UNITING THE NATION = DIVIDING THE NATION =(Post.2) = DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT = PREVENT, & REFORM = BUT DO NOT DESTROY

UNITING THE NATION

DIVIDING THE NATION (Post.2)

DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT

In the first post in this series under the URL :

 (http://wisesociopoliticalideas.blogspot.com/2011/07/uniting-nation-dividing-nation-post1.html?showComment=1311218381417#c7389389350765822329)

We have dealt with Domestic violence Briefly.

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We emphasized that - INDIAN LAW  must become much more PREVENTIVE and REFORMATIVE; and much less PUNITIVE. 

This must be the main motto and theme for any law. But, unfortunately, most Indian Laws – are only PUNITIVE – not preventive or reformative AT ALL, with some exceptions.

In this (second) Post, let us look at another, similar, related ACT. This is the DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT.

Let us look at some of its Provisions :

2. Definition of `dowry’.-In this act, `dowry’ means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly-

(a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or

(b) by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person;

at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of said parties but does not include dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies.

Comments : Look at the words “any time after the marriage”. This gives the woman sweeping powers to complain and tease all her in-laws all through her Life – under this Act. Today- the position of many women has drastically changed from what it was –say, ten or twenty years ago. There are many Indian women millionaires, billionaires, corporate chieftains, media persons and women  in good positions in every field. Crime by women (young and middle aged – especially)  is also increasing leaps and bounds. Their contribution to marital stress is also very high today. Extra marital affairs, incited and indulged in by women, are also increasing rapidly. Look at any TV channel today. In many TV serials produced by even women – women are the villains – and they clearly depict the type of atrocities that women are capable of committing today.

As we find from many real incidents in  News papers and media - women killing their own children and their husband etc – just to please a paramour are also quite a good number. Law cannot ignore such incidents.  If a woman is caught in a wrong act, in some extra marital affair, or some such indiscretion, she promptly lodges a complaint under Dowry Prohibition act. This is happening now. The courts have seen many such cases.

Many women in Metros like Bangalore are known to frequently go to pubs for drinking. If they enjoy that much independence, and freedom – where is the question of their being harassed for Dowry? The economically dependent woman – is more likely to face dowry harassment.

The law must therefore change and make a clear distinction between (i) the educated, employed / economically independent woman and (ii) an economically dependent woman. The former is more likely to be a FALSE COMPLAINANT, complaining just to punish the husband and in-laws for objecting to her wrong doings, taking advantage of the law. 

3. Penalty for giving or taking dowry.-(1) If any person, after the commencement of this Act, gives or takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and with the fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry, whichever is more:

Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be recorded in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than five years.

COMMENTS : The Minimum Five years imprisonment in an Indian Jail, destroys anybody’s life forever. Their employment, earning Potential, employability, every thing is gone. Many tend to commit suicide in such cases, or, take to crime for a means of living.

Once the lone bread winner goes to jail – the others are reduced to acute economic distress. In any case – they will no more accept the complainant – into their family after the destruction of their life at her hands. The Husband can no more accept her as wife after he and his family undergo such punishment. The relationship is over after a spell of Police custody itself. The punishment by court – seals every one’s fate.

Can the complainant woman ever get married again to any one? Definitely not.

Is this what a Daughter in law would want?

Every Genuine (Potential) complainant under this law would want to lead a happy, married life along with her husband – without the Dowry Harassment. That is what the Law should be aiming at. 

Law must be preventive and reformative and should not destroy the Lives – of both accused and complainant – which are both inter-dependent

But, this present law goes against the CRYING NEED OF THE GENUINELY SUFFERING WOMAN completely – and serves the need of the false complainant. There are absolutely no preventive and reformative Provisions in the Law. And the Punitive provisions are so oppressive that they put many lives beyond repair.

4. Penalty for demanding dowry.- If any person demands directly or  indirectly, from the parents or other relatives or guardian of a bride or bridegroom as the case may be, any dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees:

Provided that the Court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months.

COMMENTS :In all Dowry harassment cases, as already said –we need preventive measures and not punitive measures.

ONE REFORMATIVE MEASURE : Before a marriage is agreed to by both sides, Law should ensure that both parties sign a declaration before a marriage registrar, or Tahsildar, or magistrate to the effect – that this marriage is agreed to between both parties – without any DOWRY. This will be a Pro-active, preventive and a reformative provision. The authority before whom the declaration is made – must advise them, counsel them and warn them properly against the giving or taking of Dowry.

