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The Daily Janchetna

Year11, Issue:22, Tuesday, Dec.02,2020.

. Message of the Day .

The concept of accepting basic needs of humanity as fundamental right is not new. At every junction of the civilization, we find a Gautam Buddha who did feel the agony of the hapless, innocent man being ground in the mill of time. The individual has to face problems at every step of his life. Needs for his survival are, indeed, very limited but he has created unlimited wants in the wake of being civilized and he has to toil very hard to get each want fulfilled. Some do become rich and amass uncountable wealth but many are left with empty belly. The concept of charity was emerged with the feelings of mercy, sympathy and compassion for the poor. The hungry started reporting the charitable to fill his belly. The rich took no time in managing alms to the hungry because of the recognition attached to a bountiful in the society. But begging is a curse. To maintain self respect of the poor, fulfillment of the basic needs ought to be declared fundamental rights of every citizen.

  History of Mankind-8.

Instead of developing from complex molecules such as RNA, life might have begun with smaller molecules interacting with each other in cycles of reactions. These might have been contained in simple capsules akin to cell membranes, and over time more complex molecules that performed these reactions better than the smaller ones could have evolved, scenarios dubbed "metabolism-first" models, as opposed to the "gene-first" model of the "RNA world" hypothesis.

The final theory is, Panspermia, truly out of this world..

Perhaps life did not begin on Earth at all, but was brought here from elsewhere in space, a notion known as Panspermia. For instance, rocks regularly get blasted off Mars by cosmic impacts, and a number of Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that some researchers have controversially suggested brought microbes over here, potentially making us all Martians originally. Other scientists have even suggested that life might have hitchhiked on comets from other star systems. However, even if this concept were true, the question of how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space.

. Today’s History .

02^nd December.

Important Events:

1855 — Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar, Indian nationalist and reformer, was born

1898 — Indra Lal Roy, first Indian flying ace who served in the First World War, was born  

1937 — Manohar Joshi, Shiv Sena leader and chief minister of Maharashtra, was born  

1947 — K.V. Kamath, banker and corporate icon, was born

1959 — Boman Irani, Indian film and theatre actor, was born  

1960 — Silk Smitha, South Indian film artiste, was born   

Union Carbide ki Gas

“Around midnight on December 2, 1984 . . . I went to bed. Before I fell asleep, I felt a sharp pricking sensation in my throat. I thought I was going to catch a cold. But a few minutes later, I was coughing and had difficulty breathing. I then heard loud sounds from outside. Looking out of the window, I saw people running. And then I smelt a very strong, foul odour. I moved back to the bedroom to find my wife coughing too. I realised there was something terribly wrong . . . and called the police control room. When someone responded, I could hear him gasp for breath and cough. “What’s happened?” I asked. “Sahab, Union Carbide ki gas tankee phoot gayee hai. Dam ghut raha hai. (Sir, a Union Carbide gas tank has exploded. I am suffocating).”  

                              -- Raajkumar Keswani in the Outlook magazine

The events narrated in this terrifying account by Keswani, a journalist working in Bhopal in the 1980s, marked the beginning of one of the world’s biggest industrial disasters on the intervening night of December 2 and December 3, 1984. 

The “very strong, foul odour” was that of the deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other poisonous substances that had leaked from the American firm Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, killing around 3,800 people, according to government estimates. Other estimates have put the death toll at a minimum of 8,000 within two weeks of the disaster, and an equal number in the years to follow. Besides the thousands who died, more than 5 lakh people were affected by the gas leak.  

It’s not as if there were no prior warnings. Keswani himself had written two articles in local publications in the years before the tragedy on the dangers that the plant posed to residents of Bhopal, but “[n]o one listened to me”.

On that cold December night, terrified residents tried to run away from the site but thousands were dead by the morning hours. Mass funerals and cremations were carried out, and bodies dumped into the Narmada river. The New York Times reported on December 3, 1984: “Witnesses said thousands of people had been taken to hospitals gasping for breath, many frothing at the mouth, their eyes inflamed. The streets were littered with the corpses of dogs, cats, water buffalo, cows and birds…Doctors from neighbouring towns and the Indian Army were rushed to the city…where hospitals were said to be overflowing with the injured. Most of the victims were children and old people who were overwhelmed by the gas and suffocated…”

According to witnesses, a “densely populated area of about 15 square miles was turned into ‘one vast gas chamber’”, The Guardian reported.  

A survivor, Champa Devi Shukla, recalled the nightmare (reported in bhopal.org, a website linked to the charity Bhopal Medical Appeal): “It felt like somebody had filled our bodies up with red chillies, our eyes had tears coming out, noses were watering, we had froth in our mouths. The coughing was so bad that people were writhing in pain. Some people just got up and ran in whatever they were wearing or even if they were wearing nothing at all…People were only concerned as to how they would save their lives so they just ran.”

