रचनाकार: सुरेन्द्र बोथरा ‘मनु’ की कविताएँ

रचनाकार: सुरेन्द्र बोथरा ‘मनु’ की कविताएँ

Why Blame Religion?

Today it has become a fashion to criticize religion and brand it as the root of all evil faced by humanity. It is more common in groups that we know as intellectuals and elite. Even among them the leading group is made up of those who take pride in calling themselves secularists. Most of these people have only superficial and not in-depth knowledge of the religion they deplore or for that matter any other religion. To them Dharma is the Hindi rendering of the term religion. In their hands the term secular has lost its true meaning and secularism has turned into a cult that can be called another dogmatic form of religion.

In their mission of mudslinging aimed at religion they avoid the use of simple logic and prudence. They forget that for the misdeeds they blame religion for are, in fact, committed by the religious leaders who use religion for their self-interest. These selfish, ambitious and power mongering leaders play at the hands of politicians and other power mongers to distort religious principles and codes at their convenience. The fault lies with these self-proclaimed representatives of the almighty of every hue; and it is they who should be blamed and punished, not any religion. Punishing or redeeming of these criminals in the garb of religious and other leaders is the responsibility of law and order machinery, state administration and society.

Blaming religion or hiding behind religion has become an easy escape route for perpetrators of all kinds of crimes. The unending inter-religious and inter-sectarian bickering has made it all the more convenient. The high point of this lopsided mindset is that the moment a thief or a criminal or a murderer is apprehended, instead of his crime and evidence, his religion is discussed. Masses are mobilized and polarized to blame religion and defend it. The root cause and crime are conveniently put on the back burner and ultimately forgotten. Mind you, those who thrive on deluding masses will never find solutions to this problem. It is only we, the suffering common people, who should sincerely search for solutions and free ourselves from the influence of these religio-political leaders.

Here are two honest questions we should ask — 1. The atom is a source of unlimited energy. This is a scientific theory established by Einstein and other scientists. Based on that Atomic bomb was made by Openheimer and other scientists. On the command of politicians it was used by US army and an inhuman destruction followed. Who is to be blamed — politicians and army or scientists and science? 2. A doctor prescribes a high potency analgesic for relieving pain to a patient. The patient starts using it as intoxicant for enjoyment; gets addicted and dies. Who is to be blamed — patient, doctor or medical science?

*****

Politics and Religion

Any of the projected fights between any two communities is never a fight between those communities; it is always a fight between the leaders who have forced themselves on simple innocent masses taking advantage of their simple daily needs and benign ambitions.

It is surprising that in all the debates going on for decades about secularism and communalism everyone decries the communalization of governance through communalization of politics. This, if not absent, is not certainly as widespread a phenomenon as the leaders and media claim it to be.  They conveniently ignore the real evil which does not require any special effort to be seen — the politicization of every facet, every walk, every level of Indian life.

Why the ground reality faced by common man is not appreciated? The politicians have a motive for that — their political power and ambitions. But why the class that proclaims to be intelligentsia also conveniently forgets the simple desires, needs, and ambitions of the man on the street. These are the people who pose to be the champions of the cause of the down trodden. They should ask themselves a very pertinent question -- why the common man has to become down trodden to get their attention?

No, to this humble citizen, it appears that most of the activities of a majority of these claimants of altruism are mere facades or intellectual games they play. In fact the intelligentsia is not at all bothered about the common man. It is interested only in the religious leaders who can hardly be called religious. They are just another hue of politicians. The poor common man is fodder to all shades of these politicians. He is least interested in big talks and debates about communalism or secularism. He becomes concerned about these issues only when he is drawn into the entailing turmoil. He is faced with the frustration that these champions of secularism and communalism keep on coming to him with their uncalled for advice through their accomplices in the media and drag him into the fray.

The true role of religious leaders is to discipline masses and politicians and impart moral and ethical values to them. Today we find the role reversed. It is the politicians who govern the religious leaders and inject selfish and partisan values into them.

Why, for getting rid of religious-fanaticism, we are told to discard religion not fanaticism? It sounds as if in trying to rid of toxicity of medicine we are told to discard medicine and not its toxic ingredient. 

*****

आतंकवाद

My poem partially publihed in Rajarthan Patrika (10-3-2013)

पंखहीन हो गये परिन्दे, अर्थहीन हर शब्द होगया,

कहीं एक पशु जागा होगा, धुंधला हर प्रारब्ध होगया।

कंकालों ने करवट ली, पन्ने पलटे इतिहासों के,

आर्तनाद गलियों में गूंजा, हर चौराहा दग्ध होगया।

पहन मुखौटे भोलेभाले बारूदी आतंक फिर रहे,

मंदिर, मस्जिद, गिरजे का हर हरकारा संदिग्ध होगया।

ईद-दिवाली-बैसाखी पर साझे उत्सव स्नेह भरे थे,

प्रेत फासले के जागे, अब पनघट भी निस्तब्ध होगया।

देहरी, सीढ़ी, छत, चौबारे जाकर जो सहला आता था,

भाई को भाई का वो ही संबोधन अपशब्द हो गया।

धड से बिछुडे सर की आँखें व्यर्थ खोजतीं उपचारक को,

खंडहर जैसे शासन का हर गलियारा निःशब्द हो गया।

--सुरेन्द्र बोथरा ‘मनु’

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हैदराबाद धमाके: कुछ दोहे Hyderabad blasts : Some couplets

हैदराबाद धमाके: कुछ दोहे

Hyderabad blasts : Some couplets

एक धमाके ने किया, कैसा सत्यानाश?

