The Rebirth of the Swadeshi

On the 14th of August, at midnight, India acquired freedom from the shackles of the British rule.

• We were free to rule our country. 
• We were free at last to make our laws and salute our flag and sing our anthem.
• We were not bound by the alien laws that treated us like second-rate citizens in our own land. 

The only good that came of the British rule one can say is that we became Indians, the citizens of a “united India” that formerly comprised of bits and pieces of 500 odd inconsequential kingdoms that were constantly warring with each other, Thanks to "The Iron Man" Sardar Patel. We penned our Constitution with hopes and dreams of recovering our lost glory. But alas! The British left us with no brass with which to make our dreams come true. India's share of world income collapsed from 22.6% in 1700, almost equal to Europe's share of 23.3% at that time, to as low as 3.8% in 1952. Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century, "the brightest jewel in the British Crown" was the poorest country in the world in terms of per capita income. Then go the super powers of the world today proclaiming India as a developing nation when half their prosperity comes from our coffers. 

What we have made of our country is exactly what the British wanted us to become. A mere shadow of the nation that was once a fully operative economy that was on par with the European nations. How did we have such a considerable share in the world economy? Did we have mammoth industries and factories or even software companies round every corner of the streets?

1. The answer is an obvious no, our income came from our land,
   
   “Our MathruBhoomi” and our forte was agriculture. We had patents on rare spices, several varieties of medicinal herbs and vegetables. Only the concept of patents and copyrights did not exist when we were openly plagiarised in every manner even until recently, when Basmati the staple of northern India was patented by a US based Company.The big element we are missing out here in our race with the global powers is our strengths, our fertile lands, and innate farming capabilities.
2. The next important aspect is our culture which pays much attention to science and technology. Our various religious texts are all clues left by our ancestors so we could catch up with the
   retarded progress.
   
   
   
   
   
3. The other gem that was lost along with the “The Kohinoor” is our arts and artisans. The inimitable and intrinsic artwork of our land has gone into obscurity along with the artisans who are now living in an emasculated condition. The government must recognise and uplift such artist whose art forms are worth several millions in the global market.
   

Our government must emphasise on farming and agriculture. It must subsidise organic farming thereby making the farmer and the buyer rich and happy respectively.
secondly our schools must begin by teaching our rich culture and heritage to children in school. When we talk of heritage we forget that there existed an India before the British and Moghul invasions.
Lastly the myriad arts of our country must be renewed and given their due. 

The economy will correct itself once we realise wherein our strength lies. 

Having spoken about our gifts let me further take you all into the current global scenario.

Indian Rupee	1.00 INR	inv. 1.00 INR
Euro	0.011833	84.512345
US Dollar	0.015676	63.791793
British Pound	0.009987	100.133434
Australian Dollar	0.016876	59.255153
Canadian Dollar	0.016210	61.690548
Emirati Dirham	0.057578	17.367763
Swiss Franc	0.014657	68.225296
Chinese Yuan Renminbi	0.095943	10.422847
Malaysian Ringgit	0.051223	19.522376
New Zealand Dollar	0.019463	51.379939

The currency that comes closest to the Indian rupee is the Chinese yen. In contrast look at the Dollar and Pound sterling. Such a staggering variation in economy! The figure is  in fact showing how weak the rupee is as compared to all the world currencies. This basically means that Indian goods have no market either outside or inside India and we are underselling our products and talents alike to the big daddies. It also means that we are importing more than we are exporting.

The biggest paradox of the current trade development is that we buy imported goods because it is of a superior quality, and then export our superior quality products to foreign nations. The next enormous chip in our armour is oil. We are dependent upon the dollar to buy oil.

But now our imports exceed exports because of substantial competition from the Chinese, and several other such markets. The end result is what you see in the above table, “The fast decline of the rupee against all currencies of the world”. 

The solution to all our maladies is to “Go Swadesi”. The famous slogan 

“Be Indian Buy Indian” 

should be tooted and blared from every roof top and nook and corner of the country. Come on my fellow Indians let us revive the Swadesi movement. Please look at the manufacturer’s label before you buy any product be it food items or clothing or electronics items. 

A request to my fellow Indians, please sell the first quality products here to our people before shipping it away to some country abroad.  A 40% of our countrymen can afford good stuff sold by our traders and am sure are more than willing to buy on our own products than to spend it on imported goods.

And most important of all PLEASE USE LESS GASOLINE. That will solve 60% of our financial deficits. Walk, Use public transports, Invest in a good bicycle.
Please save India from a perennial oil crisis. We have to start somewhere and might as well start here and now.

As the saying goes 

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it;

George Bernard Shaw.

So please help improve our country’s fiscal situation be an active participant in the national “Drive for better Economy”.

Jai Hind.

IN THE QUEST OF THE PATHIVRATHA

nter
Some great women, due to the strength of their purity or 
Pathivrathatva have been able to defy the laws of nature. For the uninitiated, here are some stories of the greatest of pathivratas.


