Dance of Democracy

Greetings Earthlings!

Welcome back after a month or so of silence. But no time for niceties right now. With Elections '09 coming up in swing now, no one seems to have the time. At least not our politicians!

A lot is being said, printed, published, blogged, bannered & sung about this time. I like to hear about what the "potential policians" wants to make of my country. I have personally always placed my faith in secular parties. Having said that, I must say my choice is usually restricted with a handful of parties!! But then for me, it's better to be secular and right, rather than being totally wrong & making a fool of myself and my country.

Now, coming back to politicians and their poll-promises.

It is really difficult to escape politicians at this time of the year. (How our youth have successfully managed to do so for so many years is praise-worthy!!) So, I barely scraped through an article in newspaper daily about BJP's Agenda. Have a quick look at it & then I shall ramble further on.

LOOK WHAT’S ON THE BJP’S AGENDA * Rebuild Ram temple in Ayodhya * Raise slab of Income Tax exemption for salaried class to Rs 3 lakh per annum * For women, the limit would be Rs 3.5 lakh pa * Income of all senior citizens by way of pension will be exempted from I-T * Exemption from I-T for armed forces * 'One Rank, One Pension' for armed forces * Separate pay commission for armed forces * Separate state of Telangana * Strong POTA-like laws to tackle terrorism * Waive off all current loans, provide fresh loans at 4 per cent to farmers * Abrogate Article 370 (giving special status to J&K) * 35 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs 2 per kg for BPL families [Congress is offering rice at Rs 3 per kg] * Protect Ram Sethu (ancient stone bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka) * Promotion of alternative sources of energy, focus on wind and solar energy

Needless to say, it enraged me. I am still angry, but I am sure they can't care less - simply because they don't care what a tiny woman belonging to a minority community thinks or feels!

Looking at BJP's agenda reminds me of an old saying : कुत्ते की दुम को अगर सौ साल भी नल्ली में रखा जाए तो भी वो टेढी की टेढी ही रहेगी!! It means even if a dog's curly tail is kept in a straight pipe for 100 years, when released it will still continue to be curly! Even if BJP tries to portray : निडर नेता! निडर सरकार! For me this statement is a brute reminder of how brutally, shamelessly and lawlessly these "leaders" - Mr. Advani and Mr.Modi - have behaved in the past. I can never forgive or forget Mr. Advani for his behaviour, his statements & the consequences that followed(Babri Masjid riots). At least Mr.Advani has stayed underground for 15 long years. Mr. Modi has no sense of shame at all. It's only 2 years since the Godhra riots. Obama would be ashamed of himself if he learnt Mr.Narendra Modi is the "new Obama of India". I am sure he would commit suicide.

If Elections are the Dance of Democracy, then BJP is surely all about "Dirty Dancing". If you look carefully at their agenda, here is quick summary for you:

* Build Ram Temple

* Bomb Pakistan

* Change civil law for all minorities(Esp Muslims!)

* Defend Varun Gandhi, Pragya Sadhvi & others

* Attack women in pubs

* Ban cow slaughter

* Set Kashmir on fire

* Rewrite Modi-and-Advani version of History books

* Modi shall be Advani's heir

* Senselessly copy Manmohanomics

This is apart from emptying all the government coffers by providing tax exemptions, withdrawing sixth pay commission and any and every other means by which we generate legal revenue and the country is running happily today. Anything that provides happiness to India shall be destroyed.

My question is - if the writing on the wall is so plain, how come no one is opposing it? How come people can be so insensitive to want to vote for them? I feel despite of all the logic and common sense that I possess, simple things like these shall forever choose to evade me.

Can you help me understand?

Who decides the future of India?

Greetings Earthlings!

Hope life is keeping you all spice & very nice...

Some more uncontrollable activities and happenings have taken place since I was last here. One very noticeable thing - there seems to be so much negativity around us all, it keeps getting tougher and tougher to stay positive. Not wishing to indulge too long in the positiveness and negativeness' around me, I will just ramble on, for now.

