Common Wealth Shame of India 2010.

I must confess whatever faith I had in our government has evaporated completely. Until last afternoon I was a benign onlooker emitting an occasional scream in disbelief and horror as I watched on TV or read in many a newspaper the utter and total chaos that Common Wealth Games 2010 has come to signify. Poking fun at our collective selves or letting out steam on the twitter by way of inane and insignificant tweets.

I read the following articles in Times of India and Hindustan Times. This got me going and could not restrain myself from putting together this blog.

1. Much good from a bad Games : India : M J Akbar : TOI Blogs http://t.co/HvjPUpP via @timesofindia.

2. Old India has failed New India, again: Vir Sanghvi - Hindustan Times http://t.co/IC9S7he via @AddThis

The stark contrast of content and intent is thought provoking.

Mr. M.J. Akbar concludes his article “A friend pointed out that we have only now begun to notice what happened some time ago: the CIA has taken over India. The CIA provides the core inner ring which pumps blood into the heart of the current ruling class of our country. CIA is: Corrupt Incompetent Arrogant. There is only one reason China is ahead of India; because it is run by the CPC: Corrupt, Perverse but Competent.”

The journalistic competence and ability of this accomplished Journalist makes it a pleasure to read his thoughts and views on the ongoing fiasco called CWG.

Mr. Vir Sanghvi concludes his piece “In 1980, Indira Gandhi recognised that the Asian Games would be a fiasco unless the government got involved at the highest level. Rajiv Gandhi oversaw the preparations, deadlines were kept, the infrastructure survives till today and the Games served as an advertisement for India.But what this government has given us is a complete repudiation of Rajiv’s legacy. The preparations have been handed over to people like Suresh Kalmadi and when ministers have got involved, the task has been left to incompetent windbags. Nor has there been any attempt to find an alternative private sector model.”

This formulation makes your stomach churn in total disgust at the level of superficiality and sycophancy exuded by this individual. The focus is on what has been attempted to be projected by this author.

Mr.Sanghvi wants us to believe that India is in a perpetual state of conflict.

“These days we hear a lot about the clash of the two Indias — the India of the villages vs the India of the cities; deprived India vs shining India, etc. This conflict is undeniable but we are neglecting another clash between two other Indias which is subtler but no less significant. The unprecedented level of public anger over the screw-ups in the preparations of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) can be best understood if we see it as a clash between two Indias.”

He stops miday after alluding to M.S.Gill the Minister for Sports his age and background. Overlooking the fact that the responsibility goes right to the top; that is the Prime Minister who happens to be senior by a couple of years, and shares the background with Mr M.S.Gill.

All this while he conveniently overlooks the fact that there is a very heavy imprint of the presiding deity of Congress party in appointing the PM and the Sports Minister. The blame for the ongoing unparalleled accrual of indignity and shame is the net result of poor decision making and total inert state of government in India.

The much maligned old India that is being used as an alibi to gloss over our present predicament is an enduring gift from our first Prime Minister and it is his legacy which is being carried forward. We do hear and read on a daily basis the GDP growth and the ever north ward movement of sensex. These have been touted as the two great beacons of performance of our Government. Nothing could be further from truth than the above two symbols.

On one end of the spectrum are the exploits and achievements of entrepreneurial India, where many an achiever is in the age group as our Prime Minister or Minister for Sports. It is not the age that matters; it is the ability, dedication and conviction for the cause that is defining and makes India shine. One India is producing results on a daily basis which pose challenge to the largest and most ambitious economies and people on this planet. Where as those who are appropriating these successes as their own are in fact squandering away in most disdainful manner the hard earned monies, image and goodwill.

Let the author not exonerate Government, Congress party or its high command by singling out a few individuals, who for all practical purpose hold their current position with the unambiguous blessings of the powers that be of the Congress Party. We should not shy away from facts and candidly admit that governance in India is non existent under the present dispensation. Glaring examples are placed to refresh malfunctioning memory cells, and cure selective amnesia. 2G spectrum scam, rotting food grains 60,000mt, 37% Indians below poverty line, ever proliferating slums in our metros, naxal violence and of course last but not the least Kashmir.

