Confidence, arrogance or indifference??

The elections are on... and though I did not get around to getting my voter's card (I have promised myself that I will get it done this year for sure), though I have been diligently trying to follow the elections. I haven't been as consistent as I would have liked to be. After the elections began however, I had a chance to read a comparison of manifestos of some of the major contenders in the elections. While the ideas  seemed quite noble, the age old question of how much of this really gets implemented at the ground level, crops up.

The categories under which these manifestos are compared are infrastructure, jobs, foreign relations, agriculture, security and taxes. Of course, these categories form the bastions of any developing country. In terms of infrastructure, The Congress claims that it will spread the fruits of the IT revolution to every village and ensure that entrepreneurship will be encouraged. The BJP talks of the providing roads to the remotest of villages. My entire issue lies in the implementation of these grand plans. If for the past half century or so of independence, our leaders couldn't give us decent roads, what is going to change now? Are they going to get rid of the babus in between who make money on passing infrastructure tenders to companies that further misuse funds allotted for projects? How are they going to ensure that the middleman does not take away what is due to the public?

Both parties talk of reversing unemployment trends, scholarships for deserving students of govt recognised institutions and the like. After 5o odd years, you still have a sizable population that hasn't seen the inside of a school. When the govt run mid day meal scheme can result in food poisoning of children, when so called govt school teachers indulge in capital punishment as a sport, when children are tortured in the name of discipline by unscrupulous teachers, where exactly does the scholarship help?

In terms of foreign relations - one party thinks its scores higher thanks to the nuke deal, while the other gloats on the fact that its so called agenda when it comes to dealing with Pakistan is unique. Come on - the nuke deal can be called a success when the benefits peter down to the population and when our scientific intelligensia are allowed to work for our benefit and not that of the American banner. And as far as dealing with Pakistan is concerned, our bumbling lawyers of Kasab are ample testimony to how seriously we take our neighbour. While we live in the illusion that since are geographically the bigger country, the harm Pakistan can impact on us is not a bad as what we can do to them. Why don't you ministers and wannabe ministers get off your high horses and talk to the victims of Pakistani-backed blasts.

Agriculture - while we are supposed to be an agrarian country, we have had more farmer deaths than ever before. Wiping out farmer debt does not ensure a good crop, getting a good crop does not ensure that the sale of the crop will benefit the farmer, selling the crop this time does not ensure that the farmer will actually make enough to tide him over calamities such as droughts, floods and so much more. Have any of the ministers actually gone and checked the quality of the grain that is given to the farmers in the name of subsidy and to help them tide over?

Security of the aam aadmi - Bring in POTA, recruit and train more troops, bring in specialised technology and weaponry. All good. Suffice to say this -  remove Z category security from those guys who deserve to be shot and you will have a huge enough battalion of able bodied men. 

Taxes - Ingenious ways to reduce the taxation burden for the common man - have you also a plan in place to save the money that we lose when we - pay bribes for something as insignificant as a death certificate, the donations for college and school seats that are supposed to be on merit, over pricing of goods and so much more. And the BJP talks of bringing back the crores of black money that are locked away in Swiss Accounts. What!!?? all you politicians are planning on closing yours and your acquaintances accounts and moving to India?

I have only compared two of the main manifestos and the others are no different when it comes to promises. But all of what is mentioned in these manifestos are things that should be have happened decades ago. After all we have had enough of time since independence. The basis should have been laid and manifestos of today should have been concentrating on improving on the basics with technology. But no, election after election we see the same set of goals to be achieved. If you couldn't achieve this till today - what makes you so confident of achieving it now.

Arsenal of the gutless

Battles can be of many kinds - physical, mental, verbal and even imagined. But with the advent of social networking sites, battles seem to be of a new kind. Taglines are a feature that are found on almost every email id and social networking site that you may be a member. You can let the world know how you are feeling at the moment, what you are doing, why you are doing and a whole load more. 

While a lot of witty things do find their way into people's taglines, many of them also use their tagline facility to spew venom at others. While the reciever's name may not always feature in the tagline, it is pretty much clear to both the parties involved on what is meant for whom.

I once got a call from a friend who asked me "what in the world did you do to so-and-so person". He was referring to someone I hadn't spoken to in more than a year!!! After a while I realised he was talking of person who was actually placed quite far from my periphery of even acquaintances. The said person and I had a few common friends and that was it. Her tagline for the day read "Shut up Ruth!!". I was sure I was not the Ruth in question, but that did not stop all our mutual friends from calling me up that day. 

I have often noticed that taglines have now become a forum where people say things that would not be able or rather don't have the guts to say to another. Its the safest way of hiding behind the anonymity of the web. These are the same people, if you meet face to face will wax eloquent but will not come to the point. 

While the anonymity of the web has been well debated, this is just another means that has been added to the arsenal of the gutless. Coming out and saying your thing is so not the in-thing for many.

