Mulayam ji, please shake off your caste baggage

One day the father gives lessons to the son about good governance after getting 'enlightenment' from veteran L.K. Advani about the bad state of affairs in UP, as if he doesn't himself know how governments function in UP. The next day, the son says "We have our political blueprint ready after the pullout (from UPA). We are ready for elections anytime." After pulling up by father Mulayam, it would have been better had son Akhilesh come up with a blueprint to fight corruption, not a "political blueprint ready after the pullout". People have seen enough pro- and anti-UPA posturing by Mulayam. There is nothing wrong in Mulayam's aspiring to be PM, and he can present himself as a deserving aspirant if the SP government is able to fight corruption in UP. The SP has the requisite numbers in UP to frame and implement good governance policies and transform UP into a model state if the party is ready to shake off its caste baggage.

INDIA FIRST is good but...

The following are my views expressed in an online debate on a news item of the Hindustan Times, on the HT website:

Agreed that appeasement of any community, whether minority or majority, is neither good governance nor democratic. But, dear friend, what was and is the Ram mandir movement all about? Isn't it majority appeasement? In fact, Mumbai blasts (1993) and Godhara train burning and subsequent minority massacre were all bitter fruits of majority appeasement indulged in by the Saffron parivar through the Ram mandir movement. If Gujarat riots can be termed as a justified revenge for the Godhara train burning then the 1984 anti-Sikh riots too have numerous justifications, like killing of innocent people in Punjab during the period 1981-84 by Sikh terrorists and the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. If Modi and the Saffron parivar truly believe in the dictum "India First" then first of all they should take initiative for dismantling all temples (all over the country) which have been constructed on unauthorized public places and cause traffic jams and other problems. On many roads which carry heavy traffic, these temples are left untouched while widening roads so as not to give the Saffron parivar an issue to draw political mileage. The Supreme Court long ago had asked for removal of these places. Long ago, Marx had termed religion as the opium of the masses. I feel misuse of religion and petty/selfish politics are equally responsible for ruining the country. The way pilgrims are fleeced at famous religious places makes one think whether religion has any real value for us Indians. When the kanwar yatra blocks the Haridwar-Delhi highway for a fortnight, preventing normal trade and depriving people of emergency medical care and making it difficult for lots of people to earn their daily bread, it can't be termed as an India First act. But no one wants to bell the cat lest the Saffron parivar draws political mileage. Shouldn't saving people from the dhong (mockery) of religion also come under India First?

How Can it be FAMILY FIRST sans you and me

There is a lot of rhetoric on Family First. India of 2014 is not the one-party (read Congress) Indian political system, which more or less ended with Pt Nehru. If you analyze the politics of over the last two decades, then you would understand that today it's near to impossible for a Gandhi scion to become PM unless people want him/her to be, no matter how hellbent are the Congressmen to see him/her as PM. In fact, in the past also, it were you and me who handed defeats and victories to Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. And, today the voter is highly awakened. Moreover, no matter how good is the past performance or family background of a film star, a politician or a sportsman, he/she will stop to be in the good books of the masses, if he fails to deliver. Raj Kapoor could not make all his sons good heroes (remember Rajiv and Randhir?). Viru is no more in the Test squad? Why? If Sachin fails in 2-3 innings, people and even experts want him out of the India XI. Why?

Why our religion doesn't make us honest?

The following satire I had presented at the last Diwali celebrations in my office. It questions the MOCK ADHERENCE of Indians to their respective religious teachings.

Dharam Kya Hai by

A tribute to Delhi Braveheart

The following poem pays tribute to Delhi Braveheart who sacrificed her life awaken the LETHARGIC India.

Damini 2 by vijayc9

Damini 1 by vijayc9

Putting up with IMAM SIDDIQUE'S ANTICS in Bigg Boss

The following letter was written to Shri Manish Tiwari, on Jan 11, one day before the Bigg Boss Season Six Finale 

Jan 11, 2013

Shri Manish Tewari,

Minister of State, I&B

Government of India

Subject: Socially Wrong Morals and Behaviour Being Justified by Bigg Boss

Respected Sir,

I wish to draw your attention to the undue footage being given to the ethically wrong and socially unacceptable behaviour of a Bigg Boss contestant, Imam Siddique, by the Colors entertainment channel.