A stitch in time saves Nine. A pro-active, preventive approach of warning and counseling at the time of marriage – prevents lots of problems later. The counseling must include the wife, the husband, the parents-in-law on both sides.

7. Cognisance of offences.- (1) …

(2) Nothing in Chapter XXXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2of 1974), shall apply to any offence punishable under this Act.)

Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a statement made by the person aggrieved by the offence shall not subject such person to a prosecution under this Act.

COMMENTS : The last sentence of this clause seems to mean – that the complainant shall not be punished for her / his complaint or any statement – even if it is proved to be a false statement. Why a manifestly FALSE and MOTIVATED COMPLAINANT should not be punished? Why not? This is absolutely one-sided and incites people to make FALSE COMPLAINTS brazenly. Everybody should be equal before the eyes of the law. This is what constitution proclaims. But, step by step, every Law is diluting this EQUALITY BEFORE LAW concept, and many laws are so one-sided that the EQALITY  BEFORE LAW remains only in the constitution now.

8. Offences to be congnizable for certain purposes and to be bailable and non-compoundable - (1) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) shall apply to offences under this Act as of they were cognizable offences-
(a) for the purpose of investigation of such offences; and
(b) for the purpose of matters other than-
(i) matters referred to in Sec. 42 of that Code, and
(ii) the arrest of person without a warrant or without an order of a Magistrate.
(2) Every offence under this Act shall be non-bailable and non-compoundable.

COMMENTS : Investigation into any complaint must definitely be made – to determine its genuineness 

PROVISION OF ARREST : Police Custody in India today – is nothing short of the Biggest Punishment for people – more than the punishment by any court. CUSTODIAL TORTURE is a fact of life in India though its exact extent cannot be determined. It happens in countless cases. 

INNOCENT – UNTIL PROVED GUILTY – must therefore apply in this case. Times have changed. Women are no more that Innocent. Men are no more that Guilty –in respect of this act. Arrest provisions must not come into play – until a reasonable ground is established. Even then, preventive and Reformative provisions must first play out.

NON-BAILABLE : Why should the offence be Non-bailable? Why should it be put beyond discretion of the COURTS? Ultimately the courts only decide the case. So, why BAIL  should not be granted by them? 

Even if the harassment was REAL – what is needed is protection to the complainant and warning the accused to desist from any harassment of Complainant.

But, if it is a FALSE COMPLAINT – can we make good the loss of precious period of life, property, time, stress and all that suffered by the innocent accused? 

There may be a few cases of torture, attempt to kill etc – where the COURT can use its discretion to refuse to grant Bail. Otherwise – denying BAIL to the innocent accused is a Bad law. Putting it beyond court’s discretion is Bad.

INVESTIGATION : Police is the most UNSUITABLE agency to investigate into such dowry harassment cases and meddle with the wife and husband’s lives – to start with. As in the case of the suggestions made for Domestic violence – we must constitute a socio-Governmental structure, which moves in – and judges the veracity of the complaint. This committee – must be a pro-active, preventive authority, with some legal Powers. 

They must be authorized to question the complainant, accused and others – as needed to assess the genuineness of the complaint. Then, it must undertake REFORMATIVE PROCESS of advising, counseling and warning all the people as required. There may be need to advise both the husband and the wife , the in-laws, and in some cases, the Parents of the wife too. Many such things are needed in the REFORMATIVE PROCESS.

In some cases, the set-up must have powers to send an unreforming person into Judicial custody for a day or two – during which it counsels him / her in judicial custody.

Government cannot say – I will be only punitive and not REFORMATIVE. If it comes into the family – it must come as a reformer – not as a DESTROYER  of the family.

GENUINE COMPLAINTS : If there is actual dowry harassment, and if it is tackled at the very initial stage – there are bright chances for correcting the people and making them live a balanced, happy life.

The time spent by the Police and the courts presently -  runs into several years and all people get frustrated – and ultimate result is – the family stands destroyed. 

The money spent by the Government and all parties – can also be more usefully spent.

Instead, a very small fraction of the time of this socio-Governmental set-up can work wonders in restoring Balance and happiness in the Family. Some Egos, some people’s Greed only need to be tackled  in most cases – and very early at that – That is all. 

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. It has always been so. We forgot about it – after INDEPENDENCE.

