It has been over a year that I am taking the same route from home to office and back. Nothing has changed ever since except the face of the road that I travel on, from muddy to stony to rocky to messy to bumpy to dusty and so on, needless to mention the bottlenecks and eventual traffic jams. The road was being mended from time to time – widening, concretization, but it stopped one day only to begin again just before the onset of monsoon. There were troughs, craters, humps everything possible on that road and then there were rains too to mess it up further. I was surprised (I was beyond everything to get worried, frustrated or angry) with the planning, vision, and estimation of the body governing the road renovation – right in times of rains they took up the execution task. It doesn’t take much of logic to anticipate that it would be better to complete the work before the rains so that commuters have a hassle free ride/drive.
This is just a micro example of the kind of leadership we are living under. We have many Advanis, Mayawatis, Thackerays, Pawars, Karunanidhis who swear and live up to their dreams of exploiting the weaker section for their own good. We proudly call our country as a developing nation and emerging market, and that “ing” will never change to “ed” till the time these “powerfuls” (or powerfools) reign our nation, commonsense is something that they really are away from. The country is still amidst the black clouds of caste discrimination, religious hatred, reservation and quota system, political blame game, and pseudo liberalization and globalization.
We have completely forgotten that we still carry an identity of rural country and agriculture was our nation’s nucleus. The saga of dying farmers is very much ignored and no one wants to look into that matter, they (leaders) like to play the dirty game of politics but refrain from dirtying their clothes, traveling into pockets of rural India. I read recently, an editor was abused and his property was smashed down just because he was against the idea of having Shivaji’s (the great Maratha warrior) statue installed in the Arabian sea (much like the Statue of Liberty). He instead felt that the amount to be spent on the statue can be used for farmer’s relief. What was wrong in that? No that he didn’t respect Shivaji Maharaj, but he just inspected if there really was a need to build that statue. He probably had just applied some logic, but logic has no place in political agenda and he faced the consequences of it.
Some few months ago, our nation was bitten by reservation and quota syndrome, and Mr. Arjun Singh was just desperate to get it done, he finally did it. Meritocracy has no place in our country, its all about just bureaucracy and diplomacy – a well planned episode to gather vote bank, elections just being a year away. Students who actually deserved to be at IITs and IIMs may have to lose out to some SC, ST, OBC and so on. What measures does government have to take care of the careers of students who probably have lost their seats? And what is the guarantee that the reserved class admitted into these institutes will do wonders to our nation’s growth and economy? Is the politics going the right way catering to needs of the younger generation. The real powerhouse (should I say so) is being ruled by people who have crossed retirement age. The generation gap reflects here as well much like it exists in any family.
The recent mandate regarding the reservations in government jobs that let to public revolt and violence in north of India. The gujjars need a reserved class status and there are many such communities who have filed for getting a reserved class status. Why wouldn’t this happen when you make the entry free and open?. When no other requirement is needed other than being a backward for a government job (still considered the most secure job even if not lucrative), people will flock and strive (and even go beyond violent protest) to get that “backward” status. Have we not seen people flooding outside Big Bazaar when there is a heavy discount sale? Have we not crowded around areas that say something is free? And then there is rush, pull, fall happening. Much similar is the case with gujjars and other communities. I wish the government could have envisioned all this, not a single leader could anticipate these consequences (not that I could but then they are leaders right?). It is no more a stigma to call yourself a backward or a harijan (if we were to date back a century ago).
When there are 100 minds, the coalition that rules the country, the governance becomes difficult. If we have so proudly borrowed so many things from the west, I wish we could also replicate their style of governance – not just the ruling and opposition party part of it. For us politics is not about reforms or growth but just money and power game. Who should we blame “the politicians for playing so bad” or “we, the people for not choosing our leaders correctly”.
This is just a micro example of the kind of leadership we are living under. We have many Advanis, Mayawatis, Thackerays, Pawars, Karunanidhis who swear and live up to their dreams of exploiting the weaker section for their own good. We proudly call our country as a developing nation and emerging market, and that “ing” will never change to “ed” till the time these “powerfuls” (or powerfools) reign our nation, commonsense is something that they really are away from. The country is still amidst the black clouds of caste discrimination, religious hatred, reservation and quota system, political blame game, and pseudo liberalization and globalization.
We have completely forgotten that we still carry an identity of rural country and agriculture was our nation’s nucleus. The saga of dying farmers is very much ignored and no one wants to look into that matter, they (leaders) like to play the dirty game of politics but refrain from dirtying their clothes, traveling into pockets of rural India. I read recently, an editor was abused and his property was smashed down just because he was against the idea of having Shivaji’s (the great Maratha warrior) statue installed in the Arabian sea (much like the Statue of Liberty). He instead felt that the amount to be spent on the statue can be used for farmer’s relief. What was wrong in that? No that he didn’t respect Shivaji Maharaj, but he just inspected if there really was a need to build that statue. He probably had just applied some logic, but logic has no place in political agenda and he faced the consequences of it.
Some few months ago, our nation was bitten by reservation and quota syndrome, and Mr. Arjun Singh was just desperate to get it done, he finally did it. Meritocracy has no place in our country, its all about just bureaucracy and diplomacy – a well planned episode to gather vote bank, elections just being a year away. Students who actually deserved to be at IITs and IIMs may have to lose out to some SC, ST, OBC and so on. What measures does government have to take care of the careers of students who probably have lost their seats? And what is the guarantee that the reserved class admitted into these institutes will do wonders to our nation’s growth and economy? Is the politics going the right way catering to needs of the younger generation. The real powerhouse (should I say so) is being ruled by people who have crossed retirement age. The generation gap reflects here as well much like it exists in any family.
The recent mandate regarding the reservations in government jobs that let to public revolt and violence in north of India. The gujjars need a reserved class status and there are many such communities who have filed for getting a reserved class status. Why wouldn’t this happen when you make the entry free and open?. When no other requirement is needed other than being a backward for a government job (still considered the most secure job even if not lucrative), people will flock and strive (and even go beyond violent protest) to get that “backward” status. Have we not seen people flooding outside Big Bazaar when there is a heavy discount sale? Have we not crowded around areas that say something is free? And then there is rush, pull, fall happening. Much similar is the case with gujjars and other communities. I wish the government could have envisioned all this, not a single leader could anticipate these consequences (not that I could but then they are leaders right?). It is no more a stigma to call yourself a backward or a harijan (if we were to date back a century ago).
When there are 100 minds, the coalition that rules the country, the governance becomes difficult. If we have so proudly borrowed so many things from the west, I wish we could also replicate their style of governance – not just the ruling and opposition party part of it. For us politics is not about reforms or growth but just money and power game. Who should we blame “the politicians for playing so bad” or “we, the people for not choosing our leaders correctly”.
Even I don’t know…may be what one of my friend says is true – “hum kide makodon ki tarah hain, ek din unke bhari bharkam pairon ke niche daba diye jayenge” (we are like insects and pests, and will be stamped under their [politician’s] powerful feet).
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