It’s amazing that despite Imam’s aberrant behaviour and irritating actions, which often lead to his tiffs with co-contestants, he has made it to the Bigg Boss grand finale. The Colors bosses have gone out of their way many a time to ensure that Imam is not evicted from Bigg Boss. They may be justifying their love for Imam by pointing to his popularity among the audience. For that matter, a porn star can be more popular than Imam Siddique. But, then we can’t show a porn star in action on a national family entertainment channel of India. So, why are we putting up with Imam’s ethically wrong and socially unacceptable behaviour? Aren’t we encouraging many ‘potential’ Imams to become ‘real’ Imams? I don’t know whether the Colors bosses are trying to provide some kind of psychiatric treatment to Imam by retaining him in the show.

For the Colors bosses, it’s quite easy to preach non-violence and other principles of the Father of the Nation by keeping his three monkeys in the garden area of the Bigg Boss house. And, this preaching is just a lip-service, or for the ordinary mortals to follow. Because the Colors bosses are free to show the violent destruction of their rural house and make the contestants living there run for their life.

I vividly remember that in an earlier edition of Bigg Boss, a contestant, PraveshRana, had in a fit of anger destroyed the food stock of the house by throwing it in the house pool. Then Bigg Boss had preached to Rana that when millions of Indians do not get two square meals a day, you have no right to destroy the food. And, next day, a lunch was organized at the house for the children of an orphanage. Now, I think Bigg Boss knows well that millions of Indians also do not have a roof over their head. So, is he planning to build some houses for these people to atone the destruction of the rural house?

We all know TV programmes and reality shows are a multi-crore business. But most of this multi-crore revenue comes from we the ordinary people, who buy the products/services advertised on these shows. The price we pay for the products/services also includes the advertising expenses. A good number of TV programmes are uninspiring, run-of-the-mill sagas of family feuds or the ‘scripted reality shows’. Some of these shows run eternally without touching the issues which affect the man in the street. One pines to go back to good old DD days when serials had to be wound up in 13 episodes, and some serials like Ghalib, EkKahani and Bharat EkKhoj introduced the common people to world-class literature in their own language.

For inspiring people to follow the good aspects of the Indian culture,there is no better medium than 24x7 TV, provided the TV channels’ bosses understand this.

Best regards

Vijay Chawla

A Suggestion to Team Anna

The following letter I had emailed to Team Anna yesterday (Aug 6) to express my views on their decision to join politics: 

Team Anna’s Shot at Politics: Won’t it take Sting Out of the Anti-corruption Crusade?

I wish to draw Team Anna’s attention to the following famous quote:

Power corrupts. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely.

In the context of this quote, I think Team Anna’s decision to turn themselves into a political outfit is fraught with serious adverse consequences for their anti-corruption crusade. To understand my thinking, you just need to know about the original objectives of various political parties the world over or their election manifestoes. No matter how noble were the objectives for whose achievement these political parties had been founded, gradually all parties have compromised on these objectives for clinging to power. I would attribute the straying of these political parties from their stated noble paths to their leaders’ succumbing to basic human instincts of greed, hunger for power, amassing wealth for blood relations, etc.

Before proceeding further, let me introduce myself. I am 50 plus and I have spent all my life in Delhi and NCR. What I am going to write is based on my personal experiences and my little understanding of the way we Indians think and behave.

Now coming back to Team Anna’s proposed political foray. Anna ji and a bunch of his loyalists can remain honest all their life. But, can they guarantee that the candidates they would choose for fighting polls would also prove to be diehard anti-corruption crusaders? Will not they succumb to basic human instincts about which I have just talked? Here Team Anna may offer a solution by way of enacting a law to empower people to recall their corrupt elected representatives. But wouldn’t the implementation of this act lead to a democracy which would be in the election mode perpetually? Such an act may also make it difficult to run stable governments. Here I would like to know whether Team Anna has conducted any research on the existence and implementation of the right to recall in the democratic world, particularly in England and the large democracy of America which is home to diverse cultures like India.

I think we can effectively challenge a system from outside. Once we become part of the system, we become prone to do compromises on our stated principles or agenda for surviving in that system. Needless to say, Team Anna as a political outfit would need a comfortable majority to enact laws, which, as things stand today, is a Himalayan task to muster. Obviously, to succeed in the numbers game, they would have to compromise with their anti-corruption agenda. So, why not compromise now and keep the rulers under pressure?

‘Pretty Good Lokpal Bill’

I am no legal expert, but I have watched Andhra legislator Jayaprakash of Lok Satta Party on NDTV the other day saying the Lokpal Bill which has been passed by the Lok Sabha is a ‘pretty good Lokpal bill’. Mr Jayaprakash says the present Lokpal Bill has about 85% of whatever was demanded by Team Anna. One should believe Mr Jayaprakash because he says that he has been following the Lokpal issue for the past ten years. I think 85% success is a landmark especially when Team Anna representative Sanjay Singh informs us on NDTV that the Lokpal Bill is hanging fire for over four decades. As Mr Jayaprakash says once the bill is passed, it’s not end of the road. A Team Anna-friendly government in future, like the BJP government, can amend it to match it 100% with Team Anna’s draft.