जहाँ दुआ को जाइए, वहाँ पडी है लाश।

Just one blast and what a ruinous fate?!

You go to pray and find a corpse in wait.

रक्त राह पर बह रहा, हाथ टंगे दीवार,

बोलो राम-रहीम क्या, यही स्वर्ग का द्वार।

Hands hang on the wall and blood flows on the street,

Tell, O Rama-Rahim! Is that how gates of heaven greet?

तुमने जिनकी जान ली, वे सब थे इन्सान,

पूछो अपने आप से, कौन बना हैवान।

All those whom you killed were human,

Ask yourself now, who turned into a demon?

भूख लगे तब मारना, यह अरण्य की रीत,

रब के बन्दे रक्त से, लिखें धर्म की जीत।

Way of jungle is to kill only when hungry,

But in blood write soldiers of faith their victory.

पाप पुजारी कर रहे, नहीं धर्म का हाथ,

जो पूजे शैतान को, मत दो उसका साथ।

It is priests who are sinners, not any religion,

Never support anyone who worships the demon.

’’’’’’’

Does demolition drive not benefit the corrupt?

(What of honest answers, we don't even ask honest questions. )

The unholy alliance of bureaucracy and politics continues to push the most burning issue facing the country on the back burner. Although the public is well aware of that issue of corruption, it finds itself unable to bring that issue to the fore or its right priority – the first. The politician and bureaucrat combine has devised methods to find scapegoats or shift every issue of corruption behind some other issue of seemingly greater priority. The situation projected by them is miles away from the reality. They conveniently forget that widespread corruption is essentially associated with every other issue and problem the country faces. We should not forget that like in diabetes all organs of the human body are suspended in a corrosive liquid called sugar, in a corrupt system all organs of administration float in a corrosive liquid called corruption. Any plan theoretically healthy will turn out to be damaging in practice in such system. Thus solution to every problem essentially lies in first removing corruption. As long as corruption is not tackled every problem becomes a fuel for corruption and it continues to gain strength. It has acquired a demonic dimension that will consume everything including even the corrupt ultimately. But, in their inebriated state the corrupt fail to take notice of this and the non-corrupt turn a blind eye revealing lack of moral courage to renounce available facilities and comforts.

The most common and visible example of this malady is demolition drive. All unauthorized or illegal construction is a partnership enterprise simply because it is effortlessly visible. Demolition punishes only one partner. The other partner, a limb of administration, is left unpunished on one pretext or the other. Has any demolition drive anywhere included punishment of the corrupt and the negligent people in the system? After marking a place with encroachment or unauthorized construction, have they inquired that since when it exists and what action the responsible person in administration took? If no action was taken and the place fell under his jurisdiction why should he not be punished if not for corruption at least for dereliction of duty? And why the punishment should not be according to the graveness of the consequences of the neglect? Why should this action against administration not be taken prior to demolishing and punishing the other partner? Mostly the answers to all these questions are mere assurances that yes action will be taken in due course, and the due course is conveniently stretchable. In such conditions why should any such sudden enthusiastic demolition drive not be considered as a planned effort to create new sources of earning for the corrupt?

(VOTE NOT FOR A PARTY BUT FOR AN UPRIGHT PERSON.)

*****

याद रखें

वह

जो भरमाया गया है

उकसाया गया है

आपसे, इनसे या उनसे

है तो आदमी

पर नहीं है,

नहीं है जानवर

पर है।

सड़क चलते

गोलियों से भूनता

छुरे की धार को

हड्डियों पर पैनी करता

खेलता होली तेज़ाब से

रौंदता भविष्य की कोख को

निर्बाध बलात्कार से

फैलाता अव्यवस्था

शासन के गलियारों में,

अराजकता

शिक्षा के वातायनों में,

और रक्त

आस्था के आंगनों में।

हाँ! यह सब होता है

होगा ही!

ध्वजा पर सिंहासन लटका हो

विधि और विधान कच्ची मिट्टी

और बच्चे हों कुम्हार

दण्डधारी की आँखें हों पीठ में

एड़ी में हो प्यार

शिक्षा हो गहना

और शिक्षक सुनार

अखबार छिनाल बने

कुबेर बने यार

जनता के हिस्से में

पुकार ही पुकार।

ऐसे में

ऐसा जो होता है

है श्रीगणेश ही

सिर्फ निशान का हाथी

है बारात अभी बाकी।

अभी से घबरा गए

आदमी अभी

शक्ल से तो आदमी है

वह चीरता है छुरे से

नाखून से नहीं

दाँतों के बीच

अपनी ही जात के

मांस के रेशे अटके नहीं

होंठ भी अभी

अपनी ही जात के खून से

रंगे नहीं।

डरिये मत

अभी तो कसर बाकी है

बनने में आदमी के हैवान

तब तक देखते रहिए राह

बेहिचक चढाते रहिए

महत्वाकांक्षा को परवान।

उसके स्वागत के लिए

रक्त से, चर्बी से

धन से, ऐश्वर्य से

स्वार्थ की काया संवारते रहिए।

मुँह बचाते रहिए

उस यथार्थ से

कि आदमी हैवान बने

तो माई-बाप भूल जाता है

जिसने पाला उसे भी खाता है

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