The Hype around Anna Hazare and why i am not impressed!!!

I am 26 and I love my country a lot. I am one of those guys who have goose bumps every time I hear a proud thing about my nation. I was one among those guys who had decided to brave the lathis of policewalas at India Gate on the lucky day when the government agreed to pass a jan lokpal bill.

But what makes an Indian as me not impressed by what is happening now? It’s the way every citizen large or small in this country believes that the law belongs to him. Yes I badly want a law or agency that decides to punish offenses of corruption large or small. But does that mean tomorrow I can call my 100 odd friends who in turn call their friends and create a group of 100000 or 1 million or more people. And then decide I want to fast unto death because I want a bill that grants me the power to question anyone including the Supreme Court justice, the president and prime minister of my country. Sounds very interesting at the same time very ambitious too. That to me as a true Indian does not sound very convincing because I feel it kills the very essence of my nation. We are a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. And I would not like any tom dick and harry to change its very essence. My country is not perfect and I believe no country is. 

On what grounds is this fight being fought? Before I wrote this piece I spoke to around 24 – 30 people out of which only 4 knew the exact draft of the Jan lokpal and all of 4 of whom were not very convinced. What is wrong in the government elected by my people telling the new set of law policy makers that they cannot be the be all and end all in the corruption cases, when I am proud citizen of a country where judiciary is a body that is independent? How can it be right for a person to penalize anybody over the powers of judiciary by passing a bill? Isn’t there a gross mistake in that concept? If passing a Jan lokpal bill is right can I go ahead and start a movement to pass a bill that gives any citizen or a set of so called ‘responsible’ citizens of my country the power to kill any body who has committed a grievous crime against the nation. If Jan lokpal is right so will it. How can this so called committee have the powers of police, judiciary and the government? Then trust me that it is not the beginning of a perfect INDIA it is the beginning of autocracy in a peace loving democracy.

If Anna Hazare feels there is a true need to change the system, he has the support of ‘every’ Indian today, let him to be a part of the system and change it. Start a party, fight elections become the person to make the change. I will be the first person to vote for you sir. But with all due respect I cannot accept the fact that you will stay outside the system and fight for a new system in place. 

The governments’ failure as a system is my fault as a voter who voted them to power. Sorry I will not put the blame on the system and ask for it to be replaced. That’s not how my country runs, there are people responsible and we have chosen them, if we don’t like them change the people not the system. And if I may question why is that only people in government is being brought under the purview of this bill why does it not include industrialists, irresponsible media personalities and others who are outside the government and can cause damage to the financial status of this country. If there is a need to fight against corruption then fight it completely don target one section of the society because they are actually soft targets.

If the drafters of lokpal are sure that they have a flawless system in place then if someone has a complaint against the lokpal why should it not be investigated by someone other that their own committee. Why is it that any flaws from their end will only be investigated only by them?

The bill in itself may have a lot of positives and a lot of open and loose ends. It does not convince me that one agency can be given absolute powers in a democratic country. I might as well live in Iraq or Iran where someone else decides I should live and I don’t have the right to question. The very beauty of this country is that today we are still very much a democratic. If you feel you don’t have options think hard our constitution under article 49(O) of the 1969 act gives you the right to nullify vote.There is a law already for all possible crimes in this country, the point is we have the entire system in place but instead of using them to the full potential we are just going with the wave to create a new system with unwarranted powers.

I would like to end my lines by quoting one of the greatest crusaders of a non-violent struggle Aung San Suu Kyi once said “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” And the lokpal talks of absolute powers think of what your doing carefully. Lets not create a Frankenstein to kill a rat causing plague instead lets find a remedial cure standing within the available choices. I know my choice it’s your turn!!!

The Calm befor a Storm - Mumbai Attack

Well I have begun writing now.. with no aim whatsoever on what I should be writing. But an incident that happened day before night is indeed very disturbing for me to just let it pass. The city of Mumbai has been subject to continuous attacks and this definitely needs to stop. If the men who run the state and country can only keep us 99% safe its time we strip them off their bloody power and ask them to take care of themselves while we take care of ourselves. But then that will make this country lose its balance. Mumbai has time and again been called resilient, but resilient about what???Of the shit that you political honchos give it!!!

My only visit to Mumbai was when I was 3 yrs old and since then I have had fleeting glances of the city in transit and it has always remained dear to me. As an Indian I feel proud that Mumbai is a part of it. This incident brings me to a feeling well quoted in a movie ‘Koi m*****c***d button dabake nahi keh sakta ki mujhe kab marna hai.”

If the home minister of this country and another member of the legislative assembly who is pitted to be a future PM can only assure you of 99% safety then that is the beginning of anarchy in this country, whose people have been taught to always embrace peace. Well why would not I feel that I need to pick up a weapon and safeguard my family from such attacks? Why should I live with the fear of losing my loved ones every single day? Why would I want to read a #tag of Mumbai attacks or any other attacks on twitter frequently?

It is time the people whom we have submitted the responsibility of our security to buck up and take notice.

