कि टूटा हुआ मक़ान

ये दिल है 
कि टूटा हुआ मक़ान? 

बुर्ज़ें सारी, 
ढ़ह गई हैं 
पर, 
खिड़कियाँ बंद हैं। 

घर में कोई 
दरवाजा नहीं, 
शायद कोई आता जाता नहीं। 

अज़ीब 
विरानगी है; 
इस घर में, 
आदमी तो रहता 
पर आदमी नहीं। 

ये दिल है 
कि टूटा हुआ मक़ान? 
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राजीव उपाध्याय

गाली ही आशीर्वाद है

मुझे भाषण देने की आदत जो है कि लोग देखा नहीं कि बस उड़ेलना शुरू कर देता हूँ। बस कुछ दोस्त मिल गये तो मैं लग गया झाड़ने। खैर झाड़ते वक्त ये देख लेता हूँ कि सामने कौन है। खैर दोस्तों को भाषण पान करा रहा था (वैसे घर पर तो घरवीर बनने में यकीन रखता हूँ। अपना-अपना किस्सा है।) कि चच्चा जाने कहाँ से अवतरित हो गये? शायद थोड़ी देर मेरे महाज्ञान को सुना होगा फिर कान पकड़कर बोले -
“मतलब कर दिये ना नाजियों वाली बात। अरे भाई उन लोगों ने पुरस्कार लौटाने की घोषणा कर दी इसका मतलब ये थोड़े ही होता है कि वो पुरस्कार लौटा दें? बोलो तुम अपने माँ-बाप को बचपन में डराते थे कि नहीं अपनी बात मनवाने के लिए।”
चच्चा हमारे पूरे धर्मनिरपेक्ष पुरस्कृत महाविद्वान हैं। खैर हैं तो हैं; हमें क्या? हम भी कम विद्वान थोड़े ही हैं। तो मैंने भी दोस्तों को आँख मारते हुए (बहुत रियाज किया है) अपनी गांडीव से तीर फेंका
“अरे! हम तो पहले रोते थे जब माँ बाबूजी नहीं मानते थे तब डराने के लिए कुदते-फांदते थे तब कहीं जाकर हडताल पर जाते थे। ये तो ना ही रोए, ना ही कूदे-फाँदे और हड़ताल भी नहीं किए। सीधे तलाक पर पहुंच गये। ऐसे कहाँ मजा आता है? थोड़ा मसाला पकना चाहिए ना तभी तो सब्जी का मजा आता है। खैर आपकी तो बहुत ऊंची पकड़ है, इनको थोड़ा समझाइये।”
चच्चा मन थोड़ा कर बोले, “अरे क्या समझाएँ बबुआ उनको? समझा रहे हैं तो सब गाली दे रहे हैं। कुछ तो निठल्ले आरोप भी लगा रहें। एक हम थे कि उनके लिए दिन-रात सेटिंग करते-फिरते थे और एक वो हैं कि ………”
विद्वान लोग अक्सर बातें बीच में छोड़ देते हैं ताकि कल्पनाओं को उड़ान मिल सके और बाद में उन कल्पनाओं को लेकर बयानबाजी और विमर्श के लिए पर्याप्त स्वतंत्रता मिल सके।
मैंने भी सोचा कुछ ज्ञानार्जन किया जाए तो पूछ बैठा, “अच्छा! आप माँ-बाप की बात कर रहे थे तो पहले ये बताइए कि सरकार मां-बाप होती है क्या?”
इतना सुनना था कि झन्ना गए फूलही थरिया की तरह पर कहे बड़े प्यार जैसे प्रेयसी कहती है, “लगता है पूरा गोबर ही रह गये।”
मैं भी गली मैं जैसे सीटी बजाया करता था वैसे पूछे “क्या हुआ? काँहे गुस्सा हो रहे हैं?”
मेरा लहजा और सवाल सुनकर चच्चा पहले मुस्कराए। फिर आसमान में देखते हुए बोले, “तुम सरकार को माँ-बाप समझ रहे हो इसीलिए तो गोबर कह रहा हूँ। सरकार माँ-बाप से भी बढकर होती होती है। वो तो…………”
बीच में ही चुप हो गये और कुछ जैसे याद कर रहे हों इस मुद्रा में चले गये। पर मेरे अन्दर का विद्वान विमर्श प्रारम्भ करने के बाद चुप कैसे रह सकता था,
“अच्छा!!! वो कैसे?”
“भइया तुम रहने दो; तुम्हारी समझ ना आयेगा”, चच्चा दार्शनिक अंदाज में बोले।
“पर लोग तो ब्याज भी माँग रहे हैं और सब लाभ और लागत की भी बात कर रहे हैं ब्याज सहित।”
चच्चा पहले तो कुछ देर चुप रहे फिर उनके अंदर का साधुत्व जागा, “तुम ही बताओ ये कहां का न्याय है कि साधू-संतों से उनका मठ छीन तो रहे ही हैं लोग; मड़ई भी छीनेंगे क्या? अरे भई साधू-सवाधू-जोगी का तो गाली ही आशीर्वाद होता है। तुम समझते नहीं हो!!”
बस चच्चा भी चुप और मैं भी ज्ञानवान हो गया। 

Sustainability Reports- Real or Greenwash?

Private corporations exist and operate with the sole purpose of profits and for that they need to exploit resources but they are wise enough to present even worse things in much decorated manner. Corporate world has been inventing and evolving new devices and tools to fake things but in more sophisticated, prudent, legally accepted and respectable ways. And in today’s economic scenarios where environment has become hotpot businesses have evolved a new device termed as sustainability report. Theoretically a sustainability report contains information about environmental, social, economic, and governance performance of the reporting organizations but in practice these documents are nothing but public relations document aimed at branding.

