A republic at 60 – Where we have reached

Three days back on the 22nd of January, I saw a soul steering scene at the New Delhi railway station which can make everyone stop and think about the condition of inequality and the apathy through which we are passing in the present era. I had been there to see my brother off who was going to our home in Bihar. Because of the fog conditions all the trains and flights in and out of the capital either are cancelled or running late and hence leading to a chaotic condition at the railway stations.

When we were waiting for the train, suddenly a train came from the other end. There was chaos due to the rush of the people to catch trains and suddenly a person was also standing near the train was pushed by the crowd and fell on the track and one of his legs was chopped away from his body. These accidents are a regular occurrence on the railway stations in our country, but the thing which is more appalling and disgusting is the irresponsibility and ignorance of the officials there towards the apathy of a common man. There I saw the whole machinery collapsing when there was not even a single stretcher to carry that almost dead man to the hospital. And after 40 minutes of that accident that person was carried to some hospital by some GRP personnel on a Thela (a local form of Cycle Rickshaw).

And now as we are going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Republic, we should stop and think, are we really ready to accept the challenges which would test our will as a nation in future?

Indian democratic experiment has always been regarded as being one of the most successful systems in the world but with some serious flaws. There is need of a serious self head scratching. First of all we have to think about the principles on which the Idea of our republic was based. Are those ideals still valid? Yes they are absolutely valid, but are their implementation upto the mark. These are some of the questions whose answers are needed most at this hour.

It’s really an achievement of our nation to remain united as a nation instead of such diversity within its fold but there are so many other things which we need to think about.

There is a sense of being ignored or being left behind in our North Eastern states and their complaints are really valid and the government cannot behave like an ostrich in sand for long. The Human rights violence by our security forces in the guise of the laws like AFPSA is a reality which cannot be ignored. Down the South we have an agitation of a separate state of Telengana. In the West we have goons like Raj Thackeray who are always in a hurry to exploit regional biases and issues to score their political brownie points and even the state fears to take him by his horn. The goons associated with his MNS never miss a chance to make the mockery of the state and its principle. Sometimes the North Indians are beaten up or sometimes the Muslims are made target. Sometimes it seems that the ruling congress is using him to keep his uncle at bay. The Kashmiris are being exploited since independence, sometimes through the Human Rights violation by our security forces, sometimes by both the Governments of India and Pakistan.

At the political front the level of politics has drastically gone down as compared to the politicians of the yester years. Sycophancy is at their peak. Ramchandra Guha rightly says that, ‘’India is more a Darbari democracy rather than a Dynastic democracy’’. For our politicians the importance of the “Aam Admi’’ is only till election and after that no one cares about the will of the common Man. With our metropolitans gleaming with small cities of shopping malls the difference between the have-nots and haves has increased manifold.

The dalits and tribals are still being exploited and their lands snatched by the greedy MNCs and business tycoons and as a result they are being forced to get into confrontation with the system. How can we expect a person whose children are malnourished or dying out of hunger to understand the royal intricacies of constitution and law? We cannot expect the Naxalite Movement to come down by exploiting the native tribals of their wealth and natural resources.

Are we really a rising world power which can become a super power in coming 20- 25 years? With the situation like this we cannot expect to be world powers in future and it’s a fact and reality. There is a wide gap between ‘Chamakta Bharat’ and ‘Tadapta Bharat’, and unless this gap is filled nothing is going to happen. With a 3rd rate education and 5th rate health system how can we think of becoming world power? The condition of the government hospitals keeps getting worse day by day. Even the hospitals of our metros don’t have state of art facilities needed to deal with emergency. As far as private hospitals are concerned they have become a totally business ventures where a poor person cannot even think to get himself treated.

There have been some black spots in the history of our republic. The emergency, The Babri Masjid demolition, The 84 anti Sikh riots, so many other communal riots, the Gujarat post Godhra anti – Muslim communal pogrom and so many other terrorist attacks like the Mumbai blasts and attacks are some of them. During the 84 riots and Gujarat pogrom the whole state machinery was well behind the marauders and criminals who with the help of police and administration having political backing went on tearing apart our secular credentials and it’s a shame that the criminals who were responsible are still roaming free while thumping their chest. Narender Modi is still there, the Congress politicians responsible for the 84 anti- Sikh riots are still free also.

Nearly most of the schemes and issues which should have played a great role in the upliftment of the underprivileged have been either hijacked or being use to score electoral points. Corruption at the Government places has played a great negative role of undermining the ideals on which our Republic has been based. The delayed justice delivery system sometimes becomes very much exploiting for the victims. The best example being the Ruchika Girhotra case in which after being exploited by a Corrupt and hypocrite Police that promising Tennis player was forced to cut short her life. Ruchika is just a tip of an ice berg. These type of cases keep on happening in our hinterlands on a daily basis.

Apart from all these negative aspects our democracy has been a success story where the people have every right to dismiss or reject some one whom they do not want to rule. The best examples are the post emergency defeat of Indira Gandhi and the defeat of the NDA govt in 2004 elections. It’s in itself a success story.

As a whole I would rather say that the Idea of India has prevailed but their so many problems which should and must be seen in their eyes directly. Otherwise the condition will get worse. It would not be bad to say that, our republic is an Orange Republic (Divided from within but looks united from outside), rather than a Banana one.

In short if we really want ourselves to become a world power we have to get empowered ideally (having a sense of ideology on which our republic is based) from within. We have to give the have-nots their rights which they deserve more than any one else. Glittering shopping Malls will look good only when a labourer from our hinterlands who worked day and night in the construction of that Mall or building feels free to go and buy something from that Mall also. They have their kids also who really want to live a life of the ones living in posh colonies of our Metropolis.

