In nothing but a sorry state

I have been thinking of what good could come out of KCR's blackmailing - no, I don't call it fasting coz it does not deserve to be equated with Gandhiji's form of passive resistance.
Bapu resorted to fasting as a means against the oppressive rule of foreigners, against injustice, and for the greater good of the nation. What KCR and other politicians do/plain to do is sheer blackmail for only political and personal mileage, and certainly not for the greater good of the nation.
In fact, this exercise has only gone on to foment passions pro and anti Telengana, and given a great opportunity to similar state-level self-centred politicians to make a beeline for 'their' states within what they might perhaps believe is their own country.

What KCR has done has been just like hijacking. It's only that this hijacking is not of a plane but of the government. It endangers not the passengers, but an entire public, and divides an entire nation. If you are a politician genuinely concerned about making a positive difference to your state and public, what stops you from doing it in your area? How does it matter if that area falls under an Andhra or a Telengana?

I believe just like we have (only after Kandahar) decided not to bow to any terrorist demand in the event of a hijack irrespective of the people on board, we must adopt a similar stance in the event of such open, shameless and brazen display of blackmailing, guised in the name of a fast-unto-death.

I am from Uttarakhand and I never quite understood the point of having a state for the heck of it, if the actual state of affairs does not change - for the people, for the region, for the infrastructure, for law order and governance. What's the problem if I belonged to UP and stay within UP instead of getting a new state for myself if the ground realities for me and all residents of the newly formed state would stay the same? There have been governments from both major national parties, and till now, I have not seen anything that would make believe that the creation of Uttaranchal expedited any development process or that any positive development would not have occurred had this state been UP, and not Uttaranchal.

People do not want name changes, administrative machinery changes. All we want is development, welfare, peace, security and good governance. State or no state be damned.

And are we not all Indians? Am I to feel happy if somehow people in Uttarakhand are better off than those in say, a Bihar? Are we all not one? Shouldn't we all strive for only one thing - the welfare of the ENTIRE INDIA??
If there's even a slight niggle in any part of my body, I feel irritated and concerned all the same, constantly till I am relieved of my pain. No other body part complains as to why I am showering undue attention on the affected part. In fact, even if there's a slight headache and the arms feel sore, the brain sends out a message for one arm massage to massage the other. There could be a a headache too but the head/brain does not contend the decision to take care of the arms, nor do the arms complain if they massage the head.
After all, it's all one body.
What good would it do if my brain were to decide to break my arm into smaller units and attend to it as a newly named, separately formed part of my body? How does that help me? Would that help me? Would I want to even think like that at all, in the first place?

Isn't it/Shouldn't it be the same when it comes to our country?
Aren't we all together in joy and grief?

Politicians are anyway always going to be petty and selfish with nothing but their own ulterior motives in place. Yes, there are exceptions but they are too few to make a substantial difference to the greater breed.

Who actually benefits from this new state-of-affairs?

• The politicians, who can claim to have created something for 'his' people
  

• The bureaucracy, the babus, who get to comprise or even manage a new administrative machinery for a new state, instead of having to languish as another Senior whatever...or Deputy/Assistant/Assistant to Assistant whatever in the babudom.

Take a look at this - this is a compilation of some of the aspirant states, and they are feeling all the more agitated and fast-prone, thanks to such KCR movements and even more importantly, the Centre's kow-towing to such tactics so that they do not lose their vote banks:

Bodoland (Assam) | Bundelkhand (Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) | Gondwana (northern Deccan Plateau) | Gorkhaland (West Bengal) | Harit Pradesh (Uttar Pradesh) | Kamtapur (West Bengal) | Karbi Anglong (Assam) | Kodagu (Karnataka) | Kosal/Koshal (Orissa) | Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) | Mahakoshal (Madhya Pradesh) | Mithila (Bihar) | Panun Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir) | Purvanchal (Uttar Pradesh) | Rayalaseema (Andhra Pradesh) | Tulu Nadu (Karnataka Kerala) | Vidarbha (Maharashtra) | Vindhya Pradesh (Madhya Pradesh) | Mau Pradesh (Rajasthan)

Where's India in all of this?
Can any politician put hand on heart (oh, they don't have a heart anyway) and say that all that stops them from developing their area/constituency is the fact that they are part of their parent state and not separated from it to be known as one of the above-listed names?

