Utopian Dream

Patience is a hallmark virtue of the hindu community. And therefore they wait indefinitely for things to improve. After all India is not Egypt where the populace does not tolerate the excesses of the government and walks out of the confines of their comfortable homes to throw out a government that they had voted in power. After all the definition of a democracy is a government of for and by the people, yet how many of us are able to appreciate it I wonder?

Watching the affairs of successive governments in the nation for a considerable time now, I am convinced that the nation is not conducive enough for the habitation of the aam Hindustani and has strangely emerged as a place where only the men in power and those rolling in cash can live in relative peace. For the aam aadmi however it is a land of non-stop turmoil and anguish and therein lies the tragedy of the journey of this great civilization.

In recent history, utopia was first presented to the populace in 1942 when the call to quit India was issued. The naïve populace then believed that everything would be fine once the britishers left, however that was not to be. The hopes that built up in the initial years post independence took a nosedive in the early sixties when famines and acute scarcity of food grain rocked the nation. Meanwhile the political class as well as the bureaucrats had turned wise and realized that being a self seeker is definitely the far better alternative. It was obvious that the nation had arrived and had started taking off in a skewed direction.

Fed up with successive governments, the populace turned towards the opposition parties in the mid seventies and formed the first non congress government that disappointed more than it enthused. Subsequent experiments with different shades of governments both at the federal and the state levels also proved that there is not much to choose between the devil and the deep sea, with each initially offering hope and then dashing it against the wall.

The series of scams that surfaced with amazing regularity in the recent past have however imparted a different dimension to the concept of governance in this nation. The people who govern, now firmly believe that their anointment on the seat of power gives them a right to loot and plunder for their personal gains. Yet they also like all others never fail to present a utopia whenever an opportunity arises, and the naïve populace continues to believe them perhaps for lack of options.

The utopian dream rocks and our slide downward continues unabated.

A nation sans value systems

The sentencing of an ex chief minister who also heads an important political party of the country comes as a beacon of hope for all of us who had all along been silent witness to the escape of the powerful from the clutches of the law.  That the president of the national opposition party had to resign in the wake of income tax raids was literally the icing on the cake. Probity in public life appears to be conveniently missing cutting across the political and bureaucratic spectrum.

Yet the moot question remains, whether the powerful Haryana baron would also escape the noose as has been the case with all those who had been involved in the innumerable “G” series of scams that rocked this nation not too long ago? Is this verdict also going to be a shroud behind which the powerful guy that he is would make his silent escape? These and many other similar questions would be jostling the minds of many right minded citizens this wintery morning.

It is indeed strange that “Ceaser’s wife should be above suspicion” an ancient saying is not finding acceptance even amongst the doyens of the national party that claims to be different based on virtues that are generally not visible to the common man. The blatant exploits by its generals south of Vindhya and in the state of Uttarakhand, and the tacit acceptance of the same by its top leadership for a long time also strengthened the universal perception that no party is different and that almost all politicians with rare exceptions have their hand in the till.

The overall scenario remains grim. The issue of corruption continues to occupy center stage with new exploits finding their way in newspaper columns with amazing regularity. Incidents of moral depravity are also on the rise with the recent incident involving Nirbhaya shaming the entire nation.  Moreover on the economic front and the human development index, our rating as a nation continues to be low. Yet the nation continues to excel in the consumer goods scenario.

Can a nation sans value systems regard itself as developed? Perhaps there is a need for all of us to introspect and then do what we can to restore the glory and pride of our motherland!    

Times Now Debates

The hotly contested "Times Now" debates find more than adequate viewership. The subjects are relevant to the times and the entire debating session is also well handled. The choice of speakers also does not leave more to be desired.

While the content is good and appreciable, what really stands out as a jarring note is the acrimony between the speakers. With daggers drawn out, the speakers attack each other as if they belong not to different parties but to different gangs whose only wish is to eliminate their rival.

It is a big change from the days of Jawahar and Patel, when mutual respect for the opposition was at the core of the working of the parliament. Even during Indira days, Atal compared her to Durga, when Bangladesh was liberated.

Gone are those days. We now have the likes of Tiwari whose pedestrian ways has considerably lowered the image as well as the dignity of politicians and political institutions. We have so called eminent people on the panel who opppose for the sake of opposition, who have no morals or character and who are more a bunch of chamaleons than responsible politicians of a democratic nation.

Perhaps the Anna Hazare crusade may result in the creation of a better nation and a saner political environment. It appears that the nation is in for good times now!