ASHIRBAD RAHA
Liars clad in immaculate white kurta are the actors of a play called Indian Democracy. Among them are confidence-tricksters, money launderers, smugglers, child-molesters, murderers and mass murderers, trying to rewrite the destiny of one billion people. This show can be called the Biggest Fraud on earth. It comes once in every five years, and if the horses are lucky, twice in the same period.
The dilemma of voters often is this: how do you choose between two murderers, or swindlers? It makes sad reading that a courageous and public-spirited woman who won an election and became panchayat president on the promise of bring drinking water to her village was shot by the water mafia on the day she executed the project! This did not happen in the once-lawless Bihar, or in the Naxalite-struck Uttranchal, or in the ULFA-menaced North-East, or in the terror zone of Kashmire, but in the tranquil state of Tamilnadu!
Our media is happy that around 57% of the people have exercised their franchise. Ever wondered what happened to the 43% of the people? They are the marginalized who are losing faith in democracy These are the very people who stood in long queues braving scorching heat and biting cold election after election, hoping against hope for a better future. But their plight only worsened with every passing election. The 8 point growth rate, the IT boom, the mobile phone revolution, the white revolution, the green revolution, the nuclear deal, the Mars Odyssey, and everything that made India proud has not touched their lives. But their silence is far more eloquent than all the din and noises of the election. There is a ring of truth in their silence that the politicians’ speeches lack.
Do I sound pessimistic? I was once an incurable optimist. Today staying in the country’s capital, I buy water for my domestic use, and face frequent power trip downs; sanitation and pothole-free roads are conspicuous by their absence. All this after 60 years of independence. Long live the greatest show on earth!
The dilemma of voters often is this: how do you choose between two murderers, or swindlers? It makes sad reading that a courageous and public-spirited woman who won an election and became panchayat president on the promise of bring drinking water to her village was shot by the water mafia on the day she executed the project! This did not happen in the once-lawless Bihar, or in the Naxalite-struck Uttranchal, or in the ULFA-menaced North-East, or in the terror zone of Kashmire, but in the tranquil state of Tamilnadu!
Our media is happy that around 57% of the people have exercised their franchise. Ever wondered what happened to the 43% of the people? They are the marginalized who are losing faith in democracy These are the very people who stood in long queues braving scorching heat and biting cold election after election, hoping against hope for a better future. But their plight only worsened with every passing election. The 8 point growth rate, the IT boom, the mobile phone revolution, the white revolution, the green revolution, the nuclear deal, the Mars Odyssey, and everything that made India proud has not touched their lives. But their silence is far more eloquent than all the din and noises of the election. There is a ring of truth in their silence that the politicians’ speeches lack.
Do I sound pessimistic? I was once an incurable optimist. Today staying in the country’s capital, I buy water for my domestic use, and face frequent power trip downs; sanitation and pothole-free roads are conspicuous by their absence. All this after 60 years of independence. Long live the greatest show on earth!
