigner has to become eligible to apply for Citizenship after fulfilling the minimum legal requirements.
  The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has been in the public domain since 2016. It was cleared by a 30-member Parliamentary Committee consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members. The present act is broadly based on the same Bill.
    As it is clear from above discussion, The CAA does not apply to Indian citizens. They are completely unaffected by it. It only seeks to grant Indian citizenship to particular foreigners who have suffered persecution on ground of their religion in three neighbouring countries.
    In the year 2015-16, Government of India has already amended rules to provide long term visa(LTV) and legalized the entry of such foreign migrants belonging to six minority communities from these three countries who had come in to India up to December 2014 because of persecution on grounds of religion. Now through this CAA, they are being given Citizenship of India.
     On different occasions, special provisions have been made by Government of India in the past too. 4.61 Lakh Tamils of Indian origin were given Citizenship in 1964-2008 after signing of International agreements in 1964 and 1974. Similarly, during 1962-78, more than 2 Lakh Burmese of Indian origin fled from Burma were given Citizenship. In 2004, Central government delegated the power to grant citizenship by registration to six collectors of Gujrat and Rajasthan in respect of Hindu migrants displaced due to 1965 and 1971.
     During the last six years, around 2830 Pakistani Citizens,912 Afghani Citizens and 172 Bangladeshi Citizens have been given Indian Citizenship. Between 2016 to 2018, 391 Afghani and 1595 Pakistani migrants and in 2019, 40 Afghani and 172 Pakistani migrants have been granted citizenship. About 14864 Bangladeshi nationals were also granted Indian Citizenship after incorporating more than fifty enclaves of Bangladesh into Indian territory post the boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh in 2014.
    All the above are factual details readily available on numerous websites including government documents. I did not find any provision which is against any Indian Citizen.
    In the light of above, where is the scope of violent protest? It appears that vested interest political parties are trying to infuse sentiments on wrong grounds and provoking people to come on street and protest. If any of these protesters take the pain to go through the provisions of these CAA, they would not have come to protest. That is the serious issue because ill informed population is not Citizen actually as per Greek traditions as discussed above.
   Some people say that Why the Baluchis,Ahmediyas in Pakistan, Rohingayas in Myanmar not included in CAA.  The fact is, CAA has not stopped any foreigners of any country from applying for Indian Citizenship undet the Citizenship Act,1955 on fulfillment of the qualifications provided in the relevant sections of The Citizenship Act,1955.
     There have been some concern form North-Eastern states regarding CAA. These concerns have been taken care of as CAA would not apply to tribal area of Assam,Meghalaya,Mizoram or Tripura as included in the 6th schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under 'The Inner Line ' notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. Manipur has also been added under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime.
   In my view, this issue should be seen as a humanitarian one,beyond political ideologies. There should be constructive politics on this issue. People should be informed properly....Keep on blogging..Jai Hind

Who is undermining Institutions??

Dear blogger, I am perturbed on seeing reports of vandalism, violence and mindless opposition of government action almost on daily basis through news paper or through digital media. I often hear the views of many that incumbent government is undermining Institutions. Is it true? I am putting up my observations for you to decide in right perspective.

    First of all, India is a healthy democracy with vibrant legislature and strong media including social media. It is difficult for anyone to undermine Institutions created by Constitution or by government statute. For e.g. Election Commission of India which has been constituted by Constitution. It is to ensure free and fair elections which is very much essential in a healthy democracy. But see the disturbing trends since 2014 that opposition parties are blaming EC and EVMs. The mindless opposition and illogical arguments given by opposition parties clearly indicates that they are the one who are undermining Institution. I have written previously in detail on this blog, how EVMs functions and why they cant be compromised. After recent victory in Jharkhand election, now opposition is completely silent on EVMs. This is not fair to hard work done by Election Commission of India which has reputation among international community.