Across world on investigation of some major firms, it has been observed that the firms often misrepresent the facts and information about its operations (environmental and social impacts) to present themselves as a responsible and environmental friendly to the public. Such practices are more common in environmentally hazardous (highly polluting and carbon emitting) sectors like oil exploration, mining and chemical etc. It has been seen that such firms most often emphasis on those aspects of environment which they can paint in favourable ways while not mentioning the harm they had made to other remaining aspects of environment and society. In the name of sustainability reports firms publish manipulated comprehensive reports outlining their goals and emission and drainage statistic. Such imbalanced and manipulated reporting cannot be sustainable in medium to long term but this a new but accepted fashion. But truth is that sustainable development is not dependent on reporting statistics published in these reports but on other the realities. So such reporting practices are nothing but green washing.

Global Reporting Initiative has attempted to provide with a framework for sustainability reporting through a number of recommendations and applications but these are not legally enforceable and most of the firms hardly follow these recommendations. Instead they follow their own ways and lack verification of data and information help them. But at the same time there are a few companies that are really serious about their reports but these numbers are so less and hardly belong to polluting industries like petroleum and mining.

Image Courtesy: Google Image

हक़ीकत नहीं ये, ना ही फसाना है

हक़ीकत नहीं ये, ना ही फसाना है 
बस ख्वाबों में मेरा, आना-जाना है॥ 

लोगों की बातें मैं सुनता नहीं 
अपना कहा मैं करता नहीं 
अब होने ये क्या लगा है 
दिल ही नहीं ये, ना ही मयखाना है। 
बस ख्वाबों में मेरा, आना-जाना है॥ 

जब आसमां से उतर, जमीं देखता हूँ 
सड़क है ना पगडंडी, ना पग के निशां 
ढूँढू तो ढूँढू, आशियां अपना कैसे 
राह-ए-डगर को जो रूक जाना है। 
हक़ीकत नहीं ये, ना ही फसाना है॥ 
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राजीव उपाध्याय

Net Neutrality is a Must for Indian Economy

With the time everything changes so is daily lives as well as the tools and methods of business. The invasion of technology in personal lives of people has not only changed the personal preferences of people but also the attitude of society and nations as well. World Wide Web and internet are two technological inventions that have revolutionized the whole world and its impact is never like before. The adaptability of internet into daily lives of people has made it an essential need. So the dynamics as well as the importance of internet has got new values and wings for the society and nations as whole. 
In the today’s world it is has become imperative for the nations to ensure accessibility of internet to all as there is hardly an arena of social and personal lives of people where internet has not become important. So today internet is not only about business but it has turned to be a basic need of people in this modern civilization and no civilization can afford to limit such a powerful tool in the hands of people by making it costly as it will deprive people of innumerable opportunities and tools that empowers them in such an unequal society particularly in India.
It is common for the private investors to put efforts to increase their profits through different strategies and tactics. Even if their strategies and tactics have long term negative social or business implications, they often fall for those as future is unpredictable. But in such a peculiar situation if private interests tend to do so, the government needs to step in to avoid such distractions. And if need be government must take tough decisions as for the government it is the social benefits that are of prime importance. It can easily ignore short term business problems over long term social problems.
The issue of net neutrality is a kind of distraction with which government needs to deal properly and take a tough decision in favor of net neutrality as it will strengthen the arms of people. It does not only make a social sense but also has a long term business sense as tomorrow's business environment is going to be completely dependent on services like internet and limiting it would have long term negative implications for businesses and economy as well.
In times of digital world if we look at the current situation of Indian economy, we find that India is lacking on infrastructural front as well as skills and it is not possible for the government to provide with enough infrastructure and skills support to her economy in short term to achieve medium to long term socioeconomic goals. So it needs to have an ad-hoc solution that can provide enough infrastructural support to the economy and that is possible only through sharing of resources, skills and infrastructure. Besides these, it is common fact that it is the learning capacity of a nation that actually helps to grow than only depending on tangible and intangible infrastructure. In such a peculiar situation which India is facing internet is a big relief.
India aspires to become the largest economy in the world in coming decades and for that government is continuously launching schemes after schemes such as Digital India, Start up India and Skill India etc. The success of these schemes is more dependent on the availability and affordability of internet for all than any other things or factors. The universal access and net neutrality has not only business meaning for the nation but also is tool in the hands of common man to cross hurdles and barriers.
In last few years India has witnessed a number of successful low cost e-commerce start-ups that have not only brought revolution in buying behavior of people across nooks and corners of the country but also have brought in huge confidence in young generations to think beyond government or normal corporate jobs. This change in the attitude of people is resulting in huge rise in innovative products and services for consumption and other social purposes. Also at the same time it is helping in bringing best technologies and skills to India. All these positive changes has been feasible only because of universal access of internet and net neutrality and at this stage of development growth where Indian economy needs peoples’ participation as entrepreneur to provide with jobs to all, any constraint in access of the same will kill millions of start-ups as those new firms would not be able afford the discrimination in the name of business. It is quite possible that the bottom lines of telecom operators may not look very attractive but will help to have an attractive, vibrant and futuristic economy.
In other words net neutrality is the demand and India cannot afford to go against net neutrality whatsoever reasons, rationales and claims may be made against it by telecom operator and other interest groups. 
Image Courtesy: Google Image