We live in the interesting times When Lies and Deceptions have a field day But Truth is masked behind smokescreens Incarcerated in a dark corner far away.
Her hands and feet are tied down The mouth is sealed with smothering tapes She can only cry and writhe in her solitary agony Of everyday tortures and gangrapes.
Her tormentors have skeletons in their cupboard Of people dead mangled with living corpses of those in utter misery Vicious cycles of deprivation due to usurpation of the Commons Victims of slavery subjugation and usury.
Greed and gluttony abound next Before disease and morbid fear take hold They realise their Ponzi game is over Truth must be held hostage before she could be told.
Life was joyous and blissful When the Commons belonged to the community People were happy hale and hearty Reposed with sound and robust immunity.
Immunity is the nature within Mere reflection of the Nature outside If we must stay healthy and wealthy Plunder and ravage of Mother Nature canโt be cast aside.
The two go hand in hand Like man and woman, yang and yin Without one the other is incomplete Setting them apart is the Original Sin.
Unmasked
Masks canโt stop the virus Nor can they hide the Truth We must stop the ecological destruction If we care to save the old and the youth.
Unmasked lies the un-civilization Rooted in hubris, ignorance and vanity It is time to set Truth free As we return to senses and sanity.
It was nice meeting you yesterday at a very critical juncture for our country as well as for the human race that is grappling with its cumulative karma of delusional and deranged lifestyles over past few centuries that is manifesting itself not just as the Covid Lockdown crisis but also as the spate of heat waves, flash floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and frequent earthquakes This perfect storm of sorts has gripped governments and society with morbid fear that many commentators worldwide assert has driven humanity to the brink of extinction.
In such a time we need to rise to the occasion.
As suggested by you, here is a 3-point action plan for #IndiaCycles4Change with an express timeline aimed at getting schools, colleges and livelihoods restarted in full swing by 1st of September in just over a month and bring life to a new normal. I am sharing this, ahead of a detailed meeting that I called for, with a firm belief that we agree on the basic principles and the urgent need for a radical shift in our policy and regulatory framework in which our cities and regions are planned and designed.
Covid Update
โIf we choose to open schools and colleges once the curve stabilises, there are very strong chances that we will be able to achieve herd immunity. Children and young adults have fresh immunity, which makes them better prepared to fight infections. It has a multiplier effect- if we develop it, we can protect many people. If we study USA data, 24 districts in USA do not a single child fatalityโ – Dr Amitav Banerjee, Professor & Head Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Pune Link here.
Sunday 26 July Mann ki Baat monthly radio and television address by Indian Prime Minister
#IndiaCycles4Change should be the focal point with the overall agenda set by PM Modi for #AatmNirbharBharat and getting vocal about local and inputs on Cycling Zones as shared in earlier mail. The Mann ki Baat talk show should focus on how do we reclaim streets and roads for walking, cycling and NMT and move motor vehicles on mutually exclusive Motoring Tracks with Right-Of-Way in a new win-win for livable equitable and sustainable India and as a role model for the post-Covid world based on the LACE Model.
Wednesday 29th July National Emergency Meeting on restoring normalcy in the post-Covid Scenario
In the overall context as shared with you y’day, we need a post-Covid India steering committee with following members and for you as NIUA Director to call SOS meeting in this regard
With this we shall be well-prepared for the 1st September Full Unlock and start of all Outdoor activities – Reopening of schools colleges and all other civic activities with stringent check on pollution and heavy deterrent penalties.
Smt. Vandana Shiva – Scientist, thinker, ecologist and global statesperson
Sri Narendra Modi – Prime Minister of India
Sri Ajit Doval – National Security Advisor
Sri Hardeep Singh Puri – Urban Affairs minister
Sri S. Jaishankar – Foreign minister
Sri (Dr.) Harsh Vardhan Health Minister
Sri Mukesh Ambani – industrialist
Sri (Prof) Rishikesha Krishnan – Director IIM Bangalore
Sri Hitesh Vaidya – Director National Institute of Urban Affairs
Sri Chandra Vikash Global swadeshi thinker Chief Mentor & Innovation Coach – GAIA Innovation Labs
3. Sunday 9th August Pan India Cycling Day celebrations and announcements of the new policy and regulatory framework for our cities and regions with Cycling Zones as their focal point based on LACE model for Localised Abundance and Circular Economy. This will be addressed by the Prime Minister.