    Secondly, it was alleged that in India, central government is crushing Media. The facts says otherwise. We have The Hindu,Indian Express,The Wire,NDTV etc etc who are continuously presenting free voices without any fear and favour. Had the government been crushing them,they would not be in apposition to survive but they are flourishing. Opposition parties are regularly making false claims that Media is being crushed. So basically, opposition is undermining this Institution of media as well.

   Thirdly, It is being said that government agencies like CBI,ED,Income Tax,DRI,DGGI all premier investigating agencies of India are being misused by incumbent government. The fact is these agencies has elaborate SOPs to act upon intelligence received. As prime  minister told in a gathering that few wrong doers in Industry who have been booked my investigating agencies are being termed as if whole government is against business establishment. This is not true. There are several corporate houses who have misused Banking sector to take humongous loans and vanished.Action needs to be taken by agency in the national interest. For e.g Neerav Modi case by E.D., Vijay Malaya case etc are all wrong doings by these corporate houses.

   Based on above I conclude my discussion today. My only point is to give you different perspective. We need to analyze the situation based on facts an then express or form our opinions on any issue….keep on blogging…     

Happy New Year 2020

Dear Bloggers,I wish you all a very happy,prosperous,healthy and meaningful year 2020.May God give you enough opportunities in this year to prove yourself with a meaningful goal. Be positive and do constructive....Once again, a very happy new year to all...keep on blogging.

Will the bureaucracy change in 2020?

Dear Bloggers, I am re-publishing a thought provoking article written by eminent journalist

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constant refrain to officials at high-level meetings is to aim high and justify the huge political mandate the public gave him in the 2019 general elections. He virtually goads the secretaries to the government not to take baby steps, but to deliver big for India, commensurate with the trust the public reposed in the Modi government.

Stung by the official under-assessment of the country-wide anti- Citizenship Amendment Act protests, home minister Amit Shah virtually said the same thing to the assembled law enforcers at the Intelligence Bureau Endowment Lecture on December 23, albeit in the context of internal security.

Addressing the intelligence community and top police officers, Shah said there was a difference between rumour and information and asked them to be more operational rather than restrict themselves to merely writing reports and analyses.

While PM Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar led from the front to counter the Pakistani global propaganda over abrogation of article 370, the action on the ground was firmly led by Shah and national security advisor Ajit Doval.

The meticulous planning post the abrogation of article 370 and the Ayodhya judgement was only possible due to defined targets given to core national security teams.

In many ways, these were individual-driven responses and not institutionalized ones, with the Indian bureaucracy failing to convey India’s point of view to the liberal western media targeting the Modi government over developments ranging from the Pulwama suicide attack that killed 40 paramilitary troopers in Kashmir in February to the anti-CAA stir in December.

PM Modi has already broken the three silos existing within the Indian armed forces by appointing General Bipin Rawat, the first Chief of Defence Staff, to promote operational synergy despite serious bureaucratic reservations. The CDS decision was not a simple one given the inherent uneasiness between the political and military leadership since Nehru’s days.

The CDS decision should pave way for PM Modi to overhaul the Indian bureaucracy, which more than often promotes seniority over merit and encourages turf wars in the name of national interest.

Rather than only depend on the wisdom of officers who cleared a certain exam some 30 or 35 years ago, there is a need to induct professionals at the secretary level through lateral entry. It does not take rocket science to predict that dyed-in-the-wool Delhi Gymkhana-going secretaries will allow lateral entry joint secretaries to enter the official sanctum sanctorum to function in their ministries.

As the political mandate was huge and unprecedented for decades, the merit and innovative skills of an officer should be given preference over mere seniority or age. Fact is that the academic tools required to clear the All India Services Exam are dated and need a thorough overhaul in order to sync it with the 21st century, where technology is developing at the speed of light.

The high degree of specialization required in commerce and trade matters these days is clearly far beyond the comprehension of generalist officers, who more than often learn on the job through hits and misses.

