One World

  In a small nondescript village, down west of Siliguri in West Bengal, lie the roots of a movement which redefined the peasant’s revolution for not only India but the world. The Maoist Movement of South Asia which began with a small plot of land in the tiny village of Naxalbari [Naksal-bari]. From the peasants of West Bengal to the people of Nepal, the revolutionaries of Bangladesh to the terrorists of Myanmar; the far-reaching consequences of one remote village in 1967 never cease to astound. Maoism in itself is a sobriquet for Mao Zedong [Tse-Tung] Thought, a curious amalgamation of Marxist-Leninism with the rich and predominantly agricultural culture of the Asiatic region. A form of communism, but only just (for between Marxists and Maoists there exists a chasm of difference), Maoism is a theory of communism which advocates for a revolution by the peasantry than the proletariat (which is considered to be a higher economic class as per Marxist/Trotskyist classification). Key traits

  Every year, for one second at least, the destinies of two opposed countries intertwine. Midnight, 14th/15th August: The Independence Days of Pakistan and India. Be it a state of war or hostility, for that moment, both nations rejoice, recalling a shared heritage from a past time. The very culture which was so disparate yet bought us together. The same culture that showed us that humanity suffers regardless of superficial man-made divisions. The culture of a united India, one where there was never an India or a Pakistan.  Indians  (all of us) , by history, lived in a society which starkly contrasted Europe. We lived in a society where peaceful coexistence reigned, and discord and disharmony never showed its foul head. When Europe had the Inquisition with its 'heretics' on trial, India had a splendiferous hall for religious debate in the court of Akbar. When Europe was burning alleged witches, India was furthering the horizons of science and mathematics. Now, times have changed

God is an enigmatic entity of whose existence we have remained forever in doubt. However, today, via the use of 14 points, OneWorld will prove that God cannot exist (by definition). This dialectic argument first accepts that God exists, then by contradiction proves the antithesis.  CLAIMS God, by definition, implies an entity which is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient; enforces and (or) creates morality in the universe. This is the generalised definition of God, the Almighty, the Lord et cetera. The Universe is governed by the Laws of Physics. The Laws of Physics, in a given cosmic phase, are constant and unyielding to change (See Footnote 1). All actions are caused by the effects of previous actions (See Footnote 2). All actions in the universe take place within the universe (See Footnote 3). REASONING By the first claim, God is an entity which actively enforces (and possibly creates) morality via a plethora of actions. By the second and fifth claim, all actions take place in the

Lockdown, quarantine and emergency. These words have newfound prominence in the vexing times of the pandemic. We praise them; we berate them. Still, we must follow them. For our government has them formally executed. While I agree with governments across the world that their citizens’ lives matter more than their opinion, I fear and question their fidelity to that opinion. The question to ask is not how will it help us but rather how much will it help us (and hence, how much will it help you). The question does not insinuate that lockdowns and emergencies are in bad spirit. It implies a question which may be increasingly posed in the future when coronavirus cases are flattening in their graphs. It asks for rational reasoning to understand how a measure will stop the barrage and what are the alternatives. Dear reader, you must understand that there is no problem without alternative solutions. Even a mathematically defined Rubik’s cube has multiple algorithms to solve it. So whe

Economies are like wooden skyscrapers; beautiful, but volatile. A single spark can begin its crumble to shambles. Thankfully, we have the government to fight the raging inferno-like economic crisis when the spark burns. Yet again, we face the same situation due to the pandemic: A crumbling skyscraper with flames licking its foundations. Thus, our government must again don its kevlar suit and extinguish the fire before it extinguishes us. Governments of the past have dealt with post-virus economies in varying hues of terrible, horrible and villainous. Fortunately, our governments are much better equipped than those of the past with knowledge, both empirical and theoretical, of handling economic crises. Our adept handling of the financial crisis of 2008 (albeit our significant role in its beginning) proves that our current knowledge is enough to mitigate the crisis, if not solve it. Yet before we solve a crisis, we must know what it is caused by.  THE CAUSE Every economic shift h

"We will run out of food in a few days," says Ramesh Kumar, "and I can't see my children hungry." He, like his fellow daily-wage earners, is faced by the dreadful concatenation of circumstances. With no respite in sight, their horizon remains bleak. To risk catching Coronavirus, or to risk starving without it. Labourers across India face a daunting spectre. It looms over them in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment: the spectre of unemployment! Yet the privileged few of us who have the torches of regulation and knowledge can foresee and prevent it. However, those of us who do not see the spectre will be whisked away by its scythe. Those labourers we must protect - the daily-wage labourers, the migrant workers, et al.  When the Indian PM, Narendra Modi, announced a 21-day lockdown, contractual labourers were already apprehensive. The move destabilised the contractual sector and sent thousands into unemployed poverty. Although the lockdown in India i