Two weeks after the disaster, the remaining MIC was removed from two tanks at the plant. It is believed that the gas had leaked after a large quantity of water got into an MIC tank, causing a reaction that forced the pressure release valve to open. While Union Carbide (later owned by Dow Chemicals) claims that it was a result of a “sabotage” by an employee and that the company’s safety systems were in place, many campaigners for Bhopal gas victims and green activists point to defects in the safety systems.

According to bhopal.org: “Regular maintenance had fallen into such disrepair that on the night of December 2nd…when an employee was flushing a corroded pipe, multiple stopcocks failed and allowed water to flow freely into the largest tank of MIC. Exposure to this water soon led to an uncontrolled reaction; the tank was blown out of its concrete sarcophagus and spewed a deadly cloud of MIC, hydrogen cyanide, mono methylamine and other chemicals that hugged the ground. Blown by the prevailing winds, this cloud settled over much of Bhopal.”  

On December 7, 1984, Warren Anderson, the then CEO of Union Carbide, was arrested in Bhopal but later released on bail. In December 1987, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a chargesheet against Anderson and other accused.  Anderson was charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code including section 304 (culpable homicide). In 2003, the ministry of external affairs sent a request to the United States for Anderson’s extradition. However, this and further requests were turned down.  

Though Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million in compensation in 1989, after a settlement with the Indian government, activists say that given the number of people affected this was very inadequate. It comes out to be “a total of only $370 to $533 per victim — a sum too small to pay for most medical bills”, according to environmental group Greenpeace.

Contamination of the site and lack of disposal of toxic waste continued to be a serious concern. “Hundreds of tons of waste still languish inside a tin-roofed warehouse in a corner of the old grounds of the Union Carbide pesticide factory here, nearly a quarter-century after a poison gas leak killed thousands and turned this ancient city into a notorious symbol of industrial disaster,” The New York Times reported in July 2008.

Indeed, despite a Rs 1265.56 crore package announced by the Indian government for the Bhopal gas victims in June 2010, for many survivors of the tragedy and residents of Bhopal, justice has been elusive.  

. Current .

Secure, Comfortable Humanity

The man has been toiling hard for a secure, comfortable living even before the dawn of civilization but in vain. He has been forced to face scorching heat of deprivation of necessities: food, clothing & shelter. He did question his pathetic fate despite the hardest labor he put in time and again but of no avail. No one has been able to give logical reply till date.

History of mankind starts with Stone Age. The man was not familiar with fire even. Evidently, he led life of an animal. Surface of the earth or at the most branches of trees under specific conditions was his abode. He had to collect vegetables, fruits and other eatables to fill his belly. Sometimes, he got them in abundance and some times, they were scarce. Evidently, he had to remain hungry at times. What to think of wild animals, protection from heat, cold, rain is unassumable under the circumstances. Life was basically insecure and full of scarcity. Experience taught him strength of union and benefits of division of labor. Groups were formed, families were established and ultimately states came into existence. Foundations of civilization were laid.

After advent of civilization, man realized hard pinches of insecurity and hardships in life. ”I put so much of labor but unable to get enough food to fill my belly. My near & dears die and I can do nothing to save them. Why does this all happen? What has rendered me so helpless? What should I do to be out of this menace?”

By this time, many gods, goddesses and one Almighty had emerged in. An Almighty God was there at the helm of affairs. He not only created this universe, but was supposed to be managing its day to day affairs through reliable agents. All functions of nature had been attributed to this or that supernatural power. People were afraid of them and started worshipping them out of fear and greed for favor. Wisest among them became officiant (now priest). When people complaint of their hardships, he used to console them by saying,” It is He that sent you in the world. And He Himself marked your fortune. Whatever is determined by Him, you have to bear. Do it willingly. He will be happy and bless you”

Spiritualism could never be expected to deal with the question of hardships faced by humanity because of its basic conception that man had been a part of the Almighty God/ Allah/Sadguru and was separated from Him because of follies he committed. “Man is sent to this planet as punishment and will remain unhappy till the reunion takes place. Reunion is an uphill task: soul in the living man has to be made pious detaching himself from all the worldly comforts, find a solitary place for meditation, locate and persuade Him for a reunion. Persuasions constitute penances, self-mortification and submission to His will. Votary has to use all means to convince Him of his complete submission: butter Him by singing in His praise, endeavor for His clemency & grace, cajole Him by concentrating on Him only discarding all others and frighten Him by observing long fasts & undergoing other painful activities. Complete security and comfort prevails in His place after reunion but this is possible at His will only.”

