What did you gain from yesterday's bandh?

Hello!

 

A nice fuzzy, warm welcome to the monsoons who are finally almost here!

And here I am @SIMC (I love watching the dark clouds gather day & night!). We had an adventurous week with the usual dose of assignments & case studies. And I am getting totally settled in my new routine at college with assignments, exams, rainbow sightings, et al.

Some one's bane can be your boon too, is what I realized this Monday. We were to have our monthly class test this Monday. So like a smart bunch of B-school students we virtually turned book worms over the weekend. The corridors of the hostels that are usually bustling with enthusiasm over weekend's arrival were eerily quiet.

And then apparently some of the prayers got answered! The test was postponed to Tuesday - reason being the Nation-wide bandh called by the opposition against the price hike. That precise moment was really a confusing one for me. I was happy the test was postponed, but not really.

I for one, do not believe in bandhs. They do no good what so ever. I mean, what kind of point do you prove by shutting down business, running in crores of losses, and keeping the daily wage worker hungry? Strikes or bandhs have been used for several centuries, usually by factory workers, etc. However, since 1960's bandhs have been rampantly used in the country, usually by the Opposition parties, in order to rebel against the ruling government. A case in example would be West Bengal which encounters approximately 40-50 bandhs every year.

However, even if you enforce a bandh and ensure that all work halts, how does that help your cause any better? Like in the current instance. I believe, the Opposition thinks that government should continue to provide subsidy, despite of running potential losses of several crores. Money that can be wisely put to use elsewhere like Education or helping SME. Hence, I don't think the Opposition is right with their current attitude. But more importantly, if the prices are rising, how will holding up a nation of 1.18 billion from going to work fix that problem? I am perplexed.

I can understand the concern that the Opposition might be facing with regards to an issue directly related to the "aam junta", however, furthering their own propaganda at the cost of innocent citizens can never be termed right. The real people who will be affected will be the BPL, poor and lower middle class income groups. The rest will manage by saving more or cutting costs. These people who get affected cannot, to my disbelief, want to take an unasked for holiday. That Rs.50-300 per day could mean a lot to them. The politicians in all their excitement have forgotten just that. The daily wage worker, the average taxi man, rickshaw guy, the coolie, etc. are the people most affected. By denying them a day's salary can be no justification. It's plain tyranny and harassment.

On top of everything, what point does destroying public property have? By deflating tyres, by burning buses, stopping trains, harassing passengers, etc. what aim does one achieve? How does the common man - the downtrodden benefit from it at all?

I am not sure what the party heads of these various organizations were thinking. But I am sure at this moment they were definitely not right.

And yes, since bandhs never seem to bother you, so could you please enlighten me as to how did the bandh help you?

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!