Nature. The one force which remains undomesticated by humanity. Every alteration we try to add, every problem we try to solve - nature fights back. Every action of humans has been equally reacted to by nature. However, if we cannot see beyond the depths of our pockets, being caught off-guard by nature should come as no surprise.  We pushed nature too far with our egotism and she sought vengeance. Our follies and misadventures have injured mother nature repeatedly. Hence, her vengeance comes to us. As a deadly virus: Coronavirus. The current coronavirus pandemic is an endangerment to the world. Killing above a lakh people, it has the potency of a Hiroshima atomic bomb. Yet there is no one to blame but ourselves for it. We were short-sighted in our approach and our confidence in our tactics. Many of us would not accept its dangerous potential. From that obscurity came Coronavirus' notoriety: fatalities and suddenness striking down humanity. The potent and deadly arsenal of

Gender equality is decided not by the legislative battles we win, but the personal battles we lose. Our laws are as water running through a ruptured tumbler: they fill the tumbler, but only just. The laws serve the means for which we need them but are not the end we require. We do not want a victory which is forever unhappy and turgid, but one which is indefinitely consistent regardless of norms. To improve the status quo, governmental action coupled with a change in mentality must be enacted to win the war in the subliminal self. The swiftest path to this destination is the betterment of the economic status of women. Fortunately or Unfortunately, financial capabilities define today's spectrum. The better one's rank, the greater one's persona qua political influencer and social influencer. Lamentably, current democracies are host to politicians who are either richly endowed or funded by the wealthy. To fund actual change, the first step must be to enhance the financial p

Sexism, misogynism, and horror! Where has humanity headed that makes it prevaricate pseudoscientific theories based on 'religious' practices? Menstruation is a boon, not a curse. The idea that it is impure and disease-like is blatant sexism and should not be followed. However, OneWorld regrets that these ideas are followed by millions across the world. Quite recently, A prominent girls' educational centre in Bhuj (Gujarat, India), which is managed by the popular Swaminarayan trust, was charged with the ignominious crime of insulting the dignity of a girl. Sixty-eight girls were isolated and coerced to remove their undergarments upon the suspicion of menstruating yet not isolating themselves (as was the archaic and discriminatory law of the institution). To further the furore, the head of the managing Swaminarayan order, Krushna Swarup Das, proclaimed in a viral video that, 'Menstruating women who will cook for their husbands will be reborn as b******; men consuming f

'Freedom is when the people can speak; democracy is when the government listens.' - Alistar Farrugia On the occasion of India's Republic Day, a horde of questions has arisen which the Indian government must answer to satiate the international public. India celebrates its constitution and ideals on this day. However, does the incumbent government uphold the spirit it showcases? Has the Indian Constitution, which stood cemented for 70 years, been eroded to gullible paper in a few months? Where is the Indian fire which once rallied Indian independence and democracy? In the past few months, the Constitution of India has faced heavy fire from attacks on its integrity. The ideals it proclaimed as fundamental to the idea of India are being manipulated and misused by ill-required bills of the incumbent. While the methods of the BJP-led government are certainly on the brink of unconstitutionality, they have the confidence of the Supreme Court of India (Not to cast aspersions

'One World: One Nation' The above statement is quixotic and high-headed (Agreeably like an assured hoax). However, all its impracticality has been ushered in by the current situation of the world. Nations and individuals who have been politically primed by divisive and nationalistic politicians tend to forget the purpose for the creation of the country - administration, protection and cultural identification. Our world is too divided to appreciate the benefits of an earth-wide union. While previous attempts at this have been made by the global community ( in puncto  League of Nations, United Nations), these attempts have been substantially mellowed by the incompetence of nations. Today, the idea has vast support across borders under different monikers - World government, One World Government, One Nation etc.  The entire intricacy and operation of this colossal power can be read in books such as  The Idea of World Government, Political Globalization, Global Democracy

'Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls' - Rabindranath Tagore (Where the mind is without fear) One hundred ninety-five countries exist today. They shouldn't. Today, the world is more fragmented than ever. Of course, we mustn't grumble. Due to the break-up of the European states' immense empires and the increased dissatisfaction amongst other imperialist powers, this situation has arisen.  Let us delve further back into history. Nations were not just infinitely present throughout the past. They were founded. These nations arose from a sentiment of ethnonationalism. Humans are social animals and take pride in contending life as a part of a larger group or community. This strain of evolutionary mindset endures to this day. Dear reader, look back and reminisce the last time you connected with the stranger sauntering by for being of yo

'The unexamined life is not worth living,' declared Socrates. Most accurately so. The examination of our lives is indispensable to the quest for ethical enlightenment. Ethical enlightenment? This variety of enlightenment refers to the universal morality of a specific situation quintessentially, regardless of individual or community perspectives. Or instead, what is the righteousness of an act when it is irrespective of the circumstances, outlooks and the time of the decision? Take the Gurkha Regiment of the Indian Army for example (which has preceded the independence of India). Regarding the corps as a being, we can discern a stark change in the regiment's perspective upon a situation. For instance, ad prius independence, the battalion's views upon a circumstance (say, firing on the local denizens of India) were substantially modified after independence (by not firing on the locals). However, at both periods, the Gurkha Regiment maintains that its morality was always