Confused custodians

Let me see now. Here are a couple of things

1) We are at a signal, all of traffic following rules to the T. All of a sudden, a jeep careens past and takes a U turn at a point where U turns are not allowed. Who were in the jeep? Cops

2) A recently held farm house party was 'busted'. Around a 100 youngsters were put behind bars. In the end, it was proved that neither was there excessive liquor, nor were there drugs, nor were any obscene acts being carried out. But today's paper says the cops who spearheaded the operation are to go scot-free.

3) An RTI activist who was recently found dead, a fudged autopsy report covered up the incident as being an accident and it came to light that it was actually murder and the fudging was thanks to the cops.

4) A police officer was replaced because he has an allegation of kidnapping against him.

5) Of course there are also numerous reports of police personnal and their illegal dealings, rapes, murders, bribery, extortion, brutality and more.

All this is like the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the police department. Not to say that there are no diligent officers and those who would really lay down their lives for the cause of protecting people. But the sad part is that the bad deeds of their counterparts always negate the good acts. The good acts are just not enough to restore the people's confidence. When the talk of election is on it would be prudent to see that the nexus between the politicians and the police department are totally severed. It is a honour to be in uniform, its about time the guys in the police department actually start being worthy of it. 

The criteria to get and and more importantly to stay in the police department need to be more rigid and implemented well.

Warped ideologies

Moral policing - the term itself sounds incongruous to me. I mean, we have our parents and our teachers to teach us about morality and how to live our lives according to the norms of society. More often than not it is life itself that teaches us how to behave. So where then, does the moral police fit it. They assume no role in our lives other than being total strangers. They are almost always society's rejects. Then how is it that the assume on themselves the mantle of protecting societal norms, when they themselves have never followed society's dictats.

Moral police aside, an already morally retarded police force is also taking on the role of moral policing. Why don't they just stick to what they are good at - corruption and incompetence. What really got my goat was a small article in a leading newspaper which spoke of how members of a women's NGO and the local police, stalked a couple having an extra marital affair and then dragged each one to their respective homes. While the woman was told to look after her children, the man was told to be there for his wife who was pregnant. 

Okay! and then what - they turned their backs and walked off - do they feel they have done the morally right thing? I don't condone extra-marital affairs, but I also believe in, to each his own, what goes around comes around. Where are these moral police when couples in love are separated and forced to marry against their wills. Is that moral? Where are they when unwilling partner in a marriage takes out frustration on the helpless spouse, who will not have a clue why they are at the recieving end of such rage. Where is the morality in living false lives?

After creating a public tamasha of sorts with regards to the said couple do you honestly think they their family life will be normal again? Would you forgive an erring spouse who has been publicly caught? What will go through the mind of the pregnant wife whose husband was dragged back by the moral police. Her sorrow is now public debate, something she could do without, in her delicate situation. 

In a male-dominated society, do you think the woman would be forgiven by her family and allowed to live a normal life? The said NGO and the police think they have done their moral duty to society by trying to restore peace to two families. What they have unleashed instead is a lifetime of misery for 4 adults and for their children. I mean don't NGOs and police have better work than stalking couples? Isn't stalking a crime?

If this is people's idea of doing good for society, the possibilities are infinite when it comes to the constantly growing lopsided moral brigands.

Fevered election campaigns

I haven't really been following the election run up. Hell! who am I fooling, I have never followed the elections. I am content keeping abreast of the winners, and then joining the teeming millions in abusing them for the rest of their terms. 

This year I noticed something new in the election campaign. Or maybe I have been exposed to it for the first time. I have been on the receiving end of a barrage of election campaign SMses with promises to bring the stars of galaxies we are yet to discover to earth. Besides that, I am also getting messages from a host of people (well known I guess in political circles) pledging their allegience to respective  parties and urging me to do so as well. 

Every medium worth its salt is engaged in dissecting candidates and predicting results. The final show however, in case I need to remind everyone, is run by us the common people. For years now we have been satisfied or rather disinterested with our lot. 

Recently our roads were tarred, open drainages are being close, road lights are being fixed... and all of us are standing around saying, "OH, the elections are round the corner." We have the political class down on their knees begging for voters to come forward and vote. But the process of getting an election id is as herculean as rising from the dead. No wonder a huge number (and I will shamelessly admit that I am included) refrain from making an election id. The last time I did have one, my name and gender was all wrong, despite me filling in details myself!!!

The elections will come and go, the tarred roads will be riddled with potholes again, corruption will get a new face and we will still be satisfied with our lot. There is no point in preaching that one should rise up... power lies in the working class and all that jazz. Bringing a political turnaround has to come from a collective mindset. A mindset that we are lightyears away from. 

The vicious cycle of brain drain, a minority educated class, a goonda raj in power are all reasons why we as a country fail to move ahead. Despite all the misery this country has faced, our walls of immunity seem to be impregnable. What else can possibly happen to motivate the Indian psyche to think beyond themselves and about the greater good. 

Is our life so miserable that we are forced to think of nothing else. Or do we consider ourselves so sheltered, that the word can pass us by without us having to bother.