The mayhem continues!

Two recent news items disturbed me. The first was regarding the apathy of the passers by towards road accident victims in Noida and the second was Nirbhaya Part II, the brutal rape of a 5 year old in Delhi. Perhaps Kalyug has now fully descended on this great land of Rama, Krishna, Rahim and Gandhi?

Value systems have apparently gone for a six. Perhaps they were never there in our hindu society and we merely maintained a pretense of the same for centuries togethor. Else how can one justify the series of brutal rapes in a society the scriptures of which harp on maintaining the dignity of the fair sex. How else can one justify a total lack of concern towards fellow humans as displayed by the passers by on the highway in which an injured girl and his father along with their dead son and mother were merely shrugged of as an unpleasent scenery by others.

The father of the nation lived his life for others, yet his sone and daughters, we the people of India live only for self with absolutely no concern even for fellow citizens in extreme distress. 

And the leaders of this nation will continue to parrot their old line of defending the juvenile. As someone recently and rightly said that a guy fit enough to molest and rape is also fit enough to undergo punishment. Will the pseudo leaders of this nation ever understand? Perhaps they will, the day the daughter of one of the high and mighty ones goes through an ordeal Nirbhaya or the five year old went through. Till then they shall continue to parrot what in their opinion will get them votes. Yet they are wrong, any politician who comes forward and sets things right even by taking harsh and unpopular measures like hanging or castrating rapist juveniles is bound to emerge as the ladla of the nation at the next hustings. 

Expecting the bureaucracy to pilot measures for a value based society will however continue to remain a mirage. Yesterday's display of a rabid conduct by a senior police officer while handling aggrieved protestors at the hospital where the five year old lay is perhaps in tune with what the bureaucracy has on offer for the masses they are recruited to serve. 

I never found reasons to be proud of being a hindu, but today I am ashamed to be one. Even the much maligned islamic countries are far superior in so far as comprehensive handling of the masses by the rulers is concerned. They dont brutalize women like in our country nor do they allow one who brutalizes to get away without facing the same level of brutality that he inflicted on others. Our record at handling terror is also dismal. An american would indeed be proud of the bold manner in which his government has handled the boston incident. Our actions and reactions stand out in stark contrast with even responsible leaders clamouring to save the lives of those who butchered their own countrymen or defiled sacred institutions. Sadly our judicial machinery with all its inherent merits also never believed in the dictum that justice delayed is justice denied. 

Yet the common man on the street and the high and mighty in the comfort of their luxurious homes know what is wrong. Each and every one of us knows what is wrong with the nation and uniformly expects and also waits for someone else to set it right. This has forever remained the biggest tragedy of this great land known as Bharatvarsh.    

Taste of the society

It is indeed gratifying that in this land of Balwa, Kalmadi, Raja and Kanimozhi, we also have leaders like Mamta Banerji, a person of unflinching integrity. A person who can defy the conventional norms of our thoroughly corrupt society and yet command the unflinching support of her constituents.

The elections in the state of West Bengal, besides propelling to the top chair, a person of impeccable integrity have also given hope to the citizens of this nation, a hope that cries out loud that despite the all round degradation, all is not yet lost. That one can still sweep elections on the wave of charisma alone, a charisma that emerged out of total commitment for the downtrodden and a burning desire to improve the nation, is a reality that gladdens the heart. The state of West Bengal is now on the threshold of a golden era.

But what about the nation? The large number of hi-fliers, politicos and bureaurats alike who strut about in the courtyard of Tihar these days is indicative of the state of the nation. People who were masters of our destiny till very recently are now busy cooling their heels in the holiest abode of the scum of the nation - the Tihar jail. And this is just the beginning. If the "just" course of action continues, in the near future one would witness many more powerful people finding solace within the confines of the premier jail of the nation.

What however surprises me, is the reluctance of the people to accept the state of the nation as it is. Almost all of us, including those whose contribution in things unsavory is substantial, crib about the imperfections in the social structure and also the created environment. Crib, in the hope that someone else shall set matters right, for they are uncomfortable with the taste of the society.

After all one cant' escape the taste of the society one has helped create.