Unfortunately, it's the direct beneficiaries themselves - the legislature and the bureaucracy only - who get to decide/approve the creation of a new state.
It's like getting the Anti-Corruption Bill passed in Parliament when you know that the number of clean, honest politicians in Parliament is as high as that of the number of Eskimos in Delhi. It just won't happen.

You should also be ready to accept that if the direct beneficiaries of a decision are the decision makers themselves, then it's stupid to expect otherwise. Our politicans are too selfish and not dumb, they are too smart and not stupid.

Kabhi to nazar milaao...

I had written earlier this year, during election time, about how tough it is for me to decide who to vote for.
If there's one thing on which there's complete unanimity among our politicians, cutting across party lines, it is in their sheer incompetence and apathy towards their electorate.

I have not been able to choose the lesser/greater devil between the Congress and the BJP (the two parties most people can think of voting for, atleast at the national level).
An unprecedented number of MPs skipped Parliament yesterday, to miss presenting even their own submitted questions in the Question Hour.
Now, that's a new low they've scaled even by their own standards.

One wonders what's the use of wasting so much of the taxpayers' money when it is going to be spent on the Speaker of the House just calling up names of MPs one after another, only to find them missing from the scene - the apalling part is that this, is when they know they have submitted a question and will be required in the House to atleast present their case.

It's not even a case of one or two such luminaries going MIA - no less than 34 MPs who had submitted their questions were found to be absent from the Question Hour proceedings.

And then they come and ask us for votes, and urge us to pay our taxes on time - what for? This?

While it is definitely and shall always remain our duty to always pay our taxes (voluntarily), it is also our right to ensure that the money we shell out is utilised optimally.

The way they behave and launder our money, will our politicians be able to ask us to pay up taxes?

Will they be able to tell us how they are spending that money, while looking us in the eye?

Well, I guess, they can and will continue to do so.
For, had they been so shameful or regretful, I would never have been in a dilemma over which party is less worse.

The verdict is crystal clear

Right from the time the Hero Honda 7-match marathon began, it was billed as THE series that'd decide the numero uno team of international ODI cricket.
And for good reason too, since an Indian victory in this series would've seen them pip Australia to the altar of the ICC ODI rankings.

However, even before the final match of the series, the verdict has been made crystal clear. It's time to acknowledge that we still have a long way to go before claiming the #1 spot for good.
And I say this, not just because a statistic says 4-2 before the last match. I say this because this statistic has been made possible, not only inspite of new full-strength Indian team (playing in home conditions), but also inspite of an almost completely second-string Aussie line-up.

Here are some clear pointers to this:

1. We harped a lot on missing Yuvi, Zak, and Viru during the Champions Trophy. While there is no questioning the sheer talent and value of these cricketers, I hope we remember just how many first-choice players did not make it to the Australian line-up to even start with, and how many left midway through the tour. If Brad Haddin had been consistently impressive as a wk and batter, Time Paine did nothing wrong to harm his credentials when he got the opportunity with this tour. But if you thought Paine in pain was too much even for the Aussie bench strength, you got Graham Manou! Another reminder about the sheer depth and quality of Australian cricket.

2. With the exception of Australia, India is unarguably the toughest place to tour for any team. Well, it came true to every word - yes, the only exception is Australia, and in 'any team', let's include India itself! Coz our team found it too tough to play well enough against the Aussies even in home conditions! Mohali and Guwahati seemed alien to them and one got the feeling that we were not sure of how to pace our innings and understand our conditions on home territory. On the other hand, Australia capitalised on whatever was thrown at them, and almost fashioned a win at the dustbowl known as Kotla, but for Yuvi and MSD.

3. It was a 7-match series: This series win is not a short series. A marathon winner is held in higher esteem than a 100-m dasher, just as a Test century is dearer than a quickfire ODI century/T20 knock. Similarly, there cannot be a more telling indicator than the fact that this was a 7-match series win against a nearly full-strength Indian team, in India, by a consistently depleted, injury-ridden visiting team.