Diversity in Feelings, Culture and Society

Yesterday, after the PM Manmohan Singh's speech from the ramparts of the Historic Red Fort, I decided to go their to have a glimpse of the Historic 17th century fort and came back from there having a sense of proud in being an Indian. But there was also a feeling of sadness after seeing the children from our poorest of the poor section of the society outside the Glorious Fort.

Should we become so happy with our independence that we forget to think about the million Indians in whose life 15 th August is just another day on which they are as usual busy in their works, because if they stop their work then their family will have to starve.. We are a nation that is always swayed by milestones and landmarks. So, in the run-up to India's 61st Independence Day, there has been an all-encompassing euphoria and media hype surrounding this landmark. But is this brouhaha about Independent India's sixty first anniversary worth it?
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in the Capital to mark India's 61 years of independence and highlighted the his government' s key achievements and initiative towards the development of the nation and two of the most inportant dangers facing our counry i.e. communalism and terrorism. But what about Md.Arshad, a 13 year old boy, a vendor from Bihar's most backward district of Sitamarhi who sells drinking water outside the Red Fort. When asked what was the significance of 15th August in his llfe, he replie"d Nothing much, I want to enjoy like other children but cannot stop selling for a single day because I cannot manage money for my food and study." There were so many other poor boys outside the glorious century Red Fort selling so many things who don't even know what's this 15 th August is all about except that our country got freedom from the British Raj. Ravi aged 12 years from Bagpat had nothing to do till yesterday due to poverty started to sell kites for 15th august but was driven away by the police and he doesn't know what will he do tomorrow. Just after the Prime Minister's speech people thronged to the gate of Red Fort to get a glimpse of the magnificent 17th century fort but were driven by the police. Prem Anand, a vendor selling pens and papers outside the Red Fort when asked about the importance of India's independence in his life said" Though poor but proud of being an Indian and I like my country a lot and I am very much happy today". Many tourists also thronged to the Red Fort taking pictures and were fascinated by the beauty of the Red Fort. David, a student from England said " I am in India since last 2 months visiting various places and had a burning desire to watch the Independence day celebrations." My respect for India and It's people has increased a lot because of their friendly nature and I would like to visit India once more , I am deeply influenced by the diverse culture of India", said Claudia Robert a tourist from Hungary. Since India got independence sixty one years ago , the Independence has brought a lot of change for the upper strata of the society but for the lower strata this independence is just a freedom from the British rule,because they are still ensalved by the socio-economic problems due to the anti-poor policies of the government which has a direct effect on their livelihood. The lower strata is still trapped under the vicious circle of poverty.

A false war against terror.

Sometimes a battle won is a war lost.The same is the case with America's war against terror. In the name of curtailing the activities of terror outfits the sole superpower is on a mission to harras and humiliate the innocents on a false ground of being terrorists. The main testimony to this fact is the Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Since the World Wars it has been a policy of America to support and nourish the tyrrants and dictators across the world to get it's work done. America's foreign policy flourishes on the conflicts across the region . In America's foreign policy there are no any permanent enemies or friends, but the only thing which is permanent are it's" interests". Sometimes it's interests can be fulfilled with aliegning with India and sometimes with Pakistan.
Take the example of Al-Qaeda and it's chief Osama Bin laden.I think that Osama is a guy who has nothing to do with Islam. He is a person who is out on a mission to malign a peaceful religion like Islam.Hs is the same guy who got a royal treatment in the CIA camp in Afghanistan when US was fighting it's war against the USSR in Afghanistan.All the weapons which these so called islamic terror outfits use against America and other nations were provided by the succesive US administrations during the cold war era.In fact Taliban is a brainchild of US alongwith pakistan. I regard Saddam Hussein as the greatest CIA agent of the 20th century . He made the American presence easier in the gulf region. It's just because of Saddam Hussain that America has such a strong presence in the oil- rich region. He was tyrant who always used atrocities against his own countrymen. America has no love of democracy also. It only wants it's work to be done either by a democratically elected leader by a tyrant. The same Bush administration which shouts against the democratically elected Govts of Iran and Palestine keeps mum on the issue of abolition of monarchy in Saudia Arabia which is America's one of the main allies in it's so called war against international terrorism.Even Saundi Arabia has also one of the most fundamental and conservative society.The so called war between America and Islam is a war for oil and nothing else. Back in the decade of 80s the same America and it's european and Arab clients supported all the tyrannies and atrocities done by Saddam Hussain against the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by the Late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Nearly a million people died in that eight year long war and so many got homeless .Even Saddam Hussein used the deadly chemical weapon against innocent civilians and animals of South Iraq and Iran. But no one among the flag bearers of human rights and democracy across the world even dared to ask America and it's allies about their unending support for the most deadly dictator of the 20th century. After the fall of Saddam thousands of innocents Iraqis have got either killed or got homeless. The tensions between Shias and Sunnis have risen to it's highest peak. Iraq which was the most developed nation of the Middle east has gone many years back and no one knows how much time it will take to regain it's lost pride.If the present scenario prevails then the situation will only get from bad to worse.
The rulers of Saudia Arabia a.k.a the cuastodians of the holy places don't even follow the basic tenets of Islam, which is areligion based on peace and co-existence. As long as America keeps its unending support to the Israeli atrocities against the hapless Palestinians going , I do not think that this global menace of terrorism is going to end. The world powers should try sincerely to resolve Palestinian issue, and refrain from showing double standards when it comes to the livelihood of the Palestinians.