Month: November 2022

Kiran Tandon, Jan 26, 2022

Jan 26: Day 1 of my fast, day 702 of our chain.

Fire is such an integral part of who we are as human beings, and those who doused the flame at India Gate lost the plot somewhere.
However, the flame of hope still Abides With Me and us, even if that wonderful uplifting hymn, that we all loved, has also been eliminated.

ChainFastingForPeace

FastingAgainstFascism

FreeSanjivBhatt

ResignAmitShah

ResignModi

Sarah Jane Baskin, Jan 23, 2022

Jan 23: Day 1 of my fast, day 699 of our chain.

War is Peace
Slavery is Freedom
Ignorance is Strength
–G. Orwell 1984

What was it Orwell was warning us about with his words? All I know is we are watching it happen on Earth. Now.

Everywhere I look lately I see people saying “Journalism is dead.”

I live in the US so this “problem” is not India’s alone. It seems a world wide issue and India is being ignored in the major world news because of it. Reality is being ignored and a particular group of people benefit.

Modi’s recent blunder in speaking to the World Economic Forum and the way it was covered up just another example of the blind eye being given to Truth. Why not just be honest about it? I laugh at my mistakes.

There are some people who haven’t given up though. And the article Suniti posted shows this. It IS newsworthy that people are learning that “nothing matters.” For critical thinking and sharing our knowledge the only way Up and Out.

https://m.thewire.in/article/politics/the-hidden-curriculum-of-new-india

The Oppressors will not give up their position voluntarily. The only way I know is from under. Praxis. Grassroots sharing of knowledge. Getting to know our neighbors and organizing locally. Not violently.

I don’t have all the answers. None of us do. However not giving up more important than ever.

My questions today as I fast are:
How do I keep hope alive?
How do I encourage others to critically think without them immediately getting upset because my position seems so different than theirs?
What to say people who harbor hatred because of their fear and blame of a class, or race or Religion which is misguided scapegoating and the actual problem. In and of itself?
How to encourage real Love between humans on Earth?

Surely this chain fast, almost 2 years now, and what it has brought is a prime example….

❤

ChainFastingForPeace

FastingAgainstFascism

FreeSanjivBhatt

ResignAmitShah

ResignModi

Motika Anand, Jan 16, 2022

Jan 16: Day 1 of my fast, day 692 of our chain.

The word ‘hunger’ always takes me back to my childhood. I was maybe 12 years old when I was visiting Mumbai (then Bombay) with my family. After dinner we would go for stroll on a beach (maybe Marina Beach). One day I saw a girl about my age selling balloons. It was a bit late and after a while I saw her tying a cloth tightly on her stomach and her little brother’s stomach, and drink some water from a tap. After a while I saw her lying on the sand on beach on a rag with her brother. I asked my mother why had she tied a cloth on her stomach and my mom told me that’s because she didn’t eat food and must be hungry. Tying a cloth around stomach helps control hunger and drinking water must have filled her enough to be able to go to sleep.

It’s been over 3 decades and I still remember that girl.

I would see that girl everyday, follow the same ritual before going to sleep.

Hunger index of India has dipped a lot in past 7 years. Wealth of some billionaires in India has increased multi fold in past 7 years.

A country desensitized of its hungry children can never be Vishwaguru.

What good will this chain fasting for peace do? My sons ask me this question. I never have a satisfactory answer.

All I know is that, in all my helplessness, this is minimum I can do.

ChainFastingForPeace

FastingAgainstFascism

FreeSanjivBhatt

ResignAmitShah

ResignModi