The Daughter-in-law who feels the harassment – wants happy adjustment in her married life – from the beginning. She does not want the final destruction of her own life and the lives of all her in laws and husband – which is what is happening under present dispensation.

But, of course, there can still be cases, where some people do not reform. Greed for money – can overpower Love for wife. In such cases – separate the wife and husband – but give a major share of the Husband’s property and Income to the wife – which is a sufficient lifelong punishment for the husband.

 

Instead, going through tortuous court proceedings for several years –and spending times in jail and Police custody – are waste of human effort and absolutely unreformative. The man may come out of Jail – as a hardened criminal or as a physical and mental wreck whose parents and other family members’ lives lie in shambles.

There may be cases of proven physical torture and cruelty, some times leading to death. These cases must be dealt with sternly. Like any other physical violence and death. But allegation is not always reality. Allegation of torture can always be made falsely. That is why , at the very first instance or sign of trouble, the socio-governmental set-up must move in to prevent further trouble. We must encourage – even neighbours, or any one,  to TIP-OFF all harassment cases, as early as possible, so that prevention takes place effectively.

FALSE COMPLAINTS : Under any law, there can be False and Motivated complaints. Today – many women can make such false complaints – because of non-adjustable mindsets, big ego problems, extra marital affairs and so on. In such cases – the Law should never say – the complainant should not be punished. Every case of PROVEN, FALSE COMPLAINT must be attendant with severe punishment. The amount of torture that the Guilty complainant inflicts on an innocent accused should not go unpunished.

In many cases, the woman is living far away from parents-in-law and there is no chance for Dowry harassment. Yet – she misuses the above loopholes in the law and slaps a non-bailable offence on the old parents in law – to spite a husband with whom she does not adjust well!

This, in fact, is a worse crime than the DOWRY HARASSMENT. But, in all such cases, a six months in prison is much more than sufficient and that too – should be a reformative process.

I know – I may not cover all types of cases and some times, I am also subjective and subject to correction. And, I would be grateful for any such corrections from Readers. But, I am convinced that LAW MUST BE PRO-ACTIVE, REFORMATIVE, PREVENTIVE -  more especially so, in family matters – and punitive only in the last resort. Else – the lives of both complainant and accused will  lie destroyed in the operation of the Law. TOTALLY UNNECESSARILY!

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UNITING THE NATION = DIVIDING THE NATION = (POST.1) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

UNITING THE NATION

DIVIDING THE NATION (Post.1)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

When People’s minds and hearts come together, the Nation stands United. When People’s minds and hearts grow suspicious of each other, they go apart, and the Nation stands divided.

It is a too very simple and obvious logic.

But, to achieve this - we need great leaders who love all people of the country uniformly and are forever for their Unity.

Mahatma Gandhi was one such. Pandit Nehru was one such. During Freedom struggle, there were probably many such – in different parts of the country. Subsequent to  Independence, India has not been producing any great leaders  of that eminence – whose heart felt for all and throbbed for all. 

Even great leaders who came subsequently are – bent either towards this group or that group – and consciously tried to cultivate individual sections of society – rather than the whole of it. In the process – people’s minds are today badly divided on caste, religion, sex, region, language and many such factors.

During Freedom struggle – a famous Tamil Poet said – jaadhigal Illaiyadi Paappaa – affirming that - there are no castes, my young child! People came together irrespective of castes for the noble cause of freedom struggle. That spirit however did not continue after Independence. Today, in the same Tamilnadu, every caste has its association, possibly a bank, possibly a TV channel, possibly a Political Party and so on.

Unity in Diversity is a slogan - we started with,  at the dawn of Independence – but today, we have more diversity than Unity. We see all types of sectarian hatreds in all parts of India. 

When Tendulkar merely said – “I am first of all an Indian” - that too in the most cosmopolitan city of Mumbai -  even Tendulkar had to face the wrath of sectarianism. It was good to see many Nationalists standing byTendulkar in that dark hour of sectarianism. Rahul Gandhi’s subsequent challenging mood and actions – were of course a relief.

Is it some thing special for Mumbai? No. it is there in different facets in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and every where else.

The time has come for strong Nationalists to come forward – and forge the spirit of unity among Indians – so that no Indian faces any bias against him in any part of the country.

Our languages are different. Our places of birth are different. Our complexions are different. Our religions may be different. But, these are not factors on which we had any choice or control our self and therefore – these are not factors on which we should be quarreling.

