P for pistol. P for power. And in India if you have both, you have it all. After all it’s probably the only democracy in the world where you can go Scot free after shooting someone in the head in front of three hundred people. Or for that matter, massacring innocent school children for turning out in the Independence Day parade of the country they live in.
A country with an extremely short lived public memory, we are quick to jump on the bandwagon but equally fast to forget too. We are people who wear our hearts proudly in our sleeves. Driven by passion , our hearts invariably rule over our minds and as Indians, we are probably the most self righteous race in the world and claim to have a clear idea of what is morally correct and what is not. Almost funny as we have what is officially the most unsafe city for women in the world as our national capital. The Jessica Lals and the Priyadarshini Mattoos are sad testimonies to the fact that amidst all the tall claims of being the culturally most evolved nation of the world something, somewhere has gone horribly wrong.
Abuse of power is so common that it is perceived as routine today. A top cop of one of the most prosperous states of the country repeatedly sexually abuses a teenager, young enough to be his daughter, ultimately forcing her to commit suicide. A minister’s son has the audacity to yank out a gun in front of hundreds of people just because the barmaid rightfully refused him his drink and then has the luxury of being defended by one of the best lawyers of the country, ironically also a former union law minister. Whether it’s the local municipal collector’s car being parked in a no parking zone or the rich businessman’s drunken son’s latest sports car running over sleeping people on the road, such cases are countless and reflect India’s power population’s brazen contempt for laws.
And back home in the beautiful north eastern state of Assam from where I belong and take pride in, it definitely defies my logic as to how a certain Arabinda Rajkhowa was so easily let off by the state government and more surprisingly forgiven by the people of Assam as is evident from the hero’s welcome he was accorded with at a lot of places in the state after his release. Torturing and killing thousands of innocent people on pretexts so obnoxious and juvenile, it hardly takes rocket science to establish that the motives of the organisation (read terrorist outfit) that Rajkhowa chaired had changed drastically over the years. Both the money laundered from various sources in the name of the ‘War Chest’ of the organisation and the power accumulated through a spate of fear inducing activities had got into the heads of the self proclaimed revolutionaries giving them the license to kill at will.
From the landmark ‘Pink Chaddi’ campaign to protest against the lunacies of an outrageous religious fundamentalist to candle light processions disapproving the faulty judicial system of the country, the youth has pitched in vociferously. Time and again, Generation Y has reiterated that Chalta Nahi Hai. Not anymore. A new wave is slowly but surely setting in. The winds of change are blowing. It’s high time we buckle up, pull up our socks. And it has to be a deliberate decision. A choice we have to make- whether to silently take in our sisters, friends and girlfriends being groped and touched by someone just because he has power in his head and a pistol in his hands or to give it back. A decision as to if we will let a bunch of uneducated goons dictate terms on the basis of their petty whims and fancies, killing and bombing the very people they had supposedly set out to emancipate in the first place or fight back. It’s a decision that will shape the future-ours as well as the nation’s. A choice that we the people will have to make –to keep suffering silently as we always have or fight for our rights. And this choice will decide where we stand as citizens of a civilised country and, of course, as humans.
A vivid illustration of reality, reinforced...but I guess the fact that most people are way to inured to this gruesome state! It's now just another 'everyday story' and most of us are nonchalant about the quicksand the country's sinking into.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not part of none of the above 2...but not so much of a contributor either ( as much as i despise admitting this!)
'Fight for your rights' its only a thought provoking statement. The fact that the actions are squashed invariably, cannot be ignored! I'm left with only one question... convincing as it is, and undoubtedly true...if only there's an answer to my "HOW?" about the fight for the rights ststement. (and mind you there are conditions to the question.) Yet, all said and done, is there an answer?
@Priyansha: There is Priyansha.There definitely is.And the very fact that you acknowledge the fact that you haven't been much of a contributor to the cause says that somewhere there not so deep within you there is a an urge to fight and challenge the system. And trust me, that is what really counts.As far as the question of squashing actions goes, I see, as i have already said, the winds of change blowing.Increasingly, there is a sizable chunk of population which believes yes, we the youth have to do it for it's OUR country, OUR India.Tell me what you think.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that there aren't any.... what I'm saying is...I don't know if you were taken aback by the suppsoed picture of politics depicted in the movie rajneeti...I was.
ReplyDeleteI can only write and express my opnion against the wrongs and maybe instigate a few people...but going ahead, say steping into politics, I can't risk jeoparadizing my family...and you cannot deny that, can you?
I will nto say NO change is possible... but I will say it'll be a slow one...and I truly do hope someday to be a part of that!
First of all apologies for replying so late. I understand when you say "can't risk jeopardizing my family" but this murky phenomena of inheritance politics(rampantly common across India) is but an outcome of lack of people wanting to join mainstream politics. And yes getting people to think right way is obviously the first step to it. That’s what we can do now at our own miniature scale but then practice always needs to follow preaching for it to have any substantial effect at all.
ReplyDeleteRightly said. This is the real picture of India. The most sarcastic fact about India is that the law breakers here are themselves the law makers. It has become a trend here to commit a few crimes and be eligible to be an able leader as is evident from the political scenarios of states like Bihar, U.P, Delhi, lately Assam and most of the other Indian states. The successful political careers of people like Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mayawati, Ram Vilas Paswan, Mani Kr. Subba and many others are sad testimonies of this fact. Qualified people are very rare in Indian Politics and in fact educated people always want to keep themselves away from it.
ReplyDeleteAnother noteworthy thing is the slow and poor legal system of India, still following the age old British laws. There are many loopholes in it because of which people with power and money easily escapes (with very few exceptions). Even the criminals here are backed by some of the best lawyers in the country.
And yes corruption, the core phenomenon around which Indian Politics is revolving is yet another hurdle in India’s development. Politics here has become a professional career and not a means to social service.
There are many such evils present in our society but yes, as rightly said by you; the winds of change are blowing. The youth today are more conscious as evident from your sincere efforts. Public awareness about these evils is of vital importance and I hope that your efforts will surely succeed in bringing about the same. Although the situation is very critical, the spark of hope still burns which will give us the power to move on and in fact the future of this great country lies on our hands only and it is our collective duty to contribute towards it.
As the famous saying goes, “Little drops of water make the mighty ocean”, I hope this small but sincere effort from both of you will surely contribute in a large way in bringing about the change.
And yes I would like to sincerely apologize for replying so late. The day you told me about this blog, I was very excited, but due to some reasons or the other, I was not able to read it.
Anyways, looking forward for exciting reading.
Agreed... definitely!
ReplyDelete