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QUOTES BY M J AKBAR
We would rather
arm you with the knowledge, for that is the ultimate weapon of
the citizen. Power tries to hide or shade the facts, we hope to
tease the truth out of the wrinkles of secrecy and restore the
breath of life to News.
For reasons that need
not detain us, I must say farewell. I was under the impression
that I might have been able to do so with more grace. But judging
from this morning edition of our paper, it seems I might have
overstayed my welcome… We may not have been the biggest, but we
held our head high because there was one nonnegotiable asset in
our family: we could not be bought. We were independent. We were
free. We held our head high. Never let your head stoop, not as
long as you are a journalist
The alter ego of a boom, I suppose,
is doom. Failure does not have too much to worry about, but
success has a great deal to lose. You can’t lose, can you, if you
have nothing to lose?

India’s democracy is a little more powerful than its temporary
rulers

Is
everything fair in love, war and elections? Not quite. Love is a
relationship between two individuals; war is a contest between two
armies. The outcome of elections is determined not by the
contestants, but by a third force, a massive jury, the electorate.
The morality, immorality or amorality of politicians is measured
against the values of the voter. The prevalent mood of the Indian
voter is to reward honesty, and punish corruption and deceit.
Freedom is
non-negotiable: of faith, equality, democracy, travel, speech,
employment and opportunity. Freedom has its attendant
responsibilities. Speech cannot degenerate into libel. Democracy
cannot be rigged, or exploited by extremist passions. The right to
practice faith does not mean the right to denigrate someone
else’s.

Given a chance
of dying of gas and hunger, it's far less painful to die than die
with hunger. See hunger and you will realize how fortunate you
are. Statistics don't impress me, elimination of poverty certainly
impress me. If you want to look at the future, there are two laws:
one is, look for the impossible, you will find the possible; the
second law is the law of unintended consequences. Students need to
focus on a vision of the future. When you go out into the world,
you will find that the real merit is that you have the ability to
convert vision into reality.
Poverty is only one
of the lines dividing Indians. The poverty line is in fact the weakest
line; it is the line of non-resistance. The truly impoverished do not
have the strength to resist, or they would wreak havoc of a kind you
might not deem suitable for a mere doomsday.
Above that comes the anger line. These are the Indians who
have escaped from destitution, and discovered the courage to exercise
their democratic right to anger. For them democracy is not a matter of
a vote every five years; they test its flexibility as often as they
can, and with a gun if they can find one. Call them Naxalites,
Maoists, terrorists, whatever: they don’t care. They have no interest
in categories. They know that Indian democracy’s methods of healing
are to offer a Band-Aid when the disease is cancer. They have been
told that the honey of economic growth will trickle down to them
eventually. Try offering the mirage of a trickle to a man dying of
thirst.
Then there is a hatred line. It is a thin but potent line, and
consists of those who are the leaders of anger. They channel anger
towards violence. It is not a moral line, for those who hate also know
how to negotiate. The establishment exploits this weakness quite
liberally, offering rewards which buy leaders out of their group.
Parliament is full of those who have been purchased by the
establishment.
Above hatred is the envy line, that huge mass of Indians who are
almost there, seething through small towns and villages, anxious to
join the long queues of upward mobility. Envy is a good spur for
aspiration, as anyone in mass marketing, or indeed banking, will
confirm. This is the target group of future consumers which will keep
the growth rate at 10 per cent and possibly send it higher. Envy is
good for the economy. May it always flourish.

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MJA'S
FAVORITES POETS |
Amir Khusro
:
Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.
If there is a paradise on earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this (India).
Mirza Ghalib:
‘Here there is a vast ocean of blood before me; God alone knows what
more I have still to behold.’ - from Nehru by M J
in books
Akbar
Allahabadi:
saans lete huye bhii Darataa huu.
ye na samajhe.n ki aah karataa huu...
bahar-e-hastii me.n huu., misaal-e-hubaab
miT hii jaataa huu. jab ubharataa huu...
[bahar-e-hastii = ocean of life]
[misaal-e-hubaab = like a bubble]
Mohammad Iqbal:
"But only a brief
moment
is granted to the brave
one breath or two, whose wage is
The long nights of the grave."
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MJ'S FAVORITES |
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Urdu couplet cited by Rafiq Zakaria in his Hakeem Abdul Hameed
Memorial Lecture in 2002:
"Aghyar
mehr-o maah se aagey nikal gaye
Uljhe huyae hain subh ki pehli kiran say hum"
(Others have travelled beyond the moon and the sun; We are still
tangled in the first ray of the rising sun). |
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Mein Zindagi ka Saath Nibhata chala gaya.... |
Hum
Dono (Dev Anand Starrer, sung by Mohd. Rafi
and music by Jaidev
Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Udata Chala Gaya
Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha
Barbadiyon Ka Jashna Manata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
Jo Mil Gaya Usi Ko Muqaddar Samajh Liya
Jo Kho Gaya Maein Usko Bhulata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
Gham Aur Khushi Mein Farq Na Mehsoos Ho Jahan
Main Dil Ko Us Muqaam Pe Laata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
- M J Akbar's Fav song Pick |
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