For this – we don’t need to lead any great struggles. We just need to avoid some mistakes; correct some mistakes; make efforts to  befriend all sections of society; help each other; go to same type of schools and colleges; come together and extend our friendship to all good people of all sections of society. 

So what are some mistakes that we can avoid and what are those we can correct. In this first article, I start with simple things which affect Family Unity and then subsequently progress to what affects National Unity.

The Domestic violence Act

I start with how a simple, well meaning act like the Domestic violence Act operates in this country.

This is the same story that goes on daily or almost daily in many families in India.

The man goes to an intoxicating drinks shop or a hi-fi wine shop, most of which are operated in some states like Tamilnadu by Government itself. In some states they are leased out or auctioned off.

They are the most frequented shops after 5 PM –as I notice. Now, when the men take home a bottle and drink, or drink and go home – how can that home be free of violence? 

The woman cannot bear it, and, unlike westerners, the man here, doesn’t want the woman to drink- which is of course, good. But, the woman talks – what she feels. The major portion of family Income goes for drinking! The children go without food; or without education. In any case, the drunken man is a big nuisance at home.

It is shown in all TV serials and movies – but when men see it, men feel, it is natural for men to drink. And women gets enraged all the more.

Domestic violence is also very High – where the man or woman develops illicit relations with others.

Domestic violence is 75% less – in families without this Drinking Habit. It is over 90 percent less if both drinking habit and illicit relationship are not there. In some families both seem to go together.

Governments are promoting both habits indirectly and then passing a bad act like the Domestic violence act – to deal with the EFFECT – keeping the CAUSE in tact.

Here also, the part played by cinemas and TV serials is very significant. Men and women enjoy the cinemas and serials – but when it happens in their homes – all hell breaks lose. Domestic violence does come in at different points frequently.

The Act makes it a cognizable, non-bailable offence; arrests the man;puts the man behind bars; beats him up; reduces him to less than an animal in Police custody; makes him hate his family all the more; and divides the family permanently.  Is that what the woman wanted? No. she wanted that the husband should reform and be with her. But, the act has no provisions to accomplish that.

This, in my opinion, is a bad act, badly implemented, with bad results  – but, may be with good intentions.

Ideally – India as a country, must not allow Police to step in between the problems of the wife and husband -except in extreme cases. Neither should the courts. The Police especially are totally unsuitable for reforming the husband and re-uniting the couple. 

The purpose of all Governmental action must be – reformative – not punitive – especially in family disputes.

There must be an alternative  Government – cum - social set-up, with some legal power, which must intervene in all such cases pro-actively, counsel the husband, his people and the wife – to find a long lasting solution acceptable to both. This must be tried a few times – before the Police and courts intervene.

This is exactly what most wives want – the husband should be good and be with them; they do not want jailing the husband; beating him up;  and permanent separation from him. This is what works for her.

But, if Governments are constantly encouraging drinking habits on one side, and encouraging promiscuous habits on the other side – how can there be no Domestic Violence?

All Governments – must proclaim that Drinking is bad for people, bad for their family members and bad for their children.

Hero / Heroin drinking scenes are the most dangerous – and must be banned altogether. Western movies are far better. They sip a few drops – but our heroes and heroines drink whole bottles, one after another. 

And – younger generation (and older generation) emulates these heroes. To my knowledge – MGR was one Hero, who totally avoided acting in such scenes all his life. He did not set a bad precedent for his Fans.

Also – what is the purpose of showing Domestic violence as if it is somehow  justified, in many movies and TV serials. If Domestic violence must not be there, do not allow its eulogization in TV serials and movies.

But, one word of caution here. Women are prone to be emotional and uncontrollably so,  some times. So – if a stray incident happens here and there in the family – we must not make a mountain out of a mole hill – and call it Domestic violence. That too is beginning to happen.

The reason for saying this is – we see a perpetual mother-in-law – daughter-in-law problem in many families in India. These are basically emotional issues for both – on the possession of one man – the son for the mother in law and the husband for the daughter in law. While this will be dealt with separately, it is essential to understand that woman is more emotional and more possessive in such matters -which may from one angle, be her  great attraction for the man; but is from another angle, a perpetual source of teasing and tension for the man.

We need to understand the physical and emotional needs of the average man and woman – and employ all legal and other methods to keep them happy and united – and not punish one for an offence and divide them for ever. 

