Rahul Gandhi proves his mettle

Today, after winning successive elections since 2014 except Bihar, Delhi and Punjab [BJP & allies rule expanded to 19 of 29 states; Congress rule restricted to just 5 states] the invincible Prime Minister Modi is scared of only one man by the name Rahul Gandhi, whom he & his trolls once described as 'pappu' and a 'reluctant politician'. During the past six months Rahul Gandhi smashed all these and gave a spirited and stunning fight in Gujarat election making Modi and his BJP machine sweat like never before. Here are some points proving his mettle:

1. Rahul Gandhi said on demonetisation "Initially the government spoke about black-money, then moved to counterfeit currency and then again to a cashless society campaign. The prime minister took this so-called bold decision single-handedly. The bold decision can also be a foolish decision. And this has devastated the country. More than 100 people have died. Farmers, fishermen, daily wage earners have been hit hard." He also said "Dr Jaitley, the economy is in the ICU because of notes ban and GST. Aap kehtey hai aap kissi sey kum nahi/ magar aapki dava mein dum nahi."
2. Rahul Gandhi said on GST roll out "A reform that holds great potential is being rushed through in a half-baked way with a self-promotional spectacle. GST is being executed by an incompetent and insensitive government without planning, foresight and institutional readiness. India deserves a GST roll out that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses & traders through tremendous pain & anxiety. Their GST is 'Gabbar Singh Tax'. Small shopkeepers are finished. Lakhs of youths have been unemployed. But they are still not ready to listen. Congress GST is 'Genuine Simple Tax'. Modiji’s GST is 'Gabbar Singh Tax'." 
3. Rahul Gandhi hammers on 'unemployment' issue repeatedly. On his superb trip to USA he said, "I think the central reason why Mr. Modi arose is the question of jobs in India. There’s a large part of our populations that simply do not have jobs and cannot see a future. But, certainly our prime minister is not doing enough in creating jobs. 30,000 new youngsters are joining the job market every single day and yet the government is only creating 500 jobs a day. My main issue with Mr Modiji is that he diverts that issue and points the finger somewhere else instead of listening." Though the ruling government floated a plethora of schemes like ‘Make in India’, ‘Startup India’ and ‘Digital India’, all of these initiatives proved to be duds.
4. Speaking on women rights back in 2014 Rahul Gandhi  said, "We talk a lot about becoming a superpower in the world but till the women of our country do not feel comfortable and secured, our country cannot become a superpower. And to tell you the truth, we don’t want such a superpower status, where women are not empowered. One thing I have learnt is if you empower women, they can do anything. One important battle we have to win is the women’s reservation Bill in Parliament. We’re not going to let go of it." The BJP had promised during their pre-election rallies that the women’s reservation bill would be passed as soon as they got into power. Despite three and a half years of Modi rule, the bill has not come up in the Lok Sabha so far.
5. Rahul Gandhi while speaking on intolerance had previously said, "Truth and Power are not the same thing. Truth is what stands up to power. Today, there is no doubt that the emperor is completely naked but there is no one with any courage to point it out. When the British came to India, people handed over freedom to them. It was never taken away from us. This could very well happen now. Both the RSS and Mr Modi want to create a country where people live in utmost fear surrendering their voice so that they can rule unhindered. Mr Modi, after locking his cabinet colleagues in a room announced demonetization which wiped off lakhs of jobs. Many media houses have been depicting this as a work of genius even while admitting in private that it was an act of insanity. Most of them have lost their voice." At his recently concluded USA trip, he again said, "What happened to the tolerance that prevailed in India? What happened to the harmony? For thousands of years, India has had a reputation of peace and harmony. This is being challenged. Our most powerful asset is that 1.3 billion people lived happily, non-violently, peacefully. This is something that as Congress people, every single one of us has to defend."
6. On agrarian crisis Rahul Gandhi said in a rally in Maharashtra, "Everyone knows that a farmer needs the support of the nation and the State Government. If you ask any farmer, how much money comes from their farm, then every farmer will tell you – if the MSP is not increased, if there are no rains and no compensation or bonus is given, then they won’t be able to work, and this is the truth behind today’s India."  Criticising the ruling NDA Government, Rahul said in Gujarat "the suit boot government doesn’t do anything for the farmers." Speaking earlier this year to the bereft farmers from Tamil Nadu, he said,” The farmers have been sitting here for so long. But neither the government nor the Prime Minister is listening to them. The people and farmers of Tamil Nadu deserve to be heard by the Prime Minister who is disrespecting them by not initiating any dialogue. Over the last three years, debt worth Rs 1.4 lakh crore held by 50 industrialists have been written off. Why the same is not being done in case of the farmers? Why are their debts not being waived? It is the Prime Minister’s responsibility to do so.” 
7. Rahul Gandhi has made the 'failed development model of BJP' as the body and soul of his Gujarat campaign. Modi had come to power based on the stellar work he had apparently done in Gujarat which he promised would be juxtaposed to other states as well. But Rahul Gandhi ripped that narrative to pieces saying, "Gujarat model of development can be called toffee model or ‘gubbara’ (balloon) model, which is nothing but loot of public money to benefit big people like Tata and Adani. Modi had given away 45,000 acres belonging to poor farmers and the size of Bihar’s Purnea district to a single person (Adani) at a rate of rupees one per sq metre which is equivalent to the price of a toffee. He gave away the entire stretch of land at a paltry sum of Rs.300 crores. Modi had also provided Rs.10,000 crore loan to Tata Motors for its Nano car project at 0.1% interest, while the common man get loan from banks at 12% interest. For every Nano car, the Gujarat government is providing Rs.40,000 assistance. The total budget of the Gujarat government on education, health and other welfare is less than Rs.10,000 crore." Speaking later he added, "Vikas has gone crazy? India’s economy has been destroyed. But everyone is quiet because they are afraid to speak against Narendra Modiji. These are not my words. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has written this in a newspaper article today. Poverty reduction in Gujarat was highlighted as a huge success but reports have since shown that it has been slower than most of the other states. There has been undoubted progress in electrification and infrastructure development but that has mostly played in the hands of the corporate sector with little to no improvement for the masses! If Gujarat model was dissected, an entire thesis could well be written on it with both pros and cons. We would just stop short of calling it a bigger success than it was.
8. We worked for 10 years to bring peace in Kashmir. Speaking in USA on the violence in the valley, Rahul Gandhi said, "PDP was instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day Modi made alliance with PDP, he destroyed them (PDP). He (Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence.Violence against anybody is wrong. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is dangerous. These incidents are making millions feel that they have no future in their country. I lost my father, my grandmother to violence, if I don’t understand violence then who will?"