Objective was to showcase India, we have achieved the converse. Let me conclude we the people of this country are indignant in extreme, with all the might at our disposal do repudiate this image. This could be the image of our government and congress party. this is not of us and our country.

Indians responsible for the rot in democracy

09th Nov 2009. There were three significant incidents which occurred, all three were connected to the politicians of India. The new depths that this class is discovering on an almost daily basis, speak volumes of their ability to ignore propriety in public life, offer inane and insensitive arguments, subvert, tarnish and diminish what ever they touch other than their personal assets, which multiply @ of Mach 7 or more.
We had just about digested the news that Mr. R.R. Patil re-appointed as the Home Minister in Maharashtra, he had done a wonderful job during terror strike on Nov 26th 2008. After all did he not make light of this attack, as a minor incident in a major metropolis of India, we should learn to live with it. 190 lives lost, no consequence we are a nation of billion plus, few lives lost should not galvanize or impel us to rile the political class or demand upgrading of security systems and equipment. The man was removed from this very post on 1st Dec 2008, what has changed now that the person in question is back at the helm of the same ministry. Did the political bosses make a wrong decision on 1st Dec 2008 or is it now? Guess both premise are wrong, the fact of the matter is new mandate has washed away all previous sins. We the electorate, have pardoned all the acts of omission and commission by re-electing the same persons. Who should bear the burden of this act? Naturally, we the people of Maharashtra. We had the opportunity and the choice we were decisive in our action, unlike the politicians. Let us wait for our fortunes to multiply at a similar rate as do those of the political class.
Manu Sharma out on parole! so what? Convicts are entitled to parole, victims have no such rights. We are a democratic country with well defined laws and laid down procedures to be followed. The catch is, the foot note that is appended to each and every law “Except the framers” We do claim that rule of law is prevalent in India and often hear “Law shall take it own course”. Travesty of this statement is the common man suffers all his life for want of action, the rich and famous escape the long arms of law for the rest of their life for the same want of action. Law shall take it own course, please do explain which is this course, that will ensure justice to the common citizen in this country.The CM of Delhi went to great lengths to explain the how the system works, yet she did not explain how on earth the basis of parole for a murder convict could be to attend to his Business needs. Bizarre that the state! Should be more concerned about the health of the convict’s business? rather than the sentence that he must undergo, for a heinous crime such as murder. Here again the politician cannot be held accountable, the people of Delhi after all re-elected the same government for the 3rd time in succession, so all previous sins were washed away and a fresh start.
What transpired in the late afternoon in the Maharashtra State Assembly, is best described as “Mobocracy” democracy is all about debate and reaching consensus. This was all about physical violence and intimidation. Guess what we the people are again the culprits we had the opportunity, we exercised it after due diligence and gave our verdict in favor of what we witnessed in the state assembly. The politicians are not to be blamed after all one set was engaged in protecting the Marathi Pride and Culture, the other taking oath in Hindi which is permitted under the constitution of India, was demeaning the Marathi Pride and Culture. India seems to be passing thru a period of relative calm and hence the need for excitement, what could be better after the fatwas against the national song “Vande Mataram”. A bit of indulgence in linguistic chauvinism and divide the country along those lines after all the division along religious lines is not offering the high returns that one used to witness previously. The states in India were demarcated linguistically. The trend is dangerous, disintegration of the country is a possibility that cannot be ignored. After all equal and opposite reaction, a law from Physics, would come into play sooner than later. Is suspension of 4 MLA of MNS for 4 years sufficient?
The common thread that has run thru all the three events is the role of the political class. The ultimate responsibility can only be laid at the door step of the people since it is us who elect these individuals repeatedly to govern, that mandate is conveniently transformed into an agreement to Rule us with no accountability on their part. Suffering is our share of the deal.