So – what should be the social set – up for this?

The village elders, including the Head master of the school, the principal of the college, the surpanch, the councilor, the Post master, a court nominated advocate and so on – about 2 or 3 are good enough for each occasion - who are partly nominated by the Government and partly based on volunteering. There can also be NGOs  of men and women formed for this purpose. The NGOs movement must be promoted much more than at present – for such socially Beneficial purposes.

Or – it can be a set-up nominated by the Local court on the above lines. But, let there be no Police in it. They are unsuitable for such purpose.

It is not necessary that this committee must act on the complaint of a victim. They must act even on the tip off of neighbours and others. They must act discreetly to know the incidents – and advice the couple to avoid the causative factors. Their intervention will bring some problems to ground level – by itself.

Counseling, as an interventional instrument – is an urgent necessity  in such cases. 

In case, they find, the husband or any other person responsible for the domestic violence is unrepentant and insists on persisting with it – the committee must have the legal power to recommend judicial custody (not Police custody)  -for 2 to 3 days – and this must be binding on the local magistrate.

If extra marital relations of either wife or husband is responsible – the committee must act on that also – and warn the third party to keep off from the relationship. 

If prompt action is taken at the first instance, and if it is just adequate and not excessive, and if it is reformatory rather than punitive -  the act becomes a Great act. Else, in my view, it is a bad act – which is delivering unwanted results. As things stand – I think , you will not find a single home where this act has acted either in time, or saved a marriage, or brought happiness to the couples.

A stitch in time – saves nine. The act presently does not come until it is torn and it will in its turn, serves to tear it off completely. 

There is no point in destroying families totally with acts such as domestic violence Act, which is what it is doing at present.

We must find alternatives. There can be any number of different alternatives. For each town or village, there can be a different ,workable, effective set-up. But, in no circumstance, should the first intruder into the family be the Police or the court.

The intention of the  act may have been good – but it is delivering unwanted results. We have never thought of reformative, pro-active actions as state Policy – except in a few cases.

It is time to adopt such a stance as state Policy – and ensure that the Indian house holds become Happy Homes.

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DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER = 10 GREAT DIAMONDS = DEAD ASSETS = SO ARE TREASURES = CREATE USEFUL ASSETS = WITH HARD WORK

DIAMONDS

ARE FOREVER

Let us hear an old story from India.

One day, a poor farmer was walking on a muddy path near the forest.

At one point, he stumbled on a stone on the path and was injured in his toe. He started cursing all the unknown people who have placed the stone on the path, and held his toe in pain for some time. Then, he left further, muttering epithets against the stone and the people who have placed it on the path.

The stone was in the middle of the path. Another farmer went by the path, saw the stone in the middle, carefully went around avoiding it and went off further.

Then, a sage went on the same path, saw the stone, smiled at it, and went off. The wise sage knew all about the stone.

Then, a rich merchant passed that way, saw the stone and instantly knew that it was not an ordinary stone. It must be a valuable, precious stone. He took it home, got it polished secretly and got it evaluated. The valuers told him that it was one of the most precious diamonds in the world and its value far exceeds the total value of the Kingdom itself.

Now, the rich merchant was very happy in his heart but was still afraid that some robbers will steal away his Diamond. He lost all his sleep. Ancient Tales say that - Great Diamonds always have some effects on its Possessor and its entire surroundings.

The Merchant was unable to sleep in his house with the Diamond. Days were passing and the merchant’s worries were increasing. One day, the wise saint was passing through that town and the merchant invited him in to his own home.

The merchant narrated the whole story of the Diamond and sought the advice of the sage. The Sage advised him to give it up either to the King or the God – and regain his peace.

The merchant followed the advice and gave it up to the King – and remained peaceful and happy ever after.

The diamond was never with any one King. It was going from one King to another – during their wars and was a perpetual source of strife between countries.

Some kings hid the diamonds in the custody of the deities of the temples – and remained peaceful themselves.

The moral of the story is Diamonds are forever – but you are not.

They are of very little value to you – though they look so valuable.  For an Individual -  they are of No use. They lie with you as dead assets.

There are many Great Diamonds to day, in various parts of the world and some of them have originated in India.

What are these Great Diamonds doing today?  They are all Idle. Let us look at 10 Great Diamonds :

The 10 Greatest Diamonds

DRESDEN : It weighs 41 carats. It is cut in a pear shape and has a beautiful emerald-green color. It may have originated in India. It is now kept in the Green Hall in Dresden.

