Response to Jeremy Corbyn on his tweet on Kashmir on Aug 11th 2019.

Subject: Your tweet on Kashmir on Aug 11th 2019.

Dear Jeremy,

A little introduction about myself before jumping to the subject.

I am a Scot of Indian origin, living in Scotland for almost 12 years with my family.  I am a Software architect by profession and have been living in Edinburgh since my arrival in the UK. Like many Scots of Indian Origin, I was disturbed by your recent tweet on Kashmir shown below

It's a late response but still important that you read this because a large section of Scots of Indian origin, will vote en masse against Labour.  SNP has taken a similar view on Kashmir and they will be voting against SNP too. If antisemitism can be an election issue why not anti-Hinduism. Our votes matter too.

Let me give a background of Kashmir issue, from an Indian perspective (the perspective from a free and open society) and it is not based on the Islamic view. 

First, a short history.

When the British ruled India, there were 565 princely states in India -- they were not directly ruled by the British. So, when the British decided to leave and India was to be partitioned into two countries. The princely states were given a choice of joining either a non-theocratic "Republic of India" or the theocratic "Islamic Republic of Pakistan", giving due consideration to geographical contiguities and religious composition.

Three princely states that stood out were Jammu and Kashmir (J & K), Junagadh, and Hyderabad.

The latter two were Hindu majority states ruled by Muslim kings and J & K was different.

The Nawab of Junagadh--egged on by Shahnawaz Bhutto, his minister (whose son ZA Bhutto went on to become future PM of Pakistan) acceded to Pakistan. India sent troops, held a plebiscite and Junagadh was incorporated into India.

Hyderabad and J&K kept vacillating. Eventually, India sent troops to Hyderabad, which duly became part of India.  In Kashmir, Pakistan sent "irregulars" to invade.  Just like Pakistan operates in Afganistan under disguise today. (People with the knowledge of the region will acknowledge that "Taliban leaders are nothing but Pakistani ISI in baggy pants !!!". It was not a coincidence that Osma Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan)

Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, was Hindu. With Pakistani irregulars knocking at the doors, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for military assistance. He signed the Instrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India on October 26, 1947.

Here it is important to give the religious demographics of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Unlike the popular opinion that circulates today, it was not a Muslim Majority state even in 1947. J &K has 3 major regions Kashmir, Jammu & Ladak. Kashmir -  a Muslim majority with also had about 400,000 Hindus.  Jammu - Hindu Majority and Ladak - Buddist Majority.

The Prime Minister of India at that time, Mr. Nehru, took the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council.

Pakistanis misquote the US security council resolution that it suggested Plesbicite for self-determination, without ever reading it. It was interesting to see you quoting UN resolution.  If you have not read already,  please do read the UN resolution on Kashmir, it was short and very clear.  The UN resolution proposed 3 things and they are sequential in nature.

1.  Pakistan should withdraw troops and should refrain from interfering militarily by direct or indirect means.

2. Once the first condition is fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Commission, India has to reduce the military presence in Kashmir to the minimal.

3. After the above 2 are done then conduct the plebiscite to know the will of the people of Kashmir.

The first condition never happened, so there is no need to get to the second and Third. Three wars have been fought by India and Pakistan over Kashmir. About 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus were driven out by forcibly out of Kashmir.  This mass exodus happened after Benazir Bhutto called for "direct action" and Mosques in Kashmir started threatening calls in their speakers.

Please refer to the recent testimony of a Kashmiri Hindu Journalist named Sunanda Pushkar in the US congress about the Kashmiri Hindu massacre and exodus.

 Imagine driving out the population of the size of Glasgow and then asking for a referendum.  The calls for the plebiscite are irrelevant unless the displaced Kashmiri Hindus are resettled.

The recent removal of Article 370 is nothing but integrating Kashmir fully with India. Muslims always wanted to be treated special. The SNP government has given in to this wish with "Islamophobia" law in Scotland. Unlike Muslims, we Hindus do not want to be treated special instead be treated equally like other citizens.  That is a fundamental difference.

Even when we disagree, we Hindus will not go on a rampage like the Muslims cause a carnage because that is not in our culture instead, we will express our displeasure democratically with votes.

If you wish to hear the Hindu Perspective and engage with us, then we will have a Hindu Delegation to meet the Scottish Labour leaders.  We will continue to engage with SNP & Scottish Labour, but our community can't vote for you unless the Labour position on this issue changes.

