FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL

By MEENAKSHI ROHATGI

It was not only an attack on the United States, it was an attack on the world and on the humanity and hopes that we share, wrote Barack Obama in UK’s Sunday Mirror.

"My daughter was killed. My world was destroyed. For me, every day is Sept. 11". Thus wrote Avraham, who wore a photograph of her smiling daughter pinned to her shirt.

Nicholas Gorki (9) has never met his father because he was in his mom's belly. Nonetheless he said: "I love you, Father. … I love you for loving the idea of having me."

‘‘I am planning on spending most of the day in tears… thinking of fire fighter Kevin Murray’’ and Seth Bauer buried in the rubble when the Towers collapsed but escaped to give an extremely touching interview to a newspaper, said Melissa, a New Yorker.

These are words that ring in our ears and refuse to die down, as they come from people whose lives have been shattered because one insane man plotted against humanity. 

Bells rang across the land, every four seconds for three hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Millions gathered in churches to remember, question, pray and hope for a world without such painful memories.

WIKIJOKES






By JOYEETA CHAKRAVORTY

In a World Megalomania Contest, who would be crowned – Julian Assange or Mayawati? Taking jokes seriously is one of the symptoms of megalomania, say psychiatrists the world over.

Mayawati the Super-Architect believes in building grandiose edifices and statues; Julian the Super-Iconoclast believes in demolishing by leaks, real and imaginary. Both are the creations of the media. While Mayawati’s dream is to reach Madame Tussaud’s (wax museum in London), the Louvre in Paris and the Washington Monument (now closed but when re-opened), Julian would love to shift his office permanently to the White House, with offices in Elysee Palace and 10 Downing Street to make the noble profession of leaks easy.

One speaks politics all the time, the other economics. Hence there is no meeting ground between the two. If Nitin Gadkari and Manmohan Singh were to spend five minutes together, Nitinspeak would be Greek and Latin to Singh, just as Singhspeak would be Mandarin and Malay to Nitin. But in political gamesmanship, they score a fax pau each. When Manmohan held a Press Conference without the Press, so to speak, Nitin admitted in effect BJP has no leaders when he stated the party is ready to follow Anna Hazare. (That’s the Congress interpretation, you might dismiss; then it has a serious implication that Anna Hazare is the genie manufactured in Nagpur and let out of the bottle in Delhi!!)

In antics, Kiran Bedi is contesting Lalu Prasad Yadav, hoping Harvard University would take note of her. Special planes have been flown to Harvard (and even Hollywood) with video-tapes of the Bedi show!

In dancing, Sushma Swaraj is trying to steal the thunder from Mallika Sarabhai, who may have performed abroad. What makes Dancing Sushma so very special is that it was a sacred dance in a sacred place. And it is rumoured that she is opening a bale dancing school near Raj Ghat!

THE SHOOTING OF A MAHATMA!

Anna Hazare landed home in a Mercedes Benz. Imagine Gandhiji using Mercedes!! That raises another question: Can we believe what we see; can we trust what we hear? Crowds love commotion; the dispirited love it doubly because they find in it a new meaning; and the angry love it even better because they find an outlet for their emotions. Can we trust what we saw on television, or the truth is what the television did not show?

The reality shows, notwithstanding the title, will not tell you the reality. That Anna Hazare looked far more real than Ben Kingsley in the shooting of the film Gandhi may be an outrageous comment. Suspend your outbursts for a minute and consider the following points:

Why did Anna agree to a Jan Lokpal Bill that would destroy the carefully built-in Constitutional checks and balances that is the maverick of Indian democracy? Why did the same bill that sought to bring every petty bureaucrat in its ambit leave out the NGOs? The answer, though embarrassing for some, is not difficult to find. A driver by profession, Anna Hazare does not have the acumen to understand the legal and Constitutional niceties. And it is common knowledge that a majority of NGOs do not file income-tax returns, though some of them get foreign funds, whether from Ford Foundation or World Bank!