HOPE : It weighs 45.52 carats. It is now in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  It has an emerald cut and is a deep blue color

CULLINAN-I : It weighs 520.02 carats It is a pear shaped fine white diamond. It was cut from the largest rough diamond ever found, the Cullinan, which weighed 3106 carats or over 1 ¼ pounds. The Cullinan I is kept in the Tower of London – and is by far the largest cut diamond in the world.

SANCY : It weighs 55 carata. It is also in a pear shape. The stone is with the Astor family of London since 1906.

TIFFANY :It comes from Kimberley mine in South Africa. It weighs 128.51 carats. It is a yellow- orange, almost amber, colored Diamond. It was cut from a piece of rough stone that weighed 287.42 carats. It has 90 facets and was bought by the jewelers, Tiffany of New York.

KOH-I-NOOR : Probably mined near Krishna River. Current, reduced weight is 109 carat. Koh-i-noor means mountain of light. It is Oval, and brilliantly cut. It was with the Emperor in Delhi for some time. Then stolen to Iran. From Iran it was acquired by Afghans, who lost it to Indian rulers, who then came under British rule in 1849 and placed the diamond among the crown jewels.

CULLINAN IV : It is one of the 105 stones that were cut from the greatest piece of rough diamond ever found (along with cullinan I). It weighs 63.60 carats. It was once in the crown of Queen Mary. It is stored in the Tower of London.

NASSAK : It originally weighed over 90 carats. It has a rounded-corner triangular shape. It was earlier in a Temple of Shiva. It is in private possession in the United States ever since 1927.

SHAH : This diamond came from India and weigh 88.70 carats. It is partly polished along its cleavage planes. It has the names of three monarchs engraved on it, including the Shah of Persia. It is now in the Kremlin in Moscow.

FLORENTINE : It weighs 137.27 carats – and is a yellow diamond. In 1657, it was said to be in the possession of the Medici family in Florence (hence the name). During the 18th century, it was in the Halsburg crown. It was then used as a brooch. Its present whereabouts are unknown.

Some Books on Diamonds mention names like Braganza;Matan;Stewart and many others. There are diamonds, and diamonds and diamonds all over the world – in supposedly safe hands. Readers having better Info may inform this Blog on any of these diamonds.

What are the Possessors doing with these Diamonds?

Just Nothing. Everything else in the world is put to some use. But, not diamonds. Small diamonds have some Industrial uses. True. But, large Diamonds. Nil. No use at all.

The farmer who hit the diamond with his toe, suffered, but little. The farmer who avoided it slept peacefully always. The sage who never bothered about it – knowing its nature, always sleep peacefully. But, not the rich merchant. Not the king. It was as useless to them as it was to the farmer and the sage. But, they suffered because of the Diamond. The more the attachment to it, the more the suffering.

For an Individual – at least Gold, silver etc are of some tradable value, and value as ornaments. But not big Diamonds.

For a nation, all these are of little value.

What adds value to a Nation is – the productive work done by its citizens; the value of food grains, industrial products, cars, planes, roads, bridges, electricity, houses, medicines, hospitals, schools, clothes etc produced and actually enjoyed by its citizens.

America became rich because of the Intelligent, smart, productive work of its citizens – not because of Diamonds. So, is the case with other developed Nations like Japan.

For the same reason (in the opposite)– many countries producing diamonds are still struggling – as poor countries, despite Diamonds.

Assume, India discovers diamonds and other treasures worth  a few crores of crores of rupees – will we have schools, colleges, medicines, roads, houses, food grains etc? Definitely Not. These must come from our sweat and toil – not from treasures.

Unearned Incomes and Wealth are the most dangerous thieves of the prosperity of any Nation. If India is still “developing”, it is because, many people are after unearned Incomes and wealth of various Kinds. It makes many people poor and some people rich. Over all, the Nation remains where it is.

Diamonds are useless, because they do not depreciate. When they become useful in Industries, they start depreciating. Anything which does not depreciate much, can not be used much – and yields very less value.

Whatever we create – also depreciates. And, in depreciating, gives us some use; some satisfaction.

We must all become creators of Useful Assets – and use them. Any country can overtake any other country in development – if its people star doing intelligent, smart, work together.

India too can.

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