This election is about Brexit. I personally voted remain, but after EU referendum and especially after the lack of leadership in the last parliament, many of us decided to move on and get over with Brexit.  That's why 'Get Brexit done' resonates with us. We can’t have 2 more referendums and 2 general elections in the next 5 years.  It is a more likely scenario under your leadership. You have not figured out your strategy on Brexit even after 3 years.

Ian Murray is a Great MP from my constituency of Edinburgh South. Scottish Labour is different from English in its views towards immigrants. I sincerely wish him that he wins again and continues his good work.  But this Westminster election is about Brexit and I can’t accept the labour under your leadership. Labour under your leadership is so far left it makes Tories look like centre.

Today is the polling day, my prediction is that Tories will easily cross 400 seats.  I will be looking forward to your resignation in the next few days. Best wishes for an alternate career.

References:

1.  US security council resolution of April 1948.

http://unscr.com/files/1948/00047.pdf

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4Vqdfreeo

3. https://www.opindia.com/2019/09/london-pakistani-mob-led-by-british-labour-mp-attacks-indian-high-commission-smash-windows/. It is worth noting there is no BBC news link coming up in search results. That tells a lot about the BBC.

Email to Nicola Sturgeon on her tweet for about article 370 in Kashmir

Subject: Your tweet on Kashmir on Aug 9th 2019.

Dear Nicola,

A little introduction about myself before jumping to the subject.
I am a Scot of Indian origin, living in Scotland for almost 12 years with my family.  I am a Software Architect by profession and have been living in Edinburgh since my arrival in the UK. Like many Scots of Indian Origin, I  was disturbed by your recent tweet on Kashmir shown below

It's a late response but still important that you read this because a large section of Scots of Indian origin, will vote en masse against SNP in the election.  Corbyn has taken a similar view on Kashmir and they will be voting against Labour too. If antisemitism can be an election issue why not anti-Hinduism. Our votes matter too.

Let me give a background of Kashmir issue, from an Indian perspective (the perspective from a free and open society) and it is not based on the Islamic view. You have upset the Indian community which will en masse vote against SNP because of your tweet.

First, a short history.
When the British ruled India, there were 565 princely states in India -- they were not directly ruled by the British. So, when the British decided to leave and India was to be partitioned into two countries. The princely states were given a choice of joining either a non-theocratic "Republic of India" or the theocratic "Islamic Republic of Pakistan", giving due consideration to geographical contiguities and religious composition.

Three princely states that stood out were  Jammu and Kashmir (J & K), Junagadh, and Hyderabad.
The latter two were Hindu majority states ruled by Muslim kings and J & K was different.

The Nawab of Junagadh--egged on by Shahnawaz Bhutto, his minister (whose son ZA Bhutto went on to become future PM of Pakistan) acceded to Pakistan. India sent troops, held a plebiscite and Junagadh was incorporated into India.
Hyderabad and J&K kept vacillating. Eventually, India sent troops to Hyderabad, which duly became part of India.  In Kashmir, Pakistan sent "irregulars" to invade.  Just like Pakistan operates in Afganistan under disguise today. ( People with the knowledge of the region will acknowledge that "Taliban leaders are nothing but Pakistani ISI in baggy pants !!!". It was not a coincidence that  Osma Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan )

Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, was Hindu. With Pakistani irregulars knocking at the doors, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for military assistance. He signed the Instrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India on October 26, 1947.

Here it is important to give the religious demographics of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Unlike the popular opinion that circulates today, it was not a Muslim Majority state even in 1947. J &K has 3 major regions Kashmir, Jammu & Ladak. Kashmir -  a Muslim majority with also had about 400,000 Hindus.  Jammu - Hindu Majority and Ladak - Buddist Majority.

The Prime Minister of India at that time, Mr. Nehru, took the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council.

Pakistanis misquote the US security council resolution that it suggested Plesbicite for self-determination, without ever reading it. If you have not please read the UN resolution, it was short and very clear. The UN resolution proposed 3 things and they are sequential in nature.
1.  Pakistan should withdraw troops and should refrain from interfering militarily by direct or indirect means.
2. Once the first condition is fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Commission, India has to reduce the military presence in Kashmir to the minimal.
3. After the above 2 are done then conduct the plebiscite to know the will of the people of Kashmir.