In follow up to our phone conversation and earlier email, I registered for the #IndiaCycles4Change challenge and looked up the new portal. This hardly does justice to comprehend both the national crises of highly inadequate and inappropriate design and implementation of transportation-land use systems in India in both urban and rural areas, especially the wilful negligence and undermining of pedestrian, cyclists and NMT safety and their rights.
These must receive a priority over high speed motor vehicles or we must be geared up to think out of the box and create a win-win situation for both slow-moving walker/cyclists/NMTs and for high speed motor vehicles as I propose through the LACE model for localised abundance and circular economy. ITDP, unforetunately, as i find in my interactions for over a decade, with its dogmatic approach to “cycling tracks” and over-emphasis on bringing in new buses and BRT, may not be the right agency to give the policy directions as it appears from the various communications, especially at such a crucial juncture. It is called a challenge, but their approach as depicted in the attached diagram seems to look sideways from the real challenges.
We need much greater foresight to design our national policies and regulatory framework. Here is one illustration of how the policy directions have been so much at odds with people’s needs and aspirations and are only getting corrected after the Covid shock therapy by Mother Nature. “There has been a more than three times increase in the demand for fitness focused geared bicycles, and dealers are apprehending a major shortage of bikes. Again, even this market is dominated by China. says dealers, which has affected availability. Imported bicycles are preferred in the fitness segment, where China and Taiwan have a major market share, say dealers. Bikes are also sourced from Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, apart from domestic manufacturers. However, supply is down from every source, say traders here. The sleek alloy cycles have gathered popularity among fitness enthusiasts are priced in the range of Rs 10,000 and above, going up to Rs 3 lakh.” – (1) TOI Jul 13, 2020 It is clear that for a country that prides itself for designing satellites and spacecraft, there are not enough producers in a large country like India for good quality bicycles and related fittings at competitive prices. So much so for the clarion call for #AatmNirbharBharat. Was that all humpty-dumpty talk? 3 years back, Dutch PM Mark Rutte gifted a bicycle to Indian PM Modi which he gleefully accepted, clicked a picture and even tweeted thanks upon his return to India. But he perhaps, did not get the signal of how cycling was one of the powerful symbol’s of Europe’s high levels of health, fitness, productivity and economic success. In the renewed focus on making India AatmNirbhar, the humble bicycle could be the new symbol to mobilise and enror people’s participation in a national awakening, just as the Charkha became a symbol for self-reliance and safeguarding millions of livelihoods involved with weaving and making clothes. The issue today that are crying out for attention are people’s safety as walkers and cyclists and a people-friendly transport system that gives priority to moving people rather than vehicles esp. the rights of youth and children to go to school ,colleges and for everyone to meet their commuting needs that benefits their health, is safe and affordable. I sincerely hope that with your leadership at NIUA, this will change very soon. With the launch of #IndiaCycles4Change, not only will India become self-reliant in production of bicycles including the bio-electric hybrids, carts and eco-system of fittings and attachments, but also emerge as a major export hub. This will require us to together create a sound policy and regulatory framework for Cycling Zones and the overall LACE model for Localised Abundance and Circular Economy. References: (1) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/76930200.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (2) https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/India-accuses-China-over-influx-of-cheap-bicycles-from-neighbors
PS: After gathering feedback that Sri Hitesh Vaidya Director NIUA – a think-tank under the aegis of Urban Affairs ministry would need public support to take the bold measures I have outlined in the roadmap as he asked for, I am sharing this email ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ for urgent action as per the express timeline.
GAIA - Global Academy of Indigenous Activism 