NORTH EAST- THE UNWANTED…

The report by New Delhi based North East Support Centre which precursors the impending exodus of the people from the north east towards the other parts of the country in the next few years should be a wakeup call for the central government to stop the step child treatment for this very own part of our country. The writing is on the wall that a lot of political parties will milk this situation for their political gains by putting them in the category of ‘the unwanted’ like the people from UP and Bihar.  The politicians are deliberately obtuse to understand that the dice is loaded against these hapless people and they’re not invaders but a victim of the deficiency of development in their respective states and as a citizen of this country they’ve the constitutional right to move out to earn a living. The development doesn’t mean constructing highways which takes the youth out of their states but to bring in education and employment in the state itself. Few developed cities don’t make us a developed country, the growth needs to be inclusive so the central and the state governments should usher in fresh ideas and chalk out plans to bring employment opportunities in these deplorable and paralyzed states.

POOR-THE EXTINCT BREED...

The planning commission’s beyond the pale concept of poor and poverty has only made us rue that how unfortunate we are that we’ve a plurality of highly qualified economists in the cabinet. The report which factually flies in the face of common sense is certain to revolutionize the world as it gives a shorter route to curb poverty, just change the definition and you’ll no longer be deemed poor. Do these high profile millionaire members of planning commission have the courage to tell a labourer or a coolie or a rickshaw puller on his face that he is not poor but rich because he makes almost Rs 100 a day much more than the paltry sum of Rs 32 and that’s why he is not entitled to any subsidy? Even beggars make more than Rs 32 a day, so in that case the poor are extinct in our country, right?

IROME SHARMILA..

Irome Sharmila, the name doesn't ring a bell in our heads, but for people in north east of our country she is synonymous to a fighter with an unmatchable fortitude. There are a lot of parallels between Anna hazare and her but one, that her fast unto death is few days short to a decade. The last time she had eaten something was 10 years ago which is something unbelievable but media ain't interested in highlighting her story and her fight. She hasn't consumed anything through mouth all these years and is forcibly fed through nose in a few days by her supporters and doctors after collapsing. We should lament the fact that she is thrown behind the bars very often for culpable homicide not to mention that her fast unto death in taken as an attempt to suicide but that too doesn’t deter her from fighting for her conviction. This young lady is fighting against the AFSPA (armed forces special powers act) in the north east, the special powers given to army to combat naxalism and militancy which unfortunately costed some civilian's lives. If her name is alien to us then it's the centre's step child treatment followed by media's numb response for that part of our country. Though we don't know the pros and cons of AFSPA but Irome Sharmila's fight and sufferings should come to an end. There are very few who follow Gandhiji's doctrines and they deserve the respect of the nation.  We salute to her endurance and patience for justice. A humble request to our politicians, please reach out to her and listen what she wants to say.

Few Lines from Heart……

For the most lovely and beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life,

I wish I could own you and you could be my wife….

You are prettiest among the pretties and is as innocent as babies,

Your smile so heartening your eyes so bright,

Your beauty is dazzling but I can’t move my sight,

Holding your hands was like a dream come true… 

Honey I just wanna look into your eyes and say I LOVE YOU…..

Mani Shankar Aiyer-a snob or a loose cannon?

Mani Shankar Aiyer’s unwarranted and unsolicited comments are certain to create ripples of discomfort among the lots. The latest salvo being fired by him against sports minister Ajay Maken was supposed to be personal attack but has veered and yet again stirred a hornet’s nest as it not only questioned the credibility of Hansraj College and the quality of its students but has also put Stephens College’s students in poor light. He finds ‘dichotomous’ too big a word to be used by a student of Hansraj college. An uncalled for comment like this would blemish the reputation of his own alma mater as people tend to generalize opinions and because of one anomaly alumnus like him all Stephenians would be tagged as ‘snobs’.

ACME OF GANDHISM

This is the acme of Gandhism, the unprecedented solidarity being shown by the country for Anna's fight against the canker of corruption manifests the ire and frustration in the common man. The enthusiasm and the participation by youth who've always been accused of apathy have yet again broken a precedent thanks to the epidemic of corruption in the recent times. a few days have already passed and may be this one man juggernaut's roar has fallen on deaf ears but it is palpable that the political fraternity is shaken and with the support pouring in every minute by people from all walks of life from all over the world it seems to end on a positive note. Though some sections of the political class have termed this a roorback but we always knew the fabric of politicians or say reprobates and such kind of statements weren't iffy.