Specialization of the same level but in a different context applies to Indian diplomacy as in the world today perceptions are more sacrosanct than facts. The projection of India should be the key objective of Indian diplomats rather than behaving like satraps in countries where they are posted. The rise of China in the Indian subcontinent, particularly Nepal, needs urgent attention and the diplomatic task today goes beyond the daily beating-up of Pakistan.

At least for the neighborhood, the five permanent members of UN Security Council (also called P-5), Japan, Israel, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, India needs to push its best diplomats to handle the task.

Just as the political mandate the PM won was unprecedented, so is the challenge he faces of reforming a bureaucracy that still suffers from an imperial hangover."...keep on blogging...

Source:- Hindustantimes..An article by Sri Shishir Gupta 

Questioning Electronic Voting Machine [EVM] is a Global Conspiracy?

Dear Blogger, EVM is in news again. EVM is an Indian innovation to record peoples voice through this electronic device popularly known as EVM. Election Commission of India[EC] which is an independent constitutional body brought this innovative way to record vote and conduct free and fair election on such a massive scale with more than 90 Cr people.

       The questions being raised on EVM seems on wrong logic. The feature of EVM are as follows:-

[1] It is an independent stand alone device which is not connected to any network.

[2] All EVMs have unique serial number which are recorded in election commission database.

[3] All EVMs are manufactured by government owned corporation.

[4] Such EVMs are temper proof.

Before the Election period begins

      "All available EVMs in a district are normally stored in a treasury or a warehouse under the direct control of the District Electoral Officer (DEO). Exceptions can be made in case of unavailability of storage space, but the designated treasury or warehouse should not be below the level of tehsil. The warehouse is secured by a double lock, guarded round the clock by policemen or security guards, and is also under CCTV surveillance. During a non-election period, EVMs cannot be moved out of the warehouse without specific instructions from the Election Commission. The first-level check of the EVMs by engineers is done here, in the presence of representatives of political parties."**

   Before the initiation of EVM allocation to a  particular polling booth, returning officer organize meeting of all representatives of political parties in the presence of independent observers sent by EC. In this meeting, computerized randomization process takes place three times to randomly allocate EVM machine to a particular polling booth. By this way, Election Commission [EC] ensures the complete transparency of election process.

 
   To further strengthen the process
   
       "Closer to the election date, EVMs are allocated randomly to various Assembly segments (in a Lok Sabha seat) through a software in the presence of party representatives. If the representatives are absent, then a list of allocated EVMs and VVPAT machines for each Assembly segment is shared with the party office. From this point, the Returning Officer (RO) of the Assembly segment takes charge of the allocated machines and stores them in designated strong rooms. 
       Here, the second round of randomisation takes place. EVMs are commissioned to specific polling stations in the presence of party representatives. In fact, candidates are advised by the EC to share the machine numbers with their respective polling agents so that they can verify these before polling begins.After all machines are prepared with the setting of candidates and fixing of ballot papers, and then commissioned, the strong room is sealed in the presence of party representatives who can, if they wish, also put their own seal on the locks. The strong room is guarded round the clock under the charge of a senior police officer, not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. It can also be guarded by central police forces, wherever possible. Once sealed, the strong room can only be opened on a fixed date and time when the machines have to handed over to the polling parties to be delivered to their designated polling stations. All candidates and their election agents are informed beforehand about the date and time of opening of the strong rooms.
       
        Apart from the machines allocated to specific polling stations, some reserve EVMs are also taken from the strong rooms and stored in a central place in the Assembly segment, so that defective machines can be replaced with as little delay as possible.
      
        This year, in view of last year’s controversy over the movement and storage of unused EVMs during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, polled and unused machines are being transported only in GPS-enabled vehicles so that their movement can be tracked by the DEO and CEO. " **  

 
       After voting  is over, there is proper record of total votes polled in poll diary available with booth officer. EVMs are being sealed in the presence of agent of political parties. After it, EVMs are being transported to district head quarter and kept in safe house[Strong room] constantly guarded by security forces till counting day.