There are two most prominent issues that are raising their ugly heads even while I type this. One is the avid discussion about who is the most capable of leading India into the future (in other words, who shall be the next Prime Minister of India!). And the second and equally disturbing is the movement that is catching on like jungle fire - the plight of the Hindu. Right at this point of time, these are the issues that shall rule the roost in the next couple of months. More importantly, these are the issues that will stand as a benchmark to the world - they will tell the world who we really are. Let's ramble on.

First things first.

Campaigns are on. All parties are out promoting themselves. "I am the cleanest of them all!" - so they all proclaim. And yet. Whether it's Advani, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Narendra Modi or most other "political leaders" - are they any different at all? I don't think so. Not in the least. As far as India is concerned, you cannot enter politics if your hands are not dirty. In any case, your hands will definitely get dirty by the time you get there.

The two major players for PM-ship are going to be Congress and BJP. Most other parties come in to complete the numbers and form coalition governments that fall more than they rise. In a beautiful consequence to the last elections (which were thankfully 5-years ago!!), Congress, with the help of coalition parties has managed to keep BJP in the opposition. Looking back at these 5-years, I personally think, as a country, we are far ahead from where we had started. So much for the able leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. I know a lot of people are complaining about recession and that the Congress-led Government did not handle it correctly - I would just ask them to look at the larger global picture. While recession has already put half the world out of work, in India, it's only now that we are beginning to feel the heat of it all. A lot of us have lost jobs and the anger and anguish is understandable. I too am out of work at this point of time. However, had it not been for an able Prime Minister, who has also been a Finance Minister and Governor of Reserve Bank of India, we would have been down in the dumps by now. The situation of recession in our country is at a controllable level. It will take some time to heal, but I am sure with the right governance, we will be back on our feet soon.

The sixth pay commission that was being haggled over for the past several years has finally been released. With the fifth pay commission in action, government employees were receiving far less than their private sector counterparts. With the sixth pay commission the divide is finally filled up. Where people would quit government jobs for better pay slips, the tide is now turned.

Coming back to the topic of the contenders for the Post of the future Prime Minister. Two big contenders are rising at this point. While the Congress is rooting for Rahul "India's Obama" Gandhi, the BJP are swearing by Narendra Learned & Versatile" Modi.

The present global scenario shows a consistent trend towards youth power in politics. The biggest example is the US selecting Barack Obama over McCain. The idealist and supposed knowledgeable leaders are usually the most corrupt as well as tainted. Most of them have had the opportunity to make their mistakes and eat it too. And these leaders are going to be our allies and adversaries in the times to come.

The Prime Minister and his allies are usually the ones who pave the way for India's future. With Manmohan Singh leading the lot, we have seen our economy booming. We saw India being ushered into the powerful-8. There have been a lot of mishaps, no doubt - however, the government has steadfastly been secular all along. These are tumulus times where people and parties are creating rifts in society. If we want to move from our current position of number eight to number, India has to move together. There can be no other way. It is a secular India that will go forward. An India that is split into a million tiny regional and religious groups will never get anywhere.

I can never forget the day the terrorists attacked my Mumbai. Similarly, I have been unable to forget the Babri Masjid riots. I cannot forget the Godhra carnage. These incidents were a shocking news to me. They reminded me that I belonged to a minority community in a majorly Hindu country. I am constantly reminded that I should have no say in any matters for my country, just because Rama was a Hindu & Ram Rajya his dream. Even today, I know there might be a non-secular group waiting to strike out at people like me. I am sure after the Godhra carnage, no Muslim has ever felt safe in Gujarat. Mr. Modi's assurances do nothing to assure me.

Yes, he may have contributed to Gujarat's economy, but at the same time, somehow I am sure the economic progress he is talking about might be a greater proportion of lies than truth. If economy is really booming in Gujarat, how come the diamond workers were not provided any support. And mind you, the diamond workers of Surat are India's largest group.

More importantly, if I remember correctly, 5-years ago, BJP had run a campaign called India Shining or India Rising - something to that effect. Later on, it turned out, most of it was lies. I believe BJP might be using the old trick again. I refuse to be tricked along. L.K. Advani and Kalyan Singh were known to have openly made rousing speeches during the Babri Masjid Riots. It may be more than 15 years since that episode, but I truly believe you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. If I cannot forget that incident after 15 years, I am sure they are also incapable of forgetting the hatred that exists within them as far as minorities are concerned.