So hold your horses for the moment, fellow Indian team fans - we cannot claim ourselves to be better than all - not just yet. Amidst our disappointment and frustration, let's pause and give credit where it's due - to an amazing Australian outfit that has won a tough series against a tough team in alien conditions before going into the last match. Well done guys, and you deserve the first rank - well, for now, that is!

Moral of the story: It's a long way to go, Team India - atleast till the time we can beat Australia in Australia despite missing player after player from the original squad.

Team India: Jaago re, jaago re, jaago....re!!!

Just a request to introspect and ask: Why?

Day: Diwali Day. Time: 11 am.
Status: Normal, Relaxed, Happy.
Enjoying the holiday with the TV remote in one hand and mithaai in the other. Enjoying being lazy.

12 hours later - 11 pm.
Status: Angry, Frustrated, Almost Deaf.

Yes, it's Diwali (the festival of lights) and every Indian expects this night to be full of fireworks, sparkle, glitter and lots of dhoom-dhadaaka.
I too love the festive spirit and have always enjoyed celebrating every festival. However, I just don't understand what merit there is in converting almost every locality of India into an alternative for Pokhran.
I mean, I just don't get it.
 
Why do we have to equate Diwali festivities and enjoyment with having a blast so literally? Can't we be happy keeping all this to a minimum? I have no intention of imposing my ideas on do's and don'ts of celebrating Diwali, but just a request to ask ourselves, what is it the we are celebrating, how we are celebrating it, and isn't there a more meaningful way to go about this day?

I also realise an entire day of Diwali without fireworks, ladis, phuljhadis, pataakhas (not referring to anyone from the female species here), and charkhadis, etc. is like watching Virender Sehwag bat through an entire day without hitting a six or even a boundary.

I'm just wishing we could avoid the heavy-duty bombing we conduct, that not only bombards the ear plugs of everyone, but also scares and concerns the elderly and the infants.
And if that too is unavoidable (unavoidable? as if a doctor has recommended a person that if you don't send 100 bombs into the stratosphere, we might have to put you on life support), is it irrational to keep these to a minimum?

But the more fundamental question is this:
I just want to know why, in the first place, we have to celebrate this way?
What is it that we are celebrating?
Do we, ever, even think as to what this day means - what to learn from this day, and how would it be best to celebrate the day?

Is it not better to understand and remember this day by revisiting Lord Rama's story and teachings, thanking Him for the good things we have, reaffirming our belief in His Grace, having a small and simple puja with everyone at home and doing a good deed for the needy?

More than celebrating Lord Rama's arrival to Ayodhya, this day has become symbolic for gambling in the name of Goddess Lakshmi or incessant bombarding of crackers and bombs in the name of Lord Rama's arrival.
If this is the way we celebrate our devotion to them, I wonder if the obscene, incessant and insouciant way of the way we celebrate Lord Rama's life might itself be reason enough for Lord Rama to take another avatar to tell us to shut up the absurd, insensitive and the nonsensical, that too in His name, and extirpate this evil too!

Be honest here, would Lord Rama and Goddess Lakshmi want us to remember them the way we go about our lives and 'celebrations' on this day?

No, I'm no buddha khoosad/khadoos (neither physically nor mentally) who wants to impose restrictions on an individual's way of life - it's your life after all dude, and it's only you who has the right to live it the way you want to.

But I have a belief that atleast most (if not all) of us would not mind curbing some part of our enjoyment and celebrations, if that helps others to also co-exist peacefully, amicably and happily.
If nothing else, think about how wonderful it would be to spare the elderly their disgust, helplessness, anger, fear and disenchatment with having to live through the night non-stop, hearing a bomb go off in the vicinity of their house every 10 seconds (if it's a ladi, it's also continuously for 10 seconds). Or, the constant trepidation, confusion and unease a child has even when he is in the cradle or even after being put to/trying to be put to sleep.
All of us can provide these simple joys to so many people, at what cost? - by just ensuring we don't go berserk with our bombings, that's all - give it a thought!

Will doing so make our Diwalis less enjoyable or more - not only enjoyable but also more satisfying, caring and meaningful?

Belated Wishes for a Happy Diwali - But Please, Have Anything But A Blast!!!