DISGRACE FOR THE TRICOLOUR

A garbage truck which carries filth everyday for the last ride of our martyrs is not only an insult to their bodies, their families but also the tricolor wrapping them. Ask those who lost their dear ones what it takes to deserve the tricolor on one's dead body, and they'd get a lump in their throat. We don't see men in uniform protesting for hike in salary or against hike in commodity prices though they're also the one to bite the bullet exemplifies that it's the pride in the uniform and the country which keeps them going without complaining. They're a breed apart, they're the ones who forsake the life of comfort so that we can lead one, spend their lives in inhospitable and hostile conditions so that we can enjoy the bounties of the nature, put their lives on the line for us and don't die until they're dead to protect us. We owe them a lot. The culpable authorities and the people in the know should hang their heads in shame for this aberration. The nation wouldn't forgive the culprits who're also a breed apart for disgracing the people in uniform who laid down their lives fighting the enemies within.

‘GUINEA PIGS’-THE PRICE THEY PAY FOR BEING POOR

It was very disturbing to know that Indians are being used as ‘guinea pigs’ by western pharmaceutical companies for the trials of their drugs. These experiments are being carried out since last 5 years without being noticed and not in remote states but in states like MP, AP and Delhi, is it possible that the police was totally oblivious to this heinous crime? For these pharmaceutical companies everything pales into insignificance when it comes to money, even lives of people. The number of casualties is angling towards a big nexus between these companies, local doctors and police as it stands to reason that such kind of experiments can’t be done without keeping them in the loop. The doctors who blackened their noble profession by using the need, innocence and illiteracy of the poor to make money should be brought to books as soon as possible.

OMAR MAKING A DEVIL’S ARGUMENT..

Only few knew about the role that the army has been playing in the valley over the years, but your article ‘Playing a dangerous game’ highlighted things that only people of the valley know. A role which army is not bound to play but it does which proves why out of all the security agencies of the country it’s the army that is loved and respected most. We all know that there is something amiss in Omar’s stand to revoke AFSPA, most see it as a devil’s argument to make sure that the questions regarding the killing of 120 people takes the backseat. The argument by Omar that AFSPA should be revoked from those places where peace has been restored sounds nothing less than hysterical because the peace has been restored in those parts of the valley because of the presence of the army.

SPANKING CAN HELP TODDLERS NOT POLITICIANS..

There are no two minds that whatever happened with Sharad Pawar was unfortunate and such kind of incidents should be condemned by the whole country. Politicians aren’t toddlers that a slap or a spank will reform them. Though the politicians are failing to gauge the anger of the common man we must not take the violent route even if it is the last resort at least for the sake of our democracy. Politicians are known to be thick skinned and self proclaimed ‘most gullible breed’ because anything that goes wrong with them is a tactic by the opposition. To quote an example let’s quote Congress Spokesperson Rashid Alvi where he said that this incident happened because of Yashwant Sinha’s inciting speech on inflation, that’s a hysterical one, isn’t it? But the joke of the day which would put us all in splits was probably one by Bal Thackeray where he said that such kind of act was outrageous and unacceptable, hey we’ve the best example of a pot calling the kettle black. 

MODI’S BLOOD SOAKED POLITICAL CLOAK

The SIT’s report that the encounter of Ishrat Jahan was done in cold blood by Gujarat Police to portray Narendra Modi as a fighter against terrorism shows the level of hell Modi can bring down on minorities to vindicate his belief and conviction. All these fake encounters add to the blood soaked political cloak that Modi wears. Can he wash his hands off all these killings in the name of development? Who to blame if a kin of one of these casualties turns terrorist out of vengeance? The system which worked hand-in-glove with Modi and followed his bestial instructions or the people of Gujarat who even after 60 years of independence fail to stomach that we’re a democracy and repeatedly elect a candidate whose hatred for minorities is well known? It isn’t far when the world will fault us for being ambidextrous because we take pride in telling the world that India is a mosaic of religions and cultures but in the backdrop of it disregard our constitution.

WHY RED IN TOOTH AND CLAW?

The dictatorship in sports is back with Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation both trailing the path that BCCI once treaded. Railroading the Hockey players into their decisions and threatening to sanction a ban on the ‘rebels’ (as they say it in sports parlance) who will play in WSH evokes the days of rivalry between the BCCI and the ICL. Is there even a single bona fide reason for them to take away the fundamental rights of these citizens to earn a good living? You neither pay them handsomely nor allow them to get paid by someone else. They aren’t breaking away from their duties, for them country and pride is everything for which they're ready to forgo the money and the fame but isn't this a moral responsibility of the governing bodies to look after their national players instead of being red in tooth and claw and trying to extract their pound of flesh. They're the assