Anna Hazare has sparked off the revolution for India's post-liberalisation generation. And this one is not for 'freedom' but against 'misuse of freedom'.
Democracy is alive and thriving in India but perhaps our elected and appointed representatives are thriving too much at the public's expense. Corruption used to be something that even the corrupt were ashamed of...it existed in secret coded langauge and behind closed doors. Today, corruption is in the open...flaunted with a smirk and accepted as an institution.
The government response to the Gandhian protest proves this point. Even if I did not suspect the Congress of corruption before, now I feel sure. Why else be so defensive about having any sort of check on their powers? Democracy is about accountability too!
And I'm not naive enough to believe that the opposition is any better. I commend Team Anna for not allowing any political party to appropriate this cause and make it another empty electoral promise.
While Parliament consists of representatives of the people, the judgement of how to hold these representatives accountable should be left to the people too. Why give them the power to decide what they are answerable to?
As a concerned citizen, I support this movement. But I feel the need to add that this is not just a revolution to be fought in the country as a community - it is equally & critically important to continue the fight in the conscience as individuals.
We the people are India. So if we want the country to shed the persona of corruption, we need to decide never to contribute to it in any way.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
NO END, NO BEGINNING
An empty world
Light fills in
Yet still empty
A hungry soul
Thoughts feed it
Yet still hungry
A yearning need
Met again and again
Yet still yearning
Complete the circle
Follow the trail
Return to the beginning
And start again
Light fills in
Yet still empty
A hungry soul
Thoughts feed it
Yet still hungry
A yearning need
Met again and again
Yet still yearning
Complete the circle
Follow the trail
Return to the beginning
And start again
Saturday, July 2, 2011
TIME
Time speeds up
Time slows down
This is a good time
Oops, bad timing
Our time is too short
All we have is time
In ten million years
Or in a second
We could understand
If time really matters
Important or insignificant
Worth chasing
Or escaping from the illusion
Time slows down
This is a good time
Oops, bad timing
Our time is too short
All we have is time
In ten million years
Or in a second
We could understand
If time really matters
Important or insignificant
Worth chasing
Or escaping from the illusion
Friday, May 6, 2011
CAN TERROR BE KILLED?
A terrorist is dead. Ok, the world’s most famous and hated terrorist is dead. Justice has been served – the taker of innocent lives has had his own life taken from him. But it doesn’t mean that the world is any safer or that we can sleep any easier.
Osama Bin Laden and other leaders of terror are merely the sparks that ignite a long line of kindling to the final fire. The sparks can be banned and eliminated but as long as there is kindling the possibility of fire remains. And no one can be safe.
Franz Kafka said “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.” What is simple is true. It is hunger and want and need that drives one man to hate another. We become our destructive best when we feel we have nothing left to lose. When we have no homes to protect, no means to educate or feed our children, no voice that can be heard....what options are left?
Options. Do terrorists have any? We ask terrorists many things – we question their humanity & sanity rhetorically through media and probe details of operations and agendas more physically through torture. But does anyone ask the other pertinent questions – what were his options? Did he have alternative means of providing for himself and his family? If he did, what prevented him from resorting to them?
Why would a 12 year old boy become a suicide bomber? Is it the hunger in his stomach that craves such a final satisfaction? Or are there multiple stomachs that will only be fed with the price of his blood? Or is it the intense propaganda of those who have known deprivation intimately and are skilled in exploiting it?
We can kill terrorists. We cannot kill terror. It comes from the fire of hatred that is perpetually burning in different corners of the world. It is fuelled by prejudice, discrimination, exploitation, greed, revenge, ignorance, manipulation, differences of attitude & lifestyle....but the kindling is always the same – poverty.
Osama Bin Laden and other leaders of terror are merely the sparks that ignite a long line of kindling to the final fire. The sparks can be banned and eliminated but as long as there is kindling the possibility of fire remains. And no one can be safe.
Franz Kafka said “So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.” What is simple is true. It is hunger and want and need that drives one man to hate another. We become our destructive best when we feel we have nothing left to lose. When we have no homes to protect, no means to educate or feed our children, no voice that can be heard....what options are left?
Options. Do terrorists have any? We ask terrorists many things – we question their humanity & sanity rhetorically through media and probe details of operations and agendas more physically through torture. But does anyone ask the other pertinent questions – what were his options? Did he have alternative means of providing for himself and his family? If he did, what prevented him from resorting to them?
Why would a 12 year old boy become a suicide bomber? Is it the hunger in his stomach that craves such a final satisfaction? Or are there multiple stomachs that will only be fed with the price of his blood? Or is it the intense propaganda of those who have known deprivation intimately and are skilled in exploiting it?
We can kill terrorists. We cannot kill terror. It comes from the fire of hatred that is perpetually burning in different corners of the world. It is fuelled by prejudice, discrimination, exploitation, greed, revenge, ignorance, manipulation, differences of attitude & lifestyle....but the kindling is always the same – poverty.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
CRICKET MANIA OR SANITY
After 28 years, the World Cup has come home to India and all who witnessed this great triumph will remember it forever! Even people like me, who fall in the tiny niche that doesn’t really follow the game. Nothing unites India & her people better than this colonial game – not religion nor language nor culture nor intellect and definitely not politics.
In fact, politics has sought to divide our incredibly diverse country further & further on real and imagined differences in religion, caste, communities, etc. Cricket can overcome even this delusion as portrayed by this SMS, which has been circulating since the match –
"Dear Raj Thackeray,
A Chandigarh lad, a Jharkhand captain and a Delhi boy won the world cup for us and dedicated it to a Marathi legend.
Your regional hatred has failed.
Jai Ho!!"
And apart from obvious nationalistic pride, there was so much that inspired in the last few moments of the match and the ultimate victory. The stress-free attitude of captain Dhoni, the faith & teamwork of the entire team, their willingness to share the credit & glory....the sheer joy that was instantly felt by 1.2 billion people. Equally inspiring was the grace with which the Sri Lankan team accepted the defeat despite their brilliant performance in the match and indeed, the whole tournament.
While many deplore ‘cricket mania’ on the subcontinent and try to steer us towards more serious issues, I wish we could hold onto the unity & team spirit engendered by the world cup in addressing them. Our problem may be easily resolved – my or your problem may never be. And if the sport makes for better attitudes and inspires us to unite & forget petty differences, cricket ki jai ho!
In fact, politics has sought to divide our incredibly diverse country further & further on real and imagined differences in religion, caste, communities, etc. Cricket can overcome even this delusion as portrayed by this SMS, which has been circulating since the match –
"Dear Raj Thackeray,
A Chandigarh lad, a Jharkhand captain and a Delhi boy won the world cup for us and dedicated it to a Marathi legend.
Your regional hatred has failed.
Jai Ho!!"
And apart from obvious nationalistic pride, there was so much that inspired in the last few moments of the match and the ultimate victory. The stress-free attitude of captain Dhoni, the faith & teamwork of the entire team, their willingness to share the credit & glory....the sheer joy that was instantly felt by 1.2 billion people. Equally inspiring was the grace with which the Sri Lankan team accepted the defeat despite their brilliant performance in the match and indeed, the whole tournament.
While many deplore ‘cricket mania’ on the subcontinent and try to steer us towards more serious issues, I wish we could hold onto the unity & team spirit engendered by the world cup in addressing them. Our problem may be easily resolved – my or your problem may never be. And if the sport makes for better attitudes and inspires us to unite & forget petty differences, cricket ki jai ho!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE
In the Internet age, anyone can be an instant celebrity. With a thousand friends on Facebook and a million followers on Twitter, a person can broadcast every thought, deed and opinion. And celebrities get to use the same media to appear more accessible and interactive with their fans. The gap between ordinary & extraordinary is blurring....so-called ordinary people may display extraordinary talent or perspectives and at the same time the celebrities we brand extraordinary can share personal details that tell us that they can be ordinary too.
Social equalisation is on in full swing and regular people are discovering the secrets of image management just as celebrities (and “their people”) are discovering what it really means to get real. The narrowing of this gap has meant that no one knows any more where to draw the line between private and public.
Miley Cyrus has used her experience with Twitter to create this video. As she said to David Letterman on his show, “You can’t complain, about like ‘Oh I don’t have a private life and I’m so upset – paparazzi are following me everywhere’ if you’re going to tell them where you’re going.”
Sharing a personal movie review, photographs from a glamorous event, updates on the latest antic of a child or pet all seems innocent enough. But we’ve all heard the stories of people getting fired for Facebook posts or celebrities caught in a controversy over their Twitter updates. And of cyber-bullying, where anything you share could make you a possible target. It’s exciting to get instant responses & to have made a favourable impression but it’s also stressful & painful to be ignored or ridiculed just like in the offline world.
People who have no qualms about ignoring people in the offline world are suddenly beset by fears of appearing rude online! It seems that social media is the latest balm for achingly lonely people everywhere – if you wake up in the middle of the night needing to talk, you may fear to wake your spouse or call a friend at an awkward time. Or if you want to ‘share anonymously’ the things you can’t in person, there’s always the stranger online who can help you feel less alone.
We’re all in the same boat, craving attention and connection but afraid to put it all out there. What we cannot say face to face to one person, we are broadcasting to millions online in the hope that someone may understand. Hiding behind a computer makes it feel easy but ultimately, we are making ourselves more vulnerable than ever before. What’s personal may not be private anymore.
Social equalisation is on in full swing and regular people are discovering the secrets of image management just as celebrities (and “their people”) are discovering what it really means to get real. The narrowing of this gap has meant that no one knows any more where to draw the line between private and public.
Miley Cyrus has used her experience with Twitter to create this video. As she said to David Letterman on his show, “You can’t complain, about like ‘Oh I don’t have a private life and I’m so upset – paparazzi are following me everywhere’ if you’re going to tell them where you’re going.”
Sharing a personal movie review, photographs from a glamorous event, updates on the latest antic of a child or pet all seems innocent enough. But we’ve all heard the stories of people getting fired for Facebook posts or celebrities caught in a controversy over their Twitter updates. And of cyber-bullying, where anything you share could make you a possible target. It’s exciting to get instant responses & to have made a favourable impression but it’s also stressful & painful to be ignored or ridiculed just like in the offline world.
People who have no qualms about ignoring people in the offline world are suddenly beset by fears of appearing rude online! It seems that social media is the latest balm for achingly lonely people everywhere – if you wake up in the middle of the night needing to talk, you may fear to wake your spouse or call a friend at an awkward time. Or if you want to ‘share anonymously’ the things you can’t in person, there’s always the stranger online who can help you feel less alone.
We’re all in the same boat, craving attention and connection but afraid to put it all out there. What we cannot say face to face to one person, we are broadcasting to millions online in the hope that someone may understand. Hiding behind a computer makes it feel easy but ultimately, we are making ourselves more vulnerable than ever before. What’s personal may not be private anymore.
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