At such times, with such people, I will always choose to go with the most secular party. The Constitution of India proudly proclaims itself to be a secular & democratic country. I will stand by a party that stands by the people of India, not just the people of a region, or caste, or community. Rahul Gandhi may not have as much experience as Advani or Modi, but to me that just means he is still not tainted. He is young blood and the face of India's bright and shining tomorrow. I just hope he does not fall pray to the Gandhi legacy of assassinations.

I have decided. I will place my vote with the most secular party in India. I place my vote for Rahul Gandhi.

Jai ho!

Mee Mumbaikar...Silent Spectators!!

Warmest season's greetings!! I have been away. Busy. Too busy to look at myself carefully. No no no... not busy as in the socialite types or anything like that..... Before you call me a hypocrite, give me a chance to justify myself. I have been a silent spectator...all this while. Now I am not talking about a week, a month or a year. I am taking into leverage the entire duration of my life. More importantly, i realize i am not alone. It seems like a sad, lonely thing to do. To do nothing but stare. To just watch what is happening without ever raising a finger or moving a limb to change a thing. Surprisingly, that is what most of us actually do. Take for example the recent uprising by the MNS activists. There is no point discussing how those brainwashed individuals held a whole bustling city to ransom - they already have had more than their fair share of media frenzy. How a bunch of brainwashed idiots managed make mockery of the democracy that we boast of. Those people whose businesses were affected, shops looted, damaged, destroyed or burnt down can do nothing but look at the heavens above and try to pick up the strands of life all over again. Whereas, the perpetrators of such evil thoughts still roams freely in his A/C car... Arrests are usually not made in such cases because it is the mob that attacks. Even when arrests are made, most of them usually get out on bail very easily. Sometimes one wonders why the police needs to intervene if all they do is capture and then let them go. Enough said about the people who are trying to drive us back into the stone age. Mumbai, says Wikipedia, has a population around about nineteen million, a total potpourri of cultures, religions and trades. Also, the city has been inhabited since the stone age. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai). When the rains poured over Mumbai, we Mumbaikars stood by each other, bringing strangers into our home. Many stood on the roads and provided food, water or if nothing else showed them the way home. That is the Spirit of Mumbai - undying. Anyone who dreams of being a someone is drawn to this city. There is something about the very air of this city, it makes you want to dream. And if you already have a dream it fans that spark within you, till the little amber turns to a full fledged roaring blazing fire inside. To try and differentiate people in a city like this is injustice. Its blasphemy. Still, however unjust the happenings in the city, most of us remained silent; watching from behind the curtains of our homes. Some of us speak now, albeit still not very openly. That is when i self-introspect. I too remained silent. I think we have remained silent too long. I think we need to speak up. Speaking up does not always kill. Look at the US, when the people turned up to vote in the largest number - democracy (& hopefully even peace) shall prevail at the hands of Barrack Obama. Somehow, the city seems to have gone into a slumber. I am currently reading "Discovery of India" by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Its a beautiful book, written in a beautiful language, about a culture, a country that is even more beautiful. One of the things I learnt from whatever I have read so far is all the while when India was openhearted accepting people of all faiths and cultures, exchanging knowledge, spreading knowledge - India was at that time the most famous in the world and was know as "Sone ki Chidiya". However, when she tried to close her fist, tried to not let people come in and affect her "culture" she started stagnating. The openness of the heart and mind which had led her to her glory - whence the fist was closed - was slowly and steadily lost.... I believe that is true even today. Any one who is highly learned can tell you this, to learn, to grow, to reach the pinnacle of your success you will need to keep your mind and your hearts open to all... for a closed fist can never capture enough........... In the end all that I can say is.... while my city, my country is being held to ransom...at the present moment...i just stand like a silent spectator. However, I am sure this immobility shall not last for long....and when the moment comes...i shall not be found looking for reasons.