Whatever that looks-close-to-reform happens in the Arab World is always seen through scepticism by the West. And the Egypt Revolution was no different. Still there are some things that make it stand out despite WHAT-NEXT-SYNDROME that the western media will plunge into. Remember 1962 ..."After Nehru Who" ... they did the same thing. The incoherence stands out distinctly here - That despite being such a individualist society, why do Westerners think that Asians and Arabs tie their future to few people up the hierarchy and there are no suitable [if not as good] replacements. I call it myopia. And they have been very effective in manipulating our pshyche and leading us believe that we have very few to lead.
Anyways ... Following are few of the observations on this.
1. It shatters the Myth that anything that the pre-dominantly Islamic countries do is violent. This was a bloodless revolution. It took the sacrifice of less people than Sabarimala Stampede [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Sabarimala_stampede] to topple a dictator.
2. The Egyptians didn't burn their Buses! Is anybody in India observing this??????? They didn't burn the buses or vandalised public property. Probably we take freedom too seriously while Bandh and Morchas!
3. Toppling dictators/Governments takes revolution. Changing Governance takes .. ??? India hasn't yet found an answer after 60 years.
I just hope Egypt doesn't fall in the hands of the hardliners and prospers as a democracy.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Corruption : A View
On the backdrop of Adarsh Scam, I thought of Urban v/s Rural corruption and the general attitude towards it.
Think of it ... how many times a CM had to resign due to corruption at Rural level...its always the cities that cause the downfall of the biggies when it comes to corruption.
Lets leave the moral high ground for a second and think that Corruption is sad reality [Neither I am a pessimist nor I justify corruption) - How many of us are affected due to his scam...Yes I know it was for the war widows ... but if I am not wrong the widows are by no means destitute and would surely get pension [ Again, I am not justifying the corruption here]. The point is this corruption would not make the widows life miserable.
But think of one of the many glaring instances of the rural corruption - The PDS [Public Distribution System] system Or Rationing.
Everybody knows that PDS should be Holy Grail of anybody who "says" s/he does politics for the poor. Since its the single most thing that affects them directly. Yes directly. PDS connects to the belly of the destitute and you rarely see a resignation of anybody over it. Another is the various central governments employment guarantee schemes. Go google your own list.
P.S. I know Lalu Yadav had to resign due to Fodder scam.
Think of it ... how many times a CM had to resign due to corruption at Rural level...its always the cities that cause the downfall of the biggies when it comes to corruption.
Lets leave the moral high ground for a second and think that Corruption is sad reality [Neither I am a pessimist nor I justify corruption) - How many of us are affected due to his scam...Yes I know it was for the war widows ... but if I am not wrong the widows are by no means destitute and would surely get pension [ Again, I am not justifying the corruption here]. The point is this corruption would not make the widows life miserable.
But think of one of the many glaring instances of the rural corruption - The PDS [Public Distribution System] system Or Rationing.
Everybody knows that PDS should be Holy Grail of anybody who "says" s/he does politics for the poor. Since its the single most thing that affects them directly. Yes directly. PDS connects to the belly of the destitute and you rarely see a resignation of anybody over it. Another is the various central governments employment guarantee schemes. Go google your own list.
P.S. I know Lalu Yadav had to resign due to Fodder scam.
First ...
I always think that "First" is special not because of the romantic way but because of the emotional and intellectual purity or the complete lack thereof. Consider the following ...
And that's the reason whenever any artist/writer/artisan achieves fame, I have this urge to find out their "First" work. There is always some originality and purity of thought in the first work. e.g Books like To Kill a Mocking Bird, Gone with the Wind, God of Small Things etc. I have found that some have put so much into their "First" that they had nothing to say in the second and simply leave the scene [e.g http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mitchell ] and no ... they are not one match wonders!
After the "First" everybody goes through the mandatory refinement process of emotions and thought and we had to shed some of the purity and novelty for the sake of ...all the Worldly things! There is nothing wrong in that. "First" is always special but the Seconds...Thirds are what form the narrative of life!
No wonder they put a premium on virginity all across :D
And that makes my "First" post special!
- The First Trophy
- The First Crush/Love...The First heartbreak!
- The First time you failed in an exam...
- The First Salary
- The First time you hit a boundary off a bowler that you were afraid of ...
And that's the reason whenever any artist/writer/artisan achieves fame, I have this urge to find out their "First" work. There is always some originality and purity of thought in the first work. e.g Books like To Kill a Mocking Bird, Gone with the Wind, God of Small Things etc. I have found that some have put so much into their "First" that they had nothing to say in the second and simply leave the scene [e.g http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mitchell ] and no ... they are not one match wonders!
After the "First" everybody goes through the mandatory refinement process of emotions and thought and we had to shed some of the purity and novelty for the sake of ...all the Worldly things! There is nothing wrong in that. "First" is always special but the Seconds...Thirds are what form the narrative of life!
No wonder they put a premium on virginity all across :D
And that makes my "First" post special!
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