Satyamev Jayate — Hamara Aiana

Over the last two months, Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate ne humko aiane mein hamara asli chehera dikhaya hai. After watching Satyamev Jayate any sane person would not blame solely the Indian political class for the rampant corruption and all the ills afflicting the country. Granted, the political class in an inseparable and dominant component of the governance machinery, and it must take the first blame for corruption and be a willing party for putting in place an effective anti-corruption mechanism.

But, what about religious malpractices and a demoralizing lack of values in a country which is perhaps home to the largest number of believers in the world? Isn’t India the biggest example of people making mockery of religion? If we truly believe in the religious word, then we don’t need any Lokpal Bill, in fact, we don’t need any law. But this is as ideal a perception as Team Anna’s projection of Lokpal Bill as a Rambaan against corruption. Anybody who is in tune with the Indian social realities and the political happenings around the world will subscribe to this view.

If only law, irrespective of whether people have any values or not, could eradicate corruption then China must be a corruption-free country. Because enacting any law and implementing it with an iron hand is not as much a problem in China as it is in India. But China’s score (score 3.6, rank 75) in Transparency International’s corruption perception index* table is only slightly better than India’s (score 3.1, rank 95). This table lists 182 countries. Team Anna may be knowing that in the past, some Chinese firms were found guilty of exporting adulterated milk products and harmful toys. So, stringent laws could not prevent the Chinese straying from the path of fair business for the greed of buck. Here I would also like to draw Team Anna’s attention to what Dalai Lama has said few months back at a Delhi meeting about corruption in India and China. He said, “Corruption in China may be attributed to the Chinese not following religion sincerely, but it is surprising that in a land of believers like India corruption is so high.”

It’s an open secret that for majority of Indians, religion is just a lip-service. A good number of religious places are constructed illegally on government and private land and cause traffic jams and other problems. Among unauthorized religious places, Hindu temples would definitely be the highest in numbers. The Supreme Court had long back ordered demolition of such religious places. Any sensible person would ask: How can you illegally construct a place to worship God, who is supposed to signify and all virtues, at an unauthorized place?

Then we have festivals like Kanwar Yatra and other religious processions which deprive thousands of people of their fundamental right to travel for a living or emergency medical care. And, today when the world over stress is on green living, the Kanwar Yatra participants and their patrons spoil the environment all along the yatra route by using disposable plastic bags, cups, plates, glasses, etc in huge quantities. We can also imagine the immense pollution of the Ganga caused by the Yatra participants near Hardwar from where they start their Yatra.

Every year we celebrate the festival of asatya par satya ki vijay that is, Duesshra. But we don’t have the moral courage to side with truth in our real life. It’s a pity that Ram nam japna has not made us Indians inculcate good values and stick to them. Then we have large fields as Ramlila Maidans all over India which lie useless most of the year. These fields can be converted into good play fields. But, no, mock show of adherence to religion is more important for us than winning golds at Olympics.

I have seen how Blueline buses ran roughshod over Delhi roads for over 15 years, beginning in the early nineties. During my numerous travels in these overcrowded buses in these 15 years I often used to be among the few persons to raise voice against the bus staff’s delaying tactics and other malpractices. But, majority of commuters used to remain mute spectators. And, a good number of commuters had also found a way to compensate themselves against the bus staff’s malpractices. They either did not buy a ticket or simply bought the minimum denomination ticket and travelled the maximum distance. So, basically, we Indians, when faced with malpractices, also indulge in malpractices instead of standing up to fight.

If we sincerely look around, we will come across a number of malpractices which no law can curb. For example, the simple act of making a queue is a BIG NO for lots of Indians. We just can’t have policemen in cinema halls and at railway stations and bus stands to force people to make queues. On these very lines, a visually-challenged participant in Satyamev Jayate had said, “There is a rule that we should not throw banana peels on the road. But policemen can’t be deployed in every knook and corner of the country to enforce this rule. The people themselves have to adhere to this rule.”

I request Team Anna to teach people to inculcate and follow some moral standards in their life. Moral standards are more effective than the fear of law in tackling corruption. And, then in the RTI we have a very effective tool which enables us to circumvent the cumbersome legal procedure to put the corrupt in the government on the mat. Team Anna must encourage people to file applications under RTI whenever they come across fishy government dealings.

Vijay Chawla

*The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country/territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 - 10, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 10 means that a country is perceived as very clean. A country's rank indicates its position relative to the other countries/territories included in the index.