At the outset, let me make it very clear. I belong to no political dispensation or ideology. I support the ideals of a true democracy and believe every citizen of any country has a right to lead a happy healthy and peaceful life and it is the bounden duty of every elected (or otherwise) leader to work towards achieving the same during their tenure. Any politician/leader deviating from this path will be dealt with suitably here. Only the severity will vary according to the deviation.
Secondly, I for one believe in God the Almighty: not in religion. My religion is merely an accident of my birth. It doesn’t make me a lesser or classier human being. Neither does it allow me to flaunt it against a fellow human to subdue him/ her or to derive extra privileges. And to seek God, one doesn’t necessarily need the medium of religion. God didn’t create religion: men did! For God, love is paramount – for religion, ritualistic symbolism is! There is just one God, we all know: called in different names and manifestations in different parts of this vast world – used very cleverly and effectively by kings and emperors to perpetuate their regime over subjects, ably assisted by their high priests by instilling ‘fear’ of God against not paying taxes and disobeying the ruler in any which way. ‘Wrath’ of God was a convenient tool in the hands of the ruling class to suppress any attempt by the hapless subjects at rebellion by nipping it in the bud with the help of the priests whose job it was to blur the line between king’s and divine dictacts, eventually making both synonymous - to the king’s advantage. No wonder, today’s ruling class, being keen students of history, is obviously employing the ancient concept very profitably these days. More on the subjects of ‘ True’ democracy and ‘ the relevance of religion in politics’, will inevitably follow in due course. RANDOM THOUGHTS has the following points which need immediate answers, questions, introspection/action /response by the powers that be, decision makers, intelligencia, and all the concerned, political/social leaders, and responsible citizens of our great nation.
1. Despite being a rich country, why are nearly 80% of our population still poor even after 73 years of Independence?
2. The BJP govt., although having a hardworking PM, lacks a good economist amongst its leadership and a stubborn bureaucracy. Desperate times need desperate measures. Out of the box thinking is the need of the times. Current dispensation lacks the ability and experience to tackle the present slump and serious downturn which could impact the country hard. Time to get rid of political inhibitions and follow the recent exemplary conduct of the Dutch Prime Minister who appointed a politician from the opposition party as Health minister when the need arose, only because he was better qualified to handle the Corona situation in the country than the candidate available from his own party. Shift Nirmala Sitaraman to a suitable position befitting the efficient minister and appoint Dr. Manmohan Singh as India’s Finance Minister with immediate effect and use his knowledge and experience to put Indian economy back on its rails. Let petty politics take a back seat and let nation’s well-being be paramount. The posterity will remember the PM for this act of his. Does he have the courage to rise to the occasion and do it, in the interest of the nation?
3. At no cost should the lock-down be extended beyond the 14th April. Confining 130 crore people within the four walls of their mostly dingy homes beyond a certain time frame can be counterproductive and can lead to too serious consequences which may pale in comparison to the overall returns from the lock-down. Don’t forget ‘ an idle mind is devil’s workshop’. Keeping a continent sized population idle for too long will be a sure recipe for disaster. Lift the lock down in stages. Starting with all essential services whether govt. or private. Continue section 144 to control overcrowding and maintain social distancing strictly even in work places as far as practically possible. Ensure the most vulnerable floating population of daily wage earners is redeployed in phases as quickly as possible by restarting all infrastructure and construction works. Restart public transport such as trains, buses, taxis autorikshaws etc in phases strictly with social distancing. Open all eateries small or big followed by small shops, workshops, utility services etc on which majority of the poor and lower middle-class families depend for a living. All educational institutions should reopen at the end of vacation. Thus, ensure normalcy is restored within a month or more, at the same time retaining the basic health lessons learnt during the lock-down including social distancing. Allow all domestic flights to operate forthwith and international flights in phased manner mainly to bring stranded Indians in foreign countries, with strict screening and follow up actions at airports. All religious gatherings where the largest crowds gather should continue to be banned till there is proof the last of the corona virus has left the country. Because these are the fertile grounds for the next big C virus to threaten the country ably aided by our wily, opportunistic politicians: the Communal virus! It alone has the potential to cause much larger damage to our country. We have many leaders who have already tasted blood and therefore the threat looms large over the horizon. The Indian public needs to be aware and be cautious about this C virus which is in perpectual incubation in our country. Remember, Corona deaths in the country in two months is one hundred plus or so. But the other virus caused over 2000 in a week in Ahmedabad in 2002 and over 50 in 4 days in East Delhi this year! So, whether Corona or Communal, a virus is a virus and we all should be ever vigilant to prevent this one’s spread – which no lockdown can control.
4. While the govt. is trying to do all it can to contain the Corona threat, people are at a loss to know what the opposition is doing these days. A constructive opposition has a role to play in a situation such as this confronting a nation. But for some occasional stray noises, its silence during this crisis situation is deafening indeed! A constructive opposition is an essential ingredient of a thriving democracy, the absence of which can lead to majoritarianism which in other words is nothing but a sugarcoated euphemism for plain dictatorship. It can also be re-framed as ‘one man rule’ to make it sound less sinister. When the lock-down was announced without giving a thought to the plight of lakhs of daily wage earning migrant population, leaving them to the mercy of mostly unscrupulous employers overnight, no opposition came to their rescue and force the govt.’s hands in their favour. The central govt. as would Delhi CM, awoke late to do the rescue act. By that time the Delhi’s streets were overcrowded with thousands of daily wage earners planning to walk to their native places, some even nearly 700 kilometers afar. It was a sight to behold for those tom toming ‘stay at home’ and ‘social distancing’ and showed the world what lack of planning by the administration can mean. Mr. Kejriwal on his part awoke late too and opened the doors of municipal schools without making adequate arrangements for the comfortable stay of the floating migrant population, which, had he done it in time with foresight, would not have led to such situation in the first place. Kejriwalji ,these days you are playing politics too safe - for people’s comfort.