What was designed to be achieved capitalizing on the anger of the people was a government of Lokpal, which intelligent and informed debate across the country has scotched. Clearly, Anna is not the leader but propped up as one by some Magsaysay Award winners for his image of integrity and histrionic skills.

The next question: Having tasted blood, will Anna Hazare retire to his pavilion, or will there be more road shows? A commotion once every six months will keep the crowds in fine fettle. Then will come the Waterloo. What we saw on television will be tested in the next general election – whether or not it was the solidarity of 1.2 billion Indians or a mere street show.

A Malayalam movie released in the 1970s brilliantly portrayed how the swearing-in of a newly elected chief minister was thwarted by millions of people blocking the road from his residence to the legislative assembly building. The car simply couldn’t move! If a film producer could manufacture a crowd far greater than the ones we saw on television, who is speaking the truth?

Wait till the Waterloo!

ANNA THE ROCK STAR

The timing of the show was perfect. Anna Hazare has rocked parliamentary democracy; he has rocked the Constitution; he has rocked the Manmohan Singh government; he is about to rock the judiciary. He paralysed the administration by raising hopes of the burgeoning middle class who are on the streets, expecting corruption to end in 15 minutes by passing the Jan Lokpal Bill as some of the teenage students believe.

To be sure, there is not a single Indian who is not affected by corruption – unless you are Suresh Kalmadi, Ashok Chavan, or Spectrum Raja. In the 1970s, Mrs Indira Gandhi raised the slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’ (eliminate poverty) and electrified the masses; just as ‘Build the Ram temple’ excited a section of the people at the turn of the 1980s. But the temple was not built, nor poverty abolished; neither will corruption be eliminated by a Lokpal Bill. Slogans have the power to change governments, or alter the power equation, which is what is happening right before your eyes.

Poor Manmohan Singh, whose only fault is saying ‘Yes’ to Sonia Gandhi when she was looking for an honest man in the Congress but could not find one except Dr Singh. The incumbent prime minister is undoubtedly guilty of raising the GDP of the country from a low single digit to near-nine per cent, to become the second fastest growing economy of the world! (Many fear this doctor could parody Marie Antoinette to say, If the poor do not have bread, why don’t they eat GDPs?)

You have before Parliament two Lokpal Bills: the so-called civil society one and the authorised version. Lok Jan Lokpal Bill will turn the Constitution topsy-turvy and create a government of Lokpal by Lokpal for Lokpal, answerable to none but every single authority of the land accountable to it! The government version will ensure that anyone making an allegation land in Thihar jail, not temporarily but on a permanent visa, since an individual does not have the wherewithal of an investigating agency or the legal acumen to nail the guilty.

One person arrogating to himself the powers of Parliament and demanding the Constitution be abrogated in favour of a Bill drafted by his cronies is, to say the least, against the grain of democracy. Can a few thousand people be allowed to hijack a democracy of 1.2 billion? In France, in the name of ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’

Robespierre guillotined all his political rivals and finally nemeses caught up with him when he himself was guillotined! Stalin’s Soviet Union and Hitler’s Weimar Republic had their own slogans and tales to horror to tell. All revolutions have eventually ended up in the hands of dictators because the people have mortgaged their intelligence to the leader.

The script of Jan Lokpal Bill is well drafted and played out even better. What the gullible do not realise is that Anna is a mere mascot of vested ideologues awaiting their apocalyptical hour. You have to decide whether you want a gullible democracy or an intelligent democracy. Your decision will determine the future of India.

SEND DELHI POLICE TO LONDON

RAJ SHEKHAR JHA

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron does not understand economics. He understands only textbook economics of paradigms and econometric models. Hunger, despair and insecurity do not figure in his economics. As a benevolent gesture, he made education costlier and sparked a student demonstration, throwing London’s traffic out of gear. He pruned the social welfare scheme that sheltered the poor and vulnerable and set the stage for a volcanic eruption of seething anger and frustration.