Sathi Anasuya Devi: The wife of Maharishi Atri, one of the saptarishis, was able to transform the scheming trinity, i.e. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva into infants, to serve them food in the nude. Anasuya is quoted in the Ramayana to have presented Sita Devi with the robe that will never tear or get dirtied, she was said to have done severe penance thereby making the River Mandakini flow to assuage a great famine that hit the world (India).Sathi Savithri: The wife of Sathyavan, who was destined to die very young, is extolled for her great virtue and penance so much as to defy death or Lord Yama thereby resurrecting him.

Sathi Arundathi Devi: The wife of the sage Vashishta, one of the seven sages who are identified with the Ursa Major. She is identified with the star Alcor which forms a double star system with Mizar (identified as Vashishta Maharishi) in Ursa Major. Arundhathi, though the wife of Rishi Vashishta, is accorded the same status as the seven seers and is worshiped with them as such. It is an important ritual in most south Indian marriages for the bride to be shown the Arundhathi Nakshatram by her husband soon after mangalyadharanam. It has been found that the stars Alcor (Arundhathi) and Mizar (Vashishta) revolve around each other the ideal for way for husband and wife to be.

.Sathi Sita Devi: Wife of Rama, The Godhead, abducted by Ravana the Asura King. It is said that she moved the Shiva Dhanush with her left hand as a 10 year old. She could have easily killed Ravana with a single blow. But she preferred to wait for her husband Ram to free her. To protect her husband’s honor she walked through fire and yet was banished in the jungle for no fault of hers.  This learned and brave maiden walked through fire unharmed. The earth opened up to swallow her on her command was it because she was the consort of Lord Vishnu? Or was she the ultimate pathivrata.


Sathi Panchaali: Born from the sacrificial altar, Yagnaseni, the wife of the Pandavas. The myth goes that she was married to 5 brothers, was still accorded the status of a Sathi, i.e. the pure one. It is said In the Mahabharatha that when she was dis robed in the Kaurava Mahasabha, her robe kept increasing in length, thereby rendering her safe from lustful eyes. The story goes that Krishna performed the feat of protecting a pure and devoted Souls’ dignity. She was the owner of a vessel that would never empty of food cooked in it with which she fed the Pandavas and several other forest dwellers from. Draupadi is said to have pioneered schools in the jungles for the children of the forest dwellers. In no way do these incidents sound like the deeds of a helpless woman in exile.
These great women were as pious and able as the Rishis of the yore, yet we know them for being the devoted wife and not an intelligent and erudite individual. They absolutely grasped the actuality of existence on earth. Could the Sathi have been a step ahead of being just a devoted wife, who followed the footstep of their husbands till the end? If that were the case the big question is where are the pathivratas in this day and time as we know it. 

It remains then to conclude that women today are not devoted to their husbands and don’t love them as much as the mythical Sathi. Are all the women today of tainted character, who have no comprehension of the pathivrata dharma. The truth remains that even in this modern day, of “chat shaadi phat talaq”, most women have deep rooted sensibilities and sense of right and wrong that they can actually pass off for “Pathivrathas of the Kaliyug”.

It makes us wonder as to how one gets to become a pathivrata. A half of the female population in India would be proud “Masters in Pathivrathatva” degree holders from the Indian Institute of pathivrathatva, with anxious parents thronging colleges that offer such a diploma had that been the case.


We as a society do not give much importance to the power of the human mind. Anything beyond the dull routine has to be a miracle and what more, Godly or divine. It has to be based on the purity of the person typically so in the case of a woman. If one were to look closely at all the instances in our mythology, these great women were not in any way lesser to their male counterparts and in many cases the rishis were emancipated and exalted because of their respective wives. Then, the distinction between the male and female scholars pales out.
When one understands that the soul is formless and has no boundaries, we are beyond the physical realm thereby making the whole idea of bodily limitations null and void. It is easy then to see that the so called pathivrathatva is a by-product of great wisdom and not vice versa.

Now for those who are wondering as to the whole point of this blog, I can only say that the time has come for us to realize the lost potential of this great country. We must look beyond confines of orthodoxy and begin to live like Mahasathis and Maharishis of our country.

It is plain to see that the Mahasathis were all great scientists of their times. What the masses call "Alchemy", was nothing but advanced science beyond our comprehension. Covering it under the the veil of pathivrathatva has only achieved the loss of such wisdom. Head back to the days when diseases were unheard of and herbs, shrubs, and sometimes even mud and water could cure illnesses, if need be.

Rise on Mahasathis, time has come for the people of this country to do away with the moral vacuum that is prevalent in the current days. Let us march in search of our lost ancient knowledge.
I appeal to all my fellow countrymen to look at a woman in all her glory.

• As the all pervading mother 
• The ever understanding sister; 
• The loving spouse 
• The trusting daughter 

For she is the source of all that is good and fortunate.Perish the thought that she is just an object of pleasure. Please help the other half of the society to emancipate and exalt alongside, like the Maharishis of our glorious past. Then wait to watch them follow you till the end of the galaxy.