Friends,
We now know well that Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Stanford University in California, then Washington DC & New York. I will try to cover each place's report subsequently.
Rahulji in Santa Clara California.
Some months ago, we started walking from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. While walking we came to realize that it is not possible to use normal means of communication as we are using in politics. Conversations, public meetings like this are simply not working. All the media instruments needed to do politics in India were controlled by BJP & RSS. You know people are threatened, and agencies were used against people. They had applied all methods to silence voices of opposition & people. In some way, it has become difficult to act politically. That is why we decided to walk from the south to the North and began our Bharat Jodo Yatra.
When we started देखेंगे क्या होता है! After a few days we realized that it is not an easy thing to walk for a thousand KMs. I developed a pain in my old knee injury. Now I am really in trouble. Because one has no choice but to walk. Then quite a surprising thing happened. After walking, I started noticing in 5 to 7 weeks that there is a pain but I am not feeling pain at all. I got up early in the morning at 6-00 am, walking about 25 KMS & we stopped walking about 7-3o to 8-00 in the evening. I am not feeling tired, what is this? Then I started asking people, भाइ! आपको थकान तो हो रही है या नहीं? ये क्या हो रहा है? It is strange that all our fellow travelers equally do not feel tired.
Then I realized that what was going on is not that we are walking but that India is walking with us. And a large mass of people who are coming from all religions and communities, they are creating an atmosphere of love and affection that is why nobody was feeling tired. As if we were all in public, everybody was walking to gather.
People from all walks of life, from all religions, from all ages, kids, young & old, men-women participated in Yatra. They were creating an atmosphere of love & affections. So nobody was feeling tired. As if everybody was walking together. सब जुडके चल रहे थे, किसिको थकान नहि हों रही थी. दुसरेकि मदद हो रही थी.
That's where we came up with the idea that "नफरत के बाझार में महोबत कि दुकान खोली है|" The interesting thing about us, namely the congress party, is we have affection towards everybody. When someone wants to say something, he will be welcome, we are ready to listen. We are not going to get aggressive nor angry. We will listen to him. We will be affectionate to them, loving to them. That's our nature.
When everybody started walking to gather, a completely different type of energy generated in all of us. Then I noticed that the government tried everything to censor all news related to Yatra. जो भी उनमे ताकातथी वो यात्रा को रोकने में लगा दी.पोलीस को उतार दिया, मगर कुछ काम नहि करता था. और यात्राकी जो असरथी वो बढती जा रहीथी.ये क्युं हुआ क्यो? आप सबने हमारी मदद कि. The idea of Bharat Jodo Yatra is all in your heart. It is about respecting each other, being affectionate to each other, not being violent to each other and not being arrogant against anybody.
Here, we have the presence of Shikh brothers in this meeting. Guru Nankjee's entire life was about this. "Be Humble, Be affectionate" I read about the very ardent Yatra of Guru Nanak Ji. I read his journey's comparison with us, our Yatra is nothing. Guru Nankijee went to Mecca all the way to Saudi Arabia. He went to Thailand & Sri Lanka also. These giants did Bharat Jodo before we were born. Basavanajee from Karnataka & Narayan Guru from Kerala they travelled to every corner of India to spread the message of love and compassion. Adi Shankar Acharya did the same. We will find in every state of India great people made Yatra to unite and gave the message of love & peace. We have recent examples of Gandhijee's Dandi march also. Each one of them preached to respect not only your religion, culture but give respect & tolerance to other religions also. Be respectful to all religions, all cultures and languages. In fact they all are the same.
The assault that is taking place in India on our way of life. Sam Pitrodajee said, he grew up in his childhood with people of different religion, languages & culture. They were all neighbors. This is the very core of India that is being attacked.
Another tradition of India is that you never think that you know everything. The world is too big and too complicated for anyone to understand in total. If it is so for some group of people then it is a mental disease. We have a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced that they know everything. I think they think they know more than GOD. They can sit down with GOD and explain to God what is going on?
Our Prime Minister is one such specimen. I think if you set Modijee next to God then he will start explaining to God how the Universe works. And very soon God will be confused about his divine creation! These are funny things but that is really going on. We have a group of people who claim that they understand everything. They can sit with scientists and explain what science is to them. They can go to historians and explain history to them. They explain warfare to the army. And give advice to the air force. By their heart it is mediocrity. Actually they do not understand anything.
In life you cannot understand anything if you are not ready to listen to somebody. This is the lesson I learnt from Bharat Jodo Yatra. There is something to learn from everybody. We are much older than those children. But I guarantee you they will teach us how to sing. I was looking at them when they were singing. And I thought at that time I cannot sing like them. It is impossible. When you look at the person, you have to appreciate that they have an experience, they have a life, and they have seen things and maybe that you can learn a lot from them. We have to open our ears & listen to them so that you will be able to learn. That is the Indian tradition.
If you look at our country, you will find that our country has the ability to absorb any idea that comes before it.India has never rejected any idea. Everybody who has come to India has been received with the open arms & their ideas have been absorbed in India. That is the India that we like. India that respects the rest of the world. India that is humble. India that listens, India that is affectionate. That is the India that you represent here in the USA. You would not have been here if you had not agreed with these values.
If you believe in anger, hatred, arrogance, you will be sitting in a BJP Meeting. I would be doing mann kI baat. मन कि बात.
Thank you very much for holding the Indian Flag in America showing American people what it is to be an Indian. Respecting them, respecting their culture, learning from them, & also allowing them to learn from you. Make us all proud.
We think you all are ambassadors of our country. When American people say that Indians are extremely intelligent, they are masters of ITS, they are respectful. All these ideas come from your actions & behaviors. So I thank you very much for that. I am not tired because of the energy you give me. Thank you.
Now Question- Answer session. That would never happen in BJP meetings.
(1) From the president of the Women's organization- What will be your stand on quota of Women's reservation in Parliament if your government comes in power 2024?
Ans-R G. Our party is committed to it. According to my thinking, Women's safety is related to their empowerment.- We want to create the mindset for involvement of women in the political system, business and their participation in governance.
(2) Tamil Group-represent science, reason & free thought- Since 2014 the present central rulers of BJP and RSS have concealed an agenda to impose one language, one culture, one tradition and religion in the country. Ours is a federal country. What is your opinion on that?
R G- You know India is the union of states constituently. And it protects all our diversity of religion, culture and languages. Your language namely Tamil is not only language, actually it is the way of life of you people. We as a political party endorses and enhances all diversities of our countries.
(3) Ambedkar King study circle- Rahuljee, what is your strategy to reduce income and wealth inequalities in the country? It is the history of mankind that these inequalities generate seeds of Fascism.
R G – We requested the BJP government to undertake Caste based Census to understand the real backwardness of people in all walks of life. But it did nothing except polarize the masses on the basis of religions. With the help of that census report we can have fair play in the distribution of national resources.
(4) Muslim Community- This government has reduced the whole Muslim community as the second class citizens of India. There are lots of young Muslim youth put behind the bars for no legitimate reasons. What hope are you giving to the whole Muslim community?
"नफरत के बाझार में महोबत कि दुकान खोली है|"–We have to fight it- challenge it- fight with love & affection-
Once again thank you all very much.