5. Talking about Opposition brings us to the Congress party – or whatever is left of it. Frankly, these days whenever I think of the Congress party, the image of a headless chicken comes to my mind. Before the body becomes still, it struggles quite a bit with the severed head all around. Looks like the situation of the party presently is something similar, sad to say.
A reluctant Congress chief- in -hiding is what Rahul Gandhi today is. In his priorities, bimonthly foreign jaunts is closer to his heart than reviving the jaundiced Congress party to its former health. The Congresswallahs simply reckon that they cannot survive without a Nehru or Gandhi surname to tag on. They don’t realize the three options they are left with today, mentioned below, leave them hardly any choices for any kind of manoeuvre. a) Rahul Gandhi. A borderline eccentric, fun loving recalcitrant politician who became one, not out of choice but by the mere accident of birth. Would have been much much happier frolicking with friends in exotic locales and famous foreign beaches rather than the dirty waters of Indian politics. He knows the enormity of the task of revamping the faction ridden Congress party which presently have more office bearers than cadres at district levels! He also knows if the chicken remains headless for too long , half the office bearers and cadre will jump ship any time soon. Should he ,or should he not? Indeed a hard choice for him too to make! But does he care!? b) Priyanka Gandhi - Vadra. Biggest mistake - marrying a Vadra rather than a Gandhi or a Nehru. To atone for the wrong choice of surname, the only option left: Divorce Robert and remain a Gandhi. Good chance for Congress party to regain its lost glory as she doesn’t perceive to carry any old baggage and can start afresh. First task at hand: sack the old fogies en masse on day one. Rebuild the Congress with young blood. There will be no stopping her. People looking for fresh blood will welcome the change wholeheartedly. But what about the Albatross around her neck..er, sorry, I mean, Robert? Tough question indeed! c) Sonia Gandhi, A tired warhorse. Has delivered in the past whenever called upon to do. But shelf life is the problem. Expiry date is very near. Fresh stock has to arrive. Problem is , the cadre insists on a Gandhi/Nehru brand which she realises has become a bit stale of late. Best option: Fresh brand, in place of the soon to be expired and the stale ones! d) Ladies and gentlemen. I am suggesting a fresh new brand: THAROOR brand. ( I am sure most genuine Congressmen and other well meaning Indians would have thought of this already but were reluctant to push it somehow. So, I am taking the initiative.) SHASHI THAROOR AS THE NEW All INDIA CONGRESS PARTY CHIEF! Why not? He has all the qualifications for the job: personality, stature, qualifications, knowledge, articulation, honesty and integrity. I know he will meet the biggest opposition from his colleagues in Kerala due to the crab mentality prevalent among them and also all the old foggies hanging on to the party despite the expiry dates .The first thing ever that Shashi Tharoor should do if he is chosen to the position, is to compulsorily retire all the oldies in the party from politics. That alone will save the party from their outdated pedagogic clutches and allow him to infuse fresh blood in to it as part of its all India revival process. Whether they capture power or not, a strong, young Congress party in the opposition benches is a dire necessity to strengthen the democratic process and make it healthy. I am sure Shashi Tharoor is well equiped to play this role and hope and pray all well meaning Congressmen and other likeminded people of this country will come forward to revive the moribund Congress party by falling behind and supporting Mr Tharoor, at least for democracy’s sake. There is lot of young talent still in the Congress party kept at bay by the old foggie ‘syndicate’. Tharoor should pick and choose from them. With hope, new talent from other dispensations could flock to it too. Build a young talented team which, in the eyes of the public, can be an alternative to the present regime. That will strengthen our democratic system and contribute to the country’s fast growth and overall progress in the long run.
RANDOM THOUGHTS would like to conclude this session by reminding the readers something which happened in 2013. PM Vajpayee’s health was failing. Advani as successor was not in contention due to age and other factors. Names of Arun Jaitly, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj were in circulation as possible contenders for the top job. Fierce battle was on, spearheaded by various political/industrial/religious lobbies and other vested interests. BJP as a political party appeared to be on the verge of total collapse/disintegration: so was the abysmal levels at which the ‘no holds barred’ personal wars were being fought. BJP as a party appeared to be doomed!
Suddenly Manohar Parikar from a BJP party conclave in Goa announces Narendra Modi’s name as a consensus candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the ensuing elections. The announcement comes out of the blue and takes everyone by utter surprise. Everyone is stumped! No one is ready with a reaction. That was a master stroke by Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, with able help from good friend Parikar whose room Modi used to share long ago, when in Delhi on party work. Rest is history.
The Modi story is good enough inspiration for selecting Shashi Tharoor as the Congress Chief. No one knew about Modi’s oratory or diplomatic skills till much later. Modi is not as well educated formally as Tharoor. But it won’t be easy for Tharoor to match Modi’s native intelligence, however scholarly he may be. But I am sure Shashi Tharoor will certainly make a good Opposition leader and a Prime Minister-in-waiting, and someone Modi will love interacting with! Bye for now, friends.
OVERHEARD: Four ordinary rapists of Nirbhaya get the gallows. A Supremely classy, would be rapist gets a halo as a Rajya Sabha MP!
Random Thoughts but Valid Points raised here, most of t hem. Looking forward to the next blog.
i agree with most of the things said and would love to hear more from 'Random Thoughts'