The first condition never happened, so there is no need to get to the second and Third. Three wars have been fought by India and Pakistan over Kashmir. About 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus server-driven out by forcibly out of Kashmir.  This mass exodus happened after Benazir Bhutto called for "direct action" and Mosques in Kashmir started threatening calls in their speakers.

Please refer to the recent testimony of a Kashmiri Hindu Journalist named Sunanda Pushkar in the US congress about the Kashmiri Hindu massacre and exodus. After listening to it then you can decide whether you still feel parallels between Scotland and Kashmir.

 Imagine driving out the population of the size of Glasgow and then asking for a referendum.  The calls for the plebiscite are irrelevant unless the displaced Kashmiri Hindus are resettled.

The recent removal of Article 370 is nothing but integrating Kashmir fully with India. Muslims always wanted to be treated special. The SNP government has given in to this wish with "Islamophobia" law in Scotland. Unlike Muslims, we Hindus do not want to be treated special instead be treated equally like other citizens.  That is a fundamental difference.

Even when we disagree, we Hindus will not go on a rampage like the Muslims cause a carnage because that is not in our culture instead, we will express our displeasure democratically with votes.

If you wish to hear the Hindu Perspective and engage with us, then we will have a Hindu Delegation to meet the SNP leaders.  We will continue to engage with SNP & Scottish Labour, but our community can't vote for you unless the SNP position on this issue changes.


References:
1.  US security council resolution of April 1948.
http://unscr.com/files/1948/00047.pdf

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4Vqdfreeo

3. https://www.opindia.com/2019/09/london-pakistani-mob-led-by-british-labour-mp-attacks-indian-high-commission-smash-windows/. It is worth noting there is no BBC news link coming up in search results. That tells a lot about the BBC.

Book Review : The Go-Giver

This is my re-read of this short book. I read it a few years ago and read it again as I could not recollect some part of it.  I might read it again as its a short story with 122 pages filled with valuable lessons. 

I would still classify it as a business book due to its context even though the lessons can apply to other aspects of life. 

The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success that is conveyed by the book through the parable is

The Law of Value

The true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The Law of Compensation

Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

The Law of Influence

Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interest first.

The Law of Authenticity

The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself

The Law of Receptivity

The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. 

India had the first female doctor before Britain had their own !

Today (15-08-2019),

Google had a doodle for Louisa Blake, the first female physician in Britain. Louisa Aldrich-Blake graduated in medicine from the Royal Free Hospital in 1893.

I was curious to find out when India had its first female doctor. Found that Anandi Gopal Joshi was the first female doctor, she completed her MD in 1886 from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. On her graduation, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. She returned to India and was appointed, physician-in-charge of the female ward of the local hospital in Kohlapur.

The interesting fact is India had its first female doctor before Britain. The reason for this comparison is that was the time when India was ruled by Britain.  Google,  we don't have any issues you recognising Lousia Blake. Can you recognise Anandi Gopal Joshi too?

Reached out to Google. let's see Anandi gets her due recognition too. :-)

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Aldrich-Blake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandi_Gopal_Joshi

Book Review : "Speed Reading in a Week" by Tina Konstant

Are you one of the people, who have a long list of books to read (or) a shelf full of books that you always wanted to read but never got around to actually reading them. Yes. I am one of them.  There have been some software books that I have bought that got outdated before I got to read them. :-)  So I was looking at improving my reading speed!. I don't have any shame in acknowledging that I have been "planning" to read this small book for at least a year. :-) 

I have some friends in Scotland who consistently read about one non-fiction book every week !. It always surprised me how they manage to read so fast. 

First "speed reading" is not just about reading fast. It is about structured and selective reading that helps you to grasp "whatever" you wanted to get out of a book in a faster way.

Tina recommends a 5 step process for improving the reading speed. 

1. Prepare
2. Preview
3. Passing Reading
4. Active Reading
5. Selective Reading

Step 1: Prepare

Ask the following questions when you are considering reading anything (book/email/anything else)

Why I am reading this in the first place?

What do I already know?

What do I need to know?

The most important question is What is your Why? If you don't have a good enough reason to read the book. Just don't. One book less. :-) 

Step 2: Prepare

The purpose of this section is to get familiar with the structure of the book.

1. What does it look like?

2. Are there summaries and conclusions?

3. Are there any pictures?

4. What's the size of the print?

5. Is it broken into sections?

In this process, it's important to eliminate sections that you don't want to read and highlight the areas that you want to read.  Reaffirm the decision on what you want from the book. 