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Rahul Gandhi blames the BJP for spreading abuses about him

Anger

Everyone experiences anger. Anger is an intense emotional state induced by displeasure. 

Anger could be stratified into three modalities: cognitive (appraisals), somatic-affective (tension and agitations), and behavioral (withdrawal and antagonism). A person experiencing anger will also experience physical conditions, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Aristotle felt that anger or wrath was a natural outburst of self- defense in situations where people felt they had been wronged.

• Most people experience anger as a result of "what has happened to them".
• People feel angry when they care about has been offended.
• The behavior of angry person warns aggressors to stop their threatening behavior. 
• When a man becomes angry, he has no shame, no fear of evil and is not respectful in speech. 
• Anger triggers part of the fight. Anger is expressed in awkward facial expressions, body language etc.
• Anger activates aggression, it is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for aggression.
• Anger impairs to exert cognitive control over their behavior.
• Anger is used as a protective mechanism to cover up fear, hurt or sadness. 
• Anger is a conscious behavior to stop the threatening behavior of others.
• Anger negatively affects personal or social well-being. An angry person loses objectivity, empathy, prudence or thoughtfulness and cause harm to themselves or others.
• An angry person sleeps poorly, destroys his health, wealth and status. Relatives, friends, & colleagues avoid him. 
• A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves a thousand moments of regret. Anger begins with madness, and ends in regret.
• Anger makes people think more optimistically, dangers seem smaller, actions seem less risky, ventures seem more likely to succeed, and unfortunate events seem less likely. Angry people are more likely to make risky decisions, and make more optimistic risk assessments.
• The display of anger can be feigned or exaggerated. Anger is a strategy of social influence and goal achievement.
• Angry people are less likely to suffer heart disease and more likely to receive a pay raise compared to fearful people.
• People tended to be more flexible toward an angry opponent.
• Showing anger increases the ability to succeed in negotiation.
• Without anger, teaching will be useless, judgments unstable, crimes unchecked. Therefore to be angry is not always an evil.
• We worship God by expressing our honest anger at him.
• Women's passive nature is due to their lack of power compared to men. 
• Physical altercation occurs with prior expression of anger by one of the participants.
• Anger can boost determination toward correction of wrong behaviors, promotion of social justice, communication of negative sentiment, and redress of grievances.
• Anger always results when we are caught up expecting the world to be different than it is.
• An internal infection can cause pain which in turn can activate anger.
• Anger is the fume of an irritated mind. It is caused by the thwarting of desires. It feeds the limited ego and is used for domination and aggression. 

Thinking before speaking, expressing frustration in a mild way, daily exercises, short breaks, identifying solutions, not holding grudges, use of humor (not sarcasm), relaxation skills and seeking timely help are some techniques to control anger and keeping cool. 

You need to accept that life sometimes is unfair, then you can pursue positive purpose. You can work constructively against injustices you find, transforming your anger into passion. Or you can pursue fulfillment in spite of the unfairness that exists.

These days in India, ferocity of mob threats and crowd size indicate the authenticity and depth of the grievance. The management of staging of spontaneous popular anger is a key political technique in contemporary India. Only a spontaneously angry crowd gets taken seriously, if it is Hindus. Any Muslim crowds will be routinely dismissed as 'staged' or 'instigated' by dark, hidden forces. In reality mob violence was rarely prosecuted as a crime. Shiv Sena which practiced threat of mob violence in day to day politics was always helped by police standing by and never ever booked and prosecuted.

Anger gets you into trouble, ego keeps you in trouble.
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding ... Mahatma Gandhi
Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame ... Benjamin Franklin

Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy ... Aristotle

My View:

After passing through several decades in life I realized that anger was never worth it. It spoils communication and relationships and pushes you into isolation. Situations deteriorate and restoring normalcy is another nuisance activity. Anger communicates nothing where as silence is golden. So better follow age old advice ... when you are angry count ten before you reply. Not so easy.