18 May, 2009.
The UPA is in as was expected all round even by rival party supporters. What wasn't expected is the margin by which is has come in, especially in UP, where Lady Mayawati has been growing in strength year by year.
All politicians should now keep in mind that quote: You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Abe Lincoln said it way, way back so have some respect for him even though he wasn't Indian. This election is the proof that the people are tired of being fooled. The people also know what is happening. I heard so much at street corners. Of course I did hear some praise for Mulayam Singh but later when I thought about it I realized the people who praised him were villagers who were squatterson government land aided by the Samajwadi Party. So direct beneficiaries are all praise. I guess that is only human.
The Opposition should combine to give meaningful criticism. Recognise the good being done by the Union government and make known what make require altered. And definitely don't YES to everything hoping that the UPA will fall on its face. That you should know is unlikely to happen.
True, ministers have advisers. They sometimes get ideas themselves which the adviser concerned is supposed to examine from all angles, before implementation. So when one sees thousands of crores being spent on memorials, thousands of lights to light up the area, while large city areas remain in darkness one wonders. Does the boss get the right type of advice or is everything yes boss, no boss, knowing what is expected. One cannot also help wonder whether this is democracy? Another quote of Abe's on democracy ".. of the people, by the people, for the people". People want a roof over their heads, food and clothing, water and electricity. The BSP's loss should make the Lady think again of her policies/ priorities and perhaps one day she'll get there.
I would have thought that big statues had gone out with Saddam and with the collapse of the USSR. In the Soviet Union at least none of those leaders were around to see they being pulled down. Saddam lived to see it.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The dead stay dumb
May10, 2009.
I was reminded of this James Hadley Chase title. Of course it meant something else in the thriller but the dead cannot complain and how does it matter what the common man thinks.
Grotesque, macabre that's the thought that comes to mind when you sees a corpse being carried on the footboard of a cycle rickshaw. We are dreaming of becoming world leaders and yet this...
Have we not been reading, over the past couple of months, about the wealth accumulated by our netas (our politicians). What about the millions of rupees from their area development fund going abegging.
Disrespect for the dead can be expected when the living don't matter. I was shocked, not because I'd not seen this before, but because I had not seen this in some years. Once I saw two bodies, shrouded of course in white cloth, being carried one on top of the other. One would expect this dirty habit to have been done away with when you think of the millions of vehicles that ply on the roads today.
Broken roads, smelly garbage heaps and other civic problems remain because the people who are there to improve things, the bureaucrats and netas, ministers and civic authorities are the very people who are not affected by these problems.
I was reminded of this James Hadley Chase title. Of course it meant something else in the thriller but the dead cannot complain and how does it matter what the common man thinks.
Grotesque, macabre that's the thought that comes to mind when you sees a corpse being carried on the footboard of a cycle rickshaw. We are dreaming of becoming world leaders and yet this...
Have we not been reading, over the past couple of months, about the wealth accumulated by our netas (our politicians). What about the millions of rupees from their area development fund going abegging.
Disrespect for the dead can be expected when the living don't matter. I was shocked, not because I'd not seen this before, but because I had not seen this in some years. Once I saw two bodies, shrouded of course in white cloth, being carried one on top of the other. One would expect this dirty habit to have been done away with when you think of the millions of vehicles that ply on the roads today.
Broken roads, smelly garbage heaps and other civic problems remain because the people who are there to improve things, the bureaucrats and netas, ministers and civic authorities are the very people who are not affected by these problems.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Netas turning rich in poor UP
May 5, 2009
The Times of India in today's edition, as has been the all round concern during the declaration of assets by our leaders during filing of nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections, highlighted the growth in our netas' wealth since the last declaration. The ordinary person who struggles to keep afloat wonders about this. The growth in wealth means that they are earning more than they spend. Maybe they are investing their money well. Are there other sources of income? Then you think, if they declare so much, are there any bags of currency notes hidden under the bed undeclared?
This brings one to the recent demands for unearthing money stashed away in Swiss banks. Why the sudden hallabaloo. Is this aimed at a few people to gain political mileage? What about the millions of people minting money within the country? The Income Tax department once stated on the blackmoney issue that IT dept was only concerned with its `pound of flesh'. It was the job of the economic offences department to deal with the sources of income if any laws had been broken.
I remember in an article in the Illustrated Weekly of India in the 1970s, Nirad C Chaudhuri said that a lot of the country's problems were owing to the `character fabric' being weak. But then the late Nirad had said a lot of things that found plenty of opponents.
The Times of India in today's edition, as has been the all round concern during the declaration of assets by our leaders during filing of nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections, highlighted the growth in our netas' wealth since the last declaration. The ordinary person who struggles to keep afloat wonders about this. The growth in wealth means that they are earning more than they spend. Maybe they are investing their money well. Are there other sources of income? Then you think, if they declare so much, are there any bags of currency notes hidden under the bed undeclared?
This brings one to the recent demands for unearthing money stashed away in Swiss banks. Why the sudden hallabaloo. Is this aimed at a few people to gain political mileage? What about the millions of people minting money within the country? The Income Tax department once stated on the blackmoney issue that IT dept was only concerned with its `pound of flesh'. It was the job of the economic offences department to deal with the sources of income if any laws had been broken.
I remember in an article in the Illustrated Weekly of India in the 1970s, Nirad C Chaudhuri said that a lot of the country's problems were owing to the `character fabric' being weak. But then the late Nirad had said a lot of things that found plenty of opponents.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Voting over, now what?
May 2, 2009.
April 30 was a really hot day yet people made their way to the polling booths. The turnout seemed to be good though when the percentages came in it was obvious that the majority had stayed home. Here in the heart of Lucknow everything was well in control as it had been in most places around the city. Even the electricity over the past weeks didn't give much reason to complain. That is if we only talk about big towns and cities. But the day after was different!
The electricity went off several times and one break lasted almost two hours, though I'm not sure how much of Lucknow was hit. With summer temps yet to peak let us prepare ourselves for the worst while the politicians and bigwigs relax with unlimited and uninterrupted power.
April 30 was a really hot day yet people made their way to the polling booths. The turnout seemed to be good though when the percentages came in it was obvious that the majority had stayed home. Here in the heart of Lucknow everything was well in control as it had been in most places around the city. Even the electricity over the past weeks didn't give much reason to complain. That is if we only talk about big towns and cities. But the day after was different!
The electricity went off several times and one break lasted almost two hours, though I'm not sure how much of Lucknow was hit. With summer temps yet to peak let us prepare ourselves for the worst while the politicians and bigwigs relax with unlimited and uninterrupted power.
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