it bleeds

It bleeds even when a narrow pin gets jutted into a body. That bleeding is painful and tormenting. It deviates the concentration on our development and asks us to look into that bleeding. It pains. Everyone can see the bleeding, everyone feels sorry, everyone sympathies, but they can not feel the pain! No one can. Of course they can provide the bandage. So I am not being a pessimist loner here. But it remains true that even after our bandage, our scars remain with us only. Only our beauty depreciates.

India is pinched again with a terror strike in Mumbai! 21 dead, more than a hundred injured. Some have loft their hands, some losing their legs, others uncontrollably falling prey to the havoc in the air set of by the exploded bomb. Some may be disabled forever now, for no fault of theirs. Others may not see their loved ones in future. Some may lose their jobs because they are no longer fit for them. The explosion does not just remain physical. Slowly it not only succeeds in engulfing the physically as well as non physically affected, traumatised victims but also paints them with a cloak of fear, that never lets them go out without it.

Was this fear what we wanted ? In this nation, where freedom and liberty are idealised virtues, isn't fear supposed to be out of this nation's dictionary ?

(to be continued...)

One Man Army

This picture is of Mr. Subramanian Swamy. He is the current president of the less popular, but much more PIL-lly active Janata Party. If one wants to know about this man, he can easily know from the internet. I am not here to describe that. What I am concerned about is his strategy to gain popular support.

He is a man of character and intelligence, as many of his actions have proven. He is courageous, for he has been standing firm for his beliefs and objectives for a long time now, despite being under various death threats from innumerable agencies. He is rational, logical, idealist, audacious, far from any corruption or criminal case and most importantly, open to all citizens. In the web you can watch almost endless interviews of this man with all enthusiasm, so much that your eyes may start aching if you do not stop. So far so good for a rational person. I am a vivid fan of his and he is gaining honor in my eyes with every passing act of his in public interest.

Now let us come to his acceptability in a more common, poorer, unsophisticated, primitive and traditional class in India, which is much more in strength, to whom any news other than rising prices of food and oil is as irrelevant as Ashwarya Rai going to a restroom. How is Dr. Swamy going to reach them ? Their support is crucial for determining success in polls. His PILs and their judgements reach few ears, compared to these large ignorant numbers. His loud roar against Sonia Gandhi is yet so dim against the collective laments of these poors and lower class, who can only think of Sonia as their mother, who will take care of them. Social initiatives like MNREGA, NRHM, JSY, ICDS, have only shifted their faith in favour of their so called mother, who, according to them, left the post of PM which she could hold anytime, formed NAC, which aims for all round social development of the country's backward population, and in whose leadership, all can get better wages. Any one among them would hardly have watched the youtube and google videos by Dr. Swamy commenting on her, that are available so freely on the net.

Adding to this uncertainty about getting support of backward classes, his book on hindutva (Hindutva And National Renaissance)is also increasingly becoming a bone of contention among religious groups if asked for their support for him. He has advocated for a controversial term 'hindutva' in every Indian, as according to him, this Hindutva is present in every Indian. While he sees the term as propagating looking inwards for solution and creating our own identity and relations with our surroundings, popular perception taking this word in consideration is propagandist. Hindutva leaders are seen as against development, blocking growth and reinforcing unacceptable systems of caste and social hierarchy. While Dr. Swamy is against the caste by birth concept, he does not refute the caste system. For him, caste is by work, and learned and courageous ones are brahmins, the others he did not describe about. However, what will put him at advantage in elections is not his thoughts, but common junta's perception about him. And that, presently is not so well developed. A common man in North may never have even heard this name, although he may have heard of the 2G scam. Moreover Janata Party is not so large that it can sweep off the elections by getting maximum number of votes. At all if it gets position, it will be through a coalition, to which, I assume, the party is non adherent as 'all are corrupt, I should not mix with them' perception is generally in minds of the idealists.

Dr. Swamy is a fearless candidate. He will fight for what he has decided till he is alive. In his interview he has mentioned that he has not come to India just to be a rubber stamp like Manmohan(also an honorary man standing very high in my eyes), following orders of Sonia (although he did rate him as being the best among the current lot of congress members). Who knows Sonia Gandhi may get arrested against corruption charges and the government loses confidence, all because of one litigation filed by Dr. Swamy. Then popular sentiments will be in favour of Mr. Swamy and if elections are done in time, his party may win. But that sounds too optimistic, even if their is a possibility of such a situation arising. Academicians like him sound credible enough when they say that Sonia Gandhi is corrupt. Strengthening the opinion is the silence veiling opinion of Ms. Gandhi. Dr. Swamy's strategy has always been truthful. He will not bend in order to gain an upper hand in power, for now he represents more than Dr. Swamy. He represents truth, virtue, courage and of all the most important virtue as per me, openness to public judgement.