Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A SLAP ON THE FACE OF PRICE RISE….


Harvinder Singh, a transporter from Delhi, caused a furore when he landed a slap on the face of the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar in protest against the rise in food prices. Although this is not the first time ,Prashant Bhushan, lawyer and aide to activist Anna Hazare, who last month was assaulted in his office by a young man who found Mr. Bhushan’s remarks on self-determination in Kashmir to be so offensive that he started swinging. Or the former telecom minister Sukhram, who was slapped and kicked in court earlier this week by a man identified as none other than Harvinder Singh – which makes you wonder how many causes Mr. Singh gets irate about in an average week. Then In 2009, a Sikh journalist hurled a shoe at Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram during a news conference after getting angry with the minister's reply to a question about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But as always this time too, the leaders of all political parties immediately condemned the attack (on Mr.Pawar this time) on the grounds that there is no place for violence in a democracy.

No doubts that the act of slapping a minister is ought to be condemned. But such an incident indicates that common people are getting increasingly frustrated with the country’s politicians. The incident should be viewed as a sign of the anger and frustration of the common man against rising prices that the United Progressive Alliance government has struggled to contain. None of the leader is doing anything to tackle the burning issues of corruption, price rise and inflation, all of which have made the lives of ordinary people miserable. The incident should prompt politicians to engage in serious.

Meanwhile Anna Hazare’s remarks on the incident seem to have been taken out of context and twisted by the media. It was only a spontaneous and natural reaction to the situation. People should be allowed to express what they feel. Politicians have directed barbs at Hazare because he claims to trend the gandhian path. However, not many politicians have the time to follow gandhian principals themselves.

Recently, Jitendra Prasada, a member of the congress and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, was seen kicking protesters during a campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh. The protesters had allegedly breached the security cordon around Rahul Gandhi. However, it was the security staff’s responsibility to deal with such a situation, not prasada’s. Such leaders, with their obvious contempt for the common man, are not fit to be role models for the youth of this country and most observably no condemnations were registered by any politician.

Over the years, the gap between the haves and the have-notes has widened. Politicians lead luxurious lives while millions do not even get two square meals a day. In legislative assemblies, laws are passed summarily, and there is no concerted effort to address the problems that plague the common man. Such problems might take years of work to eradicate. Even while criticizing the attack on Sharad Pawar, one cannot forget the role he has played, as minister for agriculture, in the price rise crises.

A while ago, the Supreme Court had directed the government to distribute the food to the poor free of cost or at low prices, instead of letting it rot in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).The government however did not comply with the orders.

Meanwhile, Hazare seems ready to apologize to Pawar for his hasty remarks. But the agriculture minister remains defiant in spite of the attack on him. When asked if he could forgive Harvinder Singh, Pawar reportedly said,” Who am I to forgive? I am not a judge”. Sadly, that the real face of our politicians, defiant, egotistical and unrepentant.


http://twocircles.net/2011nov30/slap_face_price_rise%E2%80%A6.html

Thursday, November 3, 2011

ESTABLISHING DEMOCRACY IN LIBYA IS TO BE A HARD TASK..


The atrocious murder of Colonel Gaddafi engineered by the US led NATO forces, after Saddam Hussein’s hanging in 2006 proves that in the current world order, the United States of America can do whatever it wishes with other nations and leaders who do not toe its line.

It further strengthens my disputation that US hardly cares about egalitarianism or the well being of the people of other nations as long as its own financial and military interests are served. And this artificiality can well be judged by the fact that, the US doesn’t denounce human rights violations in countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia which to us all are equally fraudulent and callous regimes.

But then saying this I dont want to mean that I support any tormenter- be it Saddam Hussein or Colonel Gaddafi. My only argument is, Gaddafi could have been taken into custody and put on trial at the International Court of Justice for his alleged misdeeds and atrocities. His assassination is nothing but another misdeed by global powers and alliances.


As Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime in Libya has come to an end the National Transitional Council is set to initiate the process of democratic elections in the country. But for the Council steering Libya out to at least a near-perfect democracy will not be an easy job when the country has no contemporary history of party politics or the rule of law. So, it will be interesting to watch how the council establishes a democracy in Libya which had been in anarchy for decades.

Libyans should keep the state of Iraq in mind and should not go overboard to rejoice now.



http://www.milligazette.com/news/2688-establishing-democracy-in-libya-will-be-a-hard-task
This article appeared in The Milli Gazette print issue of 16-30 November 2011 on page no. 14