The murky world of politics and the people who make it murkier...

The elections are over, results are out and we now know who is going to "rule" India for the next five years... forget the fact that in a democracy, people are the rulers. The results were really unexpected and truly, I can say money power has won over anything else. I had a personal experience of a guy canvassing for a particular party right inside the polling station with no one around to check him. Similarly, I have heard numerous stories of people being bribed for voting to a particular party (the same one referred above). I also want to mention an interesting piece whereby a sitting MP and cabinet minister was trailing till about 3 PM, but suddenly announced winner at 5.00 PM. 

 

All the incidents above might immediately start a chain of discussions how the world of politics is murky and how politicians, true to their names, are blood sucking insects. But at a deeper level, who is responsible for all this? Don’t the politicians and their families form part of the population index in India? Go ahead and blame a group of greedy and unscrupulous people. But looking back, how different are they from us? Yeah they bribed people into voting for a particular party, but who accepted the bribes and voted for that party? Yeah people were canvassing for a particular party inside the polling station, but what connection does this guy have with the lok sabha? Isn’t this guy part of the same population that deplores politicians? Yeah a union minister's election did look every bit orchestrated, but who was finally responsible for showing the figures? Wasn’t this guy also part of the same population that despite politicians? 

 

The blame can keep going up and above and still further up and reach god. But every level is made up of "people" and it is people who make up democracy. We all love to be part of a mature society, but society is made of people. If society has to mature, people have to and their thinking has to. As long as we have people who are prepared to compromise long term implications for short term benefits, be rest assured that we are not going to see a developed India by 2020. I just hope Mr.Abdul Kalam is no more by then - I don’t want a great thinker to see his dreams fall flat. 

 

And I know this is going way tooooooooo long, but I just can’t hold my frustration. Mumbai saw the worst terror attacks in recent times but the voting percentage there was in the 40's. I know I'm asking for too much, but can't a majority of Indians start thinking that we all have to live a honest life irrespective of the losses and rejoice the benefits from it. And I might start sounding like a philosopher now, but honestly, I don’t think we are going to have a mature society as long as we don’t collectively think greed should only be satisfied ethically. I honestly don’t see it happening in the near future. And as I type these words in, I can’t but reflect on all the ways I have contributed to corruption in this country. I hope things turn better for our next generation atleast. I promise I will work with anyone who wants to.

Support for Tamils????

Tamilnadu government decided to observe a one day bandh (strike as you may call it) to show solidarity of millions of Tamils affected by the war in srilanka. Well the situation as it stands today, the following were things I noted while I was riding my bike:

1. There were no buses plying in the city - though I remember the chief Secretary announcing through the press that buses and train would not be affected.
2. Most of the shops had downed their shutters - Whether it was for solidarity or fear or whatever is something I don't know.
3. Most of the private organizations were closed - forcing us to work on Saturdays - which is when we would have planned most of our personal work.
4. Regional channels broadcasting some random movies at odd times.

I do understand the humanitarian aspect of millions being affected - but is this the right way to show solidarity?? The things I have mentioned above definitely affect a million common lives in Tamil nadu.

But the real questions are:
What is the point in all this?
Who is going to notice the bandh in Tamil Nadu?
How the hell will this force a foreign government to act or to heed to requests raised from India - Tamil Nadu in particular?
Who is the gainer and who is the looser?
What happened to the supreme court ruling that bandhs are illegal?

All these are frustrating to note from an objective view point (I take the privilege of terming my view point as objective), and above all - harasses millions of Tamils in tamilnadu for the sake of the Tamils in Srilanka. How fair is this? The bigger joke would be when I read the news papers tomorrow - All our so called leaders would proclaim that the "Bandh was a grand success" - for whom and at what cost is something nobody would answer or even bother to ask for that matter.

A Landmark Lost...

Sometime back there was this big issue of the land leased out to woodlands drive in being taken back by the government for creating a botanical mark on par with the brindhavan of Bangalore. Removal of woodlands drive in was a very emotional moment for many - inducing myself. The awesome chief minister of Tamil nadu (the same guy who is hell bent on building sethu project!!!) had then said that this place would be used to create a botanical garden. So I consoled telling myself that at least this is going to better for our future generations. THIS IS THE PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT THUS FAR!!!!

Not only the greenery has been reduced, it looks like no one even cares. I don’t see anyone working there either - never saw anyone after the demolition of the building. If this is the arrogance with which the government michenery can work in the heart of the city, I just can’t imagine what kind of apathy would be shown for some remote village in India. Just imagine what will kind of commercial implications such space right in the heart (I mean it) of the city would have??

Well - I want to keep going on and on and on for the temper I have now - but let me just stop here and add just one thing - this kind of arrogance towards the people is possible only in the largest democracy of the world.

Now the Fever has caught me...

No I'm not talking about the summer heat here.. I'm talking about the election fever. I, as a honest citizen (or supposedly one) do not want to miss my vote. But who do I vote for?? Name one candidate opting for re-election whose assets have nto increased manifold without anybody else knowing how. Is that hard?? Ok name one candidate who has a solid ideology - ok this is asking for too much.

The problem is, everytime I think of whom to vote for, I seem to have no option but to lower my expectations. There are these simple things I would love to see in my country:
1. Solid infrastucture
2. Solid plan for poverty erradication - if people want to get out of poverty - they must have a way out.
3. A conductive environment for innovation
4. No bloody red-tapism and buerocracy.
5. A vast majority of the population who are literates
6. Absolutely no corruption
7. Overall sense of security in the society

Maybe these things are not so small. But lets face it, I'm sure everyone in this country wants these things right? Who is the right person to give all these things. Definitely not Congress or UPA. They have already proven to be disasters in all of the above. The first things I decided when I started reading the news about elections is that, if the same group of people come back to power, then it is doomsday for the country. But what are the options I have?? Advani?? What crediability does he have. Communists?? I better be dead than red. So, on the face of it, I do not have much options.

In this scenario, there is only one thing I can ask each of you to do. Please do vote. Let us make a difference this time guys.

Dumbo Dumpster

This is another common sight in chennai!!! This dumpster decided to dump the sceptic tank wastage on the pavement!!! Chennai might not have a comprehensive waste management system, but that does not mean people can choose to dump thing where they want to. And this comming from one of the contracted companies who should have been trained regularly on waste management - is definitely a joke. I cannot stress more that chennai needs a more sophesticated society. The one that existed during Thiruvalluvar days. And what makes a mature society is mature people. This guys is not. If someone is watching - please note the name of the company that handles this truck and the registration numer.

Is this a curse from hell?? I don’t think so…

One of my previous posts considered traffic jams because of some immortal, elite group of people visited Chennai. Please take a look at the picture below. This was taken right down the Cathepara Bridge towards Saidapet. This traffic Jam is not due to some supernatural descendent from hell. This hell is because of decedents of Chennai. All because people decided to criss cross roads without any regard to what will happen subsequently. If everyone – or even 75% of people decide to follow things like lane discipline, waiting on signals etc – we would not have had this situation on that day. In fact, it can be quite confidently argued that most of such traffic in Chennai is because of such gross disregard to simple rules.

It doubles when it is spread…

I’m definitely not referring to knowledge here. I'm talking about a private player who does not really care about his own city mates. This truck is carrying a load of sand, butwithout any protective gear around it to prevent it from spreading. Hey - this could disturb the visibility of other road users - and think what might happen if one motarist fails to watch this poperly!!! Well - there cannot be one policeman for each such incident. But my plea to all my fellow chennia ites would be to consider this not as a burdern but responsibility - we are maturing guys - let us show it to everyone.