Dear Government,

Let me put this to you in words you can understand plain and simple you’re - staring a vibrant, young, educated India. An India whose 1.2 billion and growing people are hoping things will change. With just two options, every year we vote the better devil among the worst hoping you guys will change. Hoping bringing you to power and handing over the responsibility to you we can sleep in peace. Hoping this country will grow at least as much in 6 decades like a Singapore which with much lesser resources did in lesser time. Also stop bloody comparing us with strife torn countries for gods sake I don’t believe we are. Did you notice why Anna was able to gather the kind of support he did. It is the insecurity of today’s India and if you’re closing your eyes at it, you’re digging your own grave and ours along with it. If you continue to run this country the way you are doing it, the last thing you people will have to do is dig a mass grave in every city and pile up our bodies into it. A fearful thought indeed. Yes it is and please do think hard. There is very thin line between India and Pakistan today. There the politicos accept it’s a way of life and so they won’t do anything about it, here you act as if you can do a lot and do nothing about it. What is it that we as citizens should do to help you? We are more than ready. But definitely you don’t want us there do you? One country sends in stealth bomber to another country overnight finishes off the man who took the lives of their countrymen and we protect a similar guy with Z category security, beefing him up with chicken biryani. Is this some kind of way to say the world we are ‘Incredible India’ and we believe in ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’. To F*** with your diplomacy. He has killed my brothers, sisters, friends, mothers, and fathers. What takes you so much time to try him and pronounce him guilty and hang him or shoot him off? Why are we spending so much money on a guy who killed our very own people? Don’t give us the bullshit of human compassion. Just in case you want to know 99% of us and I use your own statistics ‘99%’ of us feel he does not require our compassion.

Now, for the opposition is just got two words for you. I am sure you understood. Stop seeing politics in everything period.

What I have jotted down here are jus some fleeting thoughts of my generation’s frustrations random but clear.. We seek action not words.

We as a country do not want to open our eyes every day to blood filled streets with wailing children who lost their family to a violent death. We may be country where an emperor after killing millions decided to give up war, we may be a country where one man fought against an empire without any weapon, we may be a country that has always advocated peace, but we are also a country where a woman took a sword and battled to death for freedom, where a man formed an army for freedom. Yes we are peace loving and we love amicable solutions but that does not give anybody the right to shit on our heads. Dear government take notice our silence could just be a calm before a storm and when a billion people raise against a cause there will be not stopping, no looking back, just sounds of marching foot that tramples everything in its way and stops only when they know their motherland is safe.

The Grand Daddy of Indian Politics - Is a Daddy after all...

After the disappointment of Friday the 13th, It was another Friday just seven days away at Delhi as the Judge at Patiala House spelt out the verdict and Kanimozhi looked at every one for translation in between the chaos, it was but an Irony of sorts that A.Raja the former telecom minister, her partner in crime to say and now an inmate of Delhi's poshest addresses translated the verdict. Even as Kani took resort in the tears of heart felt emotions and arms of her much less seen husband Aravindan I should say some people who wanted to see her behind bars did miss a beat for the lady, whose career had come to an halt only when every one felt she was DMK's answer to its archrival Jaya. She was in more than one way the most suitable to take on Amma, Well-spoken, Well-mannered, Women's Rights Activist, the true Dravidian Thought process in a progressive way, if only it was not for her 2G involvement.Even as the smile had evaded the poet and her name trended on twitter, even as she and her party had become the butt of all jokes about corruption,even as some great coalations were on the verge of break up and even as her mother was flying to Delhi - The failure of Kanimozhi in more than one ways was to see the breakdown of one of the greatest Chankyas of mordern day Indian Politics. Muthuvel Karunanidhi(M.K) has never looked so distorted wether it was his first arrest for fighting for Tamil Country or when MGR became a chief minister in 1977 crushing DMK or when Jaya ordered for his arrest in 2001 or when he lost this time. There always remained an air of aloofness in his defeat as though it did not matter much to him. But on 20th may his plans had gone haywire.. a family he had so grandly protected had lost its girl child to law. No pressures from the patriarch worked before the most independent body of the Indian democracy. As M.K came out and gave his speech to the world after his defeat one look and it would have been enough for a person to understand that his will to go on had been dented, given a hard blow. In between all this it is not to be forgotten that no matter what he is today, he has had his share of limelight.He has been chief minister for quite a few terms and is definitely today the grand daddy of dravidian politics, just that the father in him took over in the last few years.

An orator of par excellence was at loss of words about her arrest, he definitely would have anticipated this coming just that he did not have enough time to make ammends,, even as the words 'thinchotru kadan theerka seradha idam serndhu vanjathil vizndhaya da... karnaa.. vanjagan kannan ada..' would have played in his mind, the incident saw the fall of a long standing(shud i say sitting) leader of indian politics giving up, saying without saying that he is hanging his boots. The Grand Daddy of Indian politics is a daddy after all.. "oru thanthai irukkum nilamayil dhan naan ullen' he said. Its time sir you said goodbye to our politics and get a decent retirement, otherwise you will end up being like another 'Karuna' in the neighbouring state who bore the brunt of being a 'Great Daddy'.