A 300-page book will take about 5 minutes for this activity. 

Step 3: Passive Reading

Passive reading will help to familiarise with the language of the book.
1. Scan the pages at the rate of few seconds per page
2. Look for any technical jargons or difficult words? Are you comfortable with the language?
Again, the 300-page book should take only 5-10 minutes for this stage.

Step 4: Active  Reading

This is the first time you actually read the book.
1. Read the first paragraph of each chapter
2. The first line of each paragraph. If the paragraph is long read the last line of the paragraph.
3. If you own the book read actively by underlining, highlighting or mind map.

Step 5: Selective Reading
The purpose of the first 4 steps is to select what you want to read 'intelligently'.
Now you exactly know what you actually want to read in the book.
Not only that you have already scanned through the book a few times and that will help in retaining the content in your memory.
As you read periodically ask 'Do I have what I want '. If yes stop reading.
Even if you decide to read the entire book, you will read if much faster.

There are chapters with techniques for each step. There is also a 21-day program sheet to practice and bring speed reading as a  habit.

After reading the book, I connected with Tina on LinkedIn. Based on her LinkedIn profile this was the first book that she published in 2000. What is more impressive is that she has mastered the art of reading even that younger age clearly articulated the technique in the form of a book. I highly recommend the book for anyone planning read more.

Mission to Mars - Bed Rest Study - an alternate perspective

This was my email sent to NASA HERA team (https://www.nasa.gov/analogs/hera/about ) on 23-April-2019. 

Dear Mars Explorer Team,

I wanted to give my humble perspective on "Mission to Mars - Bed Rest Study "

Recently, I came across the news about "NASA looking to pay 18 grand for 70 day sleep". I was joking with my wife that I need to apply for it and she was also joking that I may get crushed in the stampede of applicants for this temporary position.:-)

The article mentioned that in connection with Manned mission to Mars, NASA was looking at the possibility of making astronauts sleep for 2 week at a time (followed by 2 day breaks)  to reduce food and oxygen consumption for the 8 month journey to Mars.

In our Hindu Epic of Ramayan, there is a character called to "Kumbakarna" who sleeps for 6 months and then be awake for next six months. If we can get some one to sleep that long for the "Manned Mars mission" and ask them to extend the sleep little further, even a 8 month duration Manned mission to Mars can be an "over night journey" from the perspective of that space traveller :-)

Jokes aside:

I don't know whether we can put someone for sleep for even 2 weeks without pushing the current known limits of Anaesthesia and its side effects.

My humble view is that "NASA should look at yoga and meditation as a more viable alternative for oxygen and food (human energy ) conservation during space flight".

There has been scientific studies that  suggest that the regular practice of Yoga Breathing techniques reduce the oxygen consumption in human by about 35%. (reference 1)

As per the Yogic Science, the humans can stay in Higher meditative state ( called Samadhi) for very long time.  It is said that some yogis have stayed in that meditative state for even years. Space and time does not exist  in the state of Samadhi.   There are different levels of Samadhi (reference 2) and  it will takes years practice to get the body-mind control ( just like space mission taking years to attempt). But achieving above state of Samadhi is not something super human. Yogic tradition believes that "Being human itself is super and realising it expands the possibilities for humans".

To  summarise, the proposal is that "Yoga and meditation can be used optimise body metabolism and conserve the human energy there by reducing the consumption of oxygen and food by Astronauts during prolonged space journeys ".

Of course, scientific measurements and study can be used to prove / disprove the optimisation of body metabolism. In fact its a great opportunity modern science to learn, test and explore the ancient wisdom for human advancement in space.

I am happy to provide further pointers, if there any interest on the above proposal.


with regards
Arul


Follow-up:
i.  NASA as a program called NASA Solve where the public can solve some of the problems faced by NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/solve/index.html . Tried to reach out to the NASA Solve team  on 24-April-2019 but the email bounced.  So trying to get the correct email for the NASA Solve team.
ii. The email was again sent to Human Research Program at JSC https://www.nasa.gov/hrp on n 25-April-2019.

I am yet to receive any response from NASA.  Will continue reach out to NASA and possibly SpaceX.

References:
1.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258129114_Oxygen_Consumption_Changes_With_Yoga_Practices_A_Systematic_Review 

2. https://chopra.com/articles/the-3-levels-of-samadhi

3. Memory, Consciousness & Coma Discussion by Sadhguru at Harvard Medical School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7irEcQHChw