Britons’ worst fears are coming true: they have lost control of their language as far more Indians and Chinese speak and write better English, once considered their monopoly. Not just language, but they are losing control of their culture, as London would demonstrate. The culture in that city is anything but British, notwithstanding British landmarks and architecture and institutions. The day is not far off when a Caribbean would get elected and occupy No 10 Downing Street!

And Britain would wake up to the truth that outsourcing the police is far more economical and even effective than maintaining a huge police force at the ratio of 2:1 for every rioter, whose number seems to be burgeoning. If nothing, the Delhi police know how to manhandle the crowds as they have been doing all along. What the Indian cricket team could not do, the Delhi police can – bring honour to the country!

FAST ANNA FAST!

By SANDEEP SRIVASTAVA

Two things are pretty certain: A Lok Pal Bill of the Anna Hazare version will be struck down by the Supreme Court because it seeks to destroy the checks and balances provided in the Constitution; and a snap poll will expose the fragile base of the so-called civil society, with many of its members or nominees not getting elected or losing their deposits. The Lok Pal commotion is a media creation and does not enjoy mass support, especially in rural areas. But it can give sleepless nights to Dr Manmohan Singh and his spin doctors.

Imagine Anna Hazare gets the nod for holding the televised fast-unto death show somewhere in the capital, and a two lakh-strong crowd landing on the scene. Some miscreants plant a bomb leading to panic! The blame game starts and the Administration’s energy is diverted; planning and governance come to a grinding halt and fire-fighting mode prevails. Who benefits? Not the nation but the TRP-hungry TV channels seeking action and drama even when there is none. Of course, the actors of the so-called civil society will get a larger-than-life picture on live TV shows at the expense of the poor people of India.

Fortunately, we have a prime minister who understands economics. Look at the debt crisis mess America is facing! Think of Greece and its crisis. European economy is the doldrums. Starvation is a startling reality in Africa. If Indians are enjoying a modicum of prosperity and our job scenario is better than most countries, it is because we have a buoyant economy that enjoys the confidence of the global community. If you want to disrupt all that for a few moments of television glory, go ahead!

THE KARNATAKA COMEDY

By KUMAR SAMBHAV SHRIVASTAVA

Who is more corrupt – B S Yeddyurappa or Suresh Kalmadi? Raja of Spectrum-fame or Ashok Chawan of Kargil-fame? Dayanidhi Maran or Kanimozhi of family-repute? Corruption knows no caste, colour or creed, or even ideology, and is universal. Where there is lack of transparency and where there is power unchecked, there will be corruption. When the economy shifts from one end of the spectrum to the other end –

From socialism where the Big Brother controls everything to free market where the state activities are scrutinized and held accountable, it leaves a trail of corruption unnoticed in the previous dispensation.

The Karnataka comedy is one without a script because the actors enacted their own drama, ignoring the original script written in Delhi. Till the last minute, each read out his own dialogue, played his own role, adding to the suspense. The TV channels enjoyed it to the hilt, and it looked for a couple of days as if the capital of the country has been shifted to Bengaluru! Just as it did when Jayalalithaa was blowing hot and cold from Chennai during the short tenure of Vajpayee.

Yeddu had the power and BJP top brass the saddle that cannot balance the power of the horse. He was the architect of BJP’s victory in the South and he is the only one who can reduce the party into a pitiable minority. Even now he can play a Kumaraswamy and cling to power by proxy, bringing K’swamy, Reddy brothers and even the Congress tacitly to his side to teach his party bosses a lesson. But Yeddu knows the damage it can do to his image, and got the best bargain for his professed loyalty.

The beleaguered moguls of Delhi had a comic relief, not realizing for whom the bells toll!

Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava

Down to Earth

(Mobile No. 9911998304)