   

      "Once voting ends, EVM are not dispatched to the strong rooms right away. The Presiding Officer is required to prepare an account of votes recorded in the machines. An attested copy of this is provided to each candidate’s polling agent. After this, the EVM is sealed. Candidates and their agents are allowed to put their signatures on the seals, which they can check for any signs of tampering. Candidates or their representatives travel behind vehicles carrying EVMs from the polling station to the strong room, preferably located close to the counting centre.

       Reserve EVMs should also be returned at the same time when the polled EVMs are returned. Once all used EVMs have arrived, the strong room is sealed and the candidate or her representative is permitted to put their own seals or locks as well. They are also allowed to keep a watch on the strong rooms round the clock. 

       Once sealed, the strong room cannot be opened until the morning of counting day. If the strong room has to opened before that for an unavoidable reason, it can only be done in the presence of the candidate or his representative, who will be allowed to put their seals or locks again after the room is closed.

        Security forces are deployed in three layers around storage rooms with Central Armed Police Forces guarding the inner ring. On the day of the results, counting begins only after the candidate or her polling agent has checked the machine number and whether the seal is unbroken" **

     
        On the day of counting, the seal on these EVMs are being checked again and break open in the presence of representative of political parties and election observers sent by EC.

   
         The whole process is designed in such a way so that total transparency is maintained.There are number of people/officers involved at multiple level which over-rule any possibility of manipulation in EVM.

      The recent voice of EVM manipulation is very unfortunate. It appears that political parties who are raising the voice against EVM dont understand the whole procedure adopted by EC to safeguard EVM. It is very dangerous trend to question EVM. 

      Once,EC has organised all party meeting and challenge all representatives to temper  EVMs. Nobody could do it that time. This must have silent all opposition to EVMs.

      Besides, Election result through same EVM in several states brought parties from all spectrum in power such as AAP in Delhi,Congress in Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan,Chattisgarh, TMC in West Bengal,Left in Kerala, TRS in Telengana,BJP in several states, etc. Therefore questioning of EVM by any political party looks laughable. This seems an attempt to question the whole election process which is very dangerous. World wide, conducting free and fair election is always a big challenge. To question EVM is to question the integrity of EC and the whole process of election. In India, total votes polled is much much higher than the population of whole Europe or population of USA. To conduct election on such massive scale is possible only through EVMs.

   To further strengthen the confidence on EVM, VVPAT machines are also being used on few booths to match physical print of vote polled with the votes recorded on EVM. These measures ensure the complete transparency of election procedure.

     It appears that the current controversy on EVM is a big conspiracy to undermine Indian elections which might create turbulence in Indian society. There might be law and order issue in Country if opposition parties could not win expected number of seats. There are some forces which always tried to destabilize India and legitimize the elected government. At a time, when country is doing fine on economic,scientific,military and On international front, anti-national forces are trying to create unrest through violence or questioning the basic feature of any democracy that is Election. It is easy to demolish the confidence of people on EC but very difficult to restore that confidence or trust. We have seen the rise of militancy in J&K when people of J&K felt bad on rigging of election of legislative assembly. Indian political parties should behave responsibly and should not raise questions without any basis or sound logic. The whole world is watching us. If political parties keep on questioning EVM, the newly elected government would have to face trust deficit which is not good for a country like India. The successful conduct of election of this scale would have been a proud moment for every Indian but mindless opposition to EVM and due to castigating doubts on integrity of EC have spoiled these possible moments of pride and glory.  

    I would request  EC to immediately take steps to inform the people about the whole process of EVM management. They should conduct LIVE demo on all Tv Channels on EVM functioning. The EC should also release a detailed presentation in print media to educate Indian people and remove any doubt from the minds of Indian people. Any doubt in the mind of common people on election process might bring chaos in the country and undermine the legitimate authority of elected government. The sweat and mid night oil burnt by millions of government officers under command of EC to conduct free and fair election should be given due respect and worth by every political party of India....Jai Hind...Keep on blogging

** Source:- Additional input from The Indian Express along with three Pictures