Since this concept did not bring enough offerings for priests, they went on amending it to their convenience. The most popular amendment was that the Almighty God is one. He created this universe at His will and is operating it through his agents (gods & goddesses). Man’s fortune is also predetermined by Him and there can be no change in this. Ya! If one is able to oblige the operating god by offerings and worshipping, some alteration may be made and results are liable to be changed in favor of the devotee.

Results of this amendment were amazing. Number of gods and priests increased many folds.

. Informative .

GRANTHIS & GURDUARAS:

A recently posted essay by I.J. Singh titled A Very Human Tragedy was a case report of a Granthi at a Gurduara caught in a vortex – a psychologically downward spiral of loneliness, depression, alcohol abuse and hopelessness – so severe that he committed suicide.

Not surprisingly, the essay attracted a good deal of attention within the community and a fair number of comments, many of which were quite thoughtful.  Obviously there is much more to be said on the matter. 

In this collaborative attempt amongst the three of us, we will draw upon the comments of many readers of the earlier essay to formulate our opinions.  They will remain unnamed since our interpretations integrate their views in ways that may not be easily ascribed to any one person.

Sikhs have been in North America for over a century.  Our first gurduara dates from 1906.  Now there are over 200 gurduaras in North America, most of them founded in the past 40-45 years.

The issues surrounding Gurduara Granthis - their recruitment, selection and appointment as well as on-the-job working conditions - are rife with matters of both management and human concern. The challenge is to find a solution so that the community gets its money’s worth and the granthis find fulfillment and satisfaction in their employment.

Unquestionably, a Granthi’s job (if we can be clear on what it should be) is very different from other jobs that we engage in to put food on the table and that only adds to the challenge. But that, too, is a necessity that can’t be swept aside.

True, we have not formally surveyed gurduaras in the diaspora about their practices and expectations regarding a granthi. But based on our own experience and anecdotal evidence, we believe that a minuscule minority, if at all, has in place a written, legally sound and enforceable contract between the granthi and the gurduara.

In fact, we are aware of only one gurduara currently - in Columbus Ohio where one is being negotiated and perhaps another one - in North America that has a written contract and job description specifying expectations of employee and employer, conditions of employment, issues of remuneration, vacation, and related issues between the granthi and gurduara management. 

These are standard provisions for any kind of employment anywhere.

Before we run too far with this, keep in mind that granthis are not clergy (priests) and have no inherent ecclesiastical authority. But we seem to be creating a class that approximates priesthood, for which there is no provision in Sikhi. Let not Granthis morph into the new Brahmins despite clear Sikh teaching that admits no middleman between God or Guru and the Sikh. 

With that said, the logical question is: do we need Granthis in the first place?

Ideally a Gurduara, that is, a training ground for a Sikh, should be self-managed by volunteers from the sangat.   This is how individual Sikhs connect to the fundamentals of their faith as well as hone their skills of collaboration with each other for a bigger cause. That is how true kinship and communities develop.

But we must also recognize that granthis are an organizational necessity in today’s world. How, then, to define their role?

Are granthis mere employees, a class of people who function as caretakers of gurduaras and the Granth? Or are they, in fact, as we would like to see them - Granthi as a curator or scholar of the Guru Granth and a teacher of the Sikh worldview, playing a larger role than one who serves at the whims of the Gurduara management committee, and remains at their back and call.

Let’s examine briefly the current relational dynamic between Granthi, sangat and management committee.

Granthis in most North American Gurduaras are overwhelmingly Punjab-based, that is, they come directly from Punjab.  Many, but not all, are reasonably well schooled in the Guru Granth and related Sikh literature, and adept in Indian mythological lore as well – with varying degrees of competence in Punjabi and Gurumukhi, and on occasion, a few other Indic languages and traditions. 

Such qualifications and skills are probably sufficient to serve the newly arriving immigrant community of Punjabi origin. And indeed Granthis fulfill an emotional and cultural need for large segments of the sangat. 

But being largely Punjab-based, Granthis also bring cultural baggage that does not always resonate with sections of the sangat. We have surging populations of young Sikh men and women either born or largely reared outside Punjab and India.  Their primary culture is less Punjabi/Indian and more American/Canadian/British/Australian – or any of a variety of additional possibilities. The mélange of languages that the youth command may have widely varying levels of Punjabi intermixed with the local argot where they live. Significant and overwhelming parts of their lives are spent outside the Punjabi cultural ambit.   Interfaith issues impact them on a daily basis, at work or at play.

This reality tells us that we need Granthis who are equally adept in Western societies - their values, the Judeo-Christian traditions, as well as the language and culture of the countries in which we have created our presence.

(Contd.)