RAPIDSTORIES

For The Survival of any country, secularism has to survive and for the survival of secularism, togetherness, religious tolerance and above all communal harmony is a must. Communalism can only destroy the unity and integrity of the nation. Communal harmony can bring ever lasting peace, the nation can go-ahead with its agenda of development, can uplift the poor and their voices can be heard above the cacophony of rhetoric, a truly egalitarian society. India is a secular state due to the brotherhood characters of Indians, many religions have flourished in our society. But, only after the independence and traumatic partition period we have observed communal riots and other brutal incidents of communalism. This is only an aftermath of manmade holocaust of unprecedented proportions I e several inflammable issues for satisfying the needs/greed’s of our politicians. The preamble of our constitution says ‘we the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into sovereign, so...

There was o nce a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all-round it. Overhead was a blue sky with flabby white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fall and in which lightening played. On one side of the mountain tumbled the mighty waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.  But when the king looks closely, peace of behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sad the mother bird in here nests in perfect peace.  The king chooses the second pict...

A killing of two here, a massacre of twelve there. All this has become an everyday affair. Looting and arson are the order of the day, Humanism and compassion are in disarray  Politicians are busy in their dirty games,  Peace loving citizens have been put to shame There’s suspicion on every face, there’s fear in every heart. All this of life has become an integral part. The doves are being slaughtered, the hawk’s fly high. In the wilderness echoes orphans and widows sigh. There’s yearning for peace everywhere Is this the india of Gandhi’s dream? Some will have to answer  will you?  -AAYUSH MAJUMDAR

It was one of the best elections i had seen since 2000.The people of Up had a mandate for a particular party. They wanted to throw the corrupt Mayawati government out of power. It was to be a close fight b/w the SP and the congress. Both the parties had done miserably bad in the last assembly elections with the former managing to get only 102 seats and the latter with a poor tally of 22 seats. But this time the situation was different and the anti incumbency factor was in favour of the congress, Sp, and BJP. The congress had the most extensive campaign with their high profile leaders including the prince of congress rahul Gandhi taking part. He was the face of the campaign and was the projected chief minister. But there was another man called akhilesh yadav ready to face the challenge of the Gandhis and make his party victorious in the UP elections. Rahul criticized him kept on speaking anti akhilesh and anti SP slogans but couldn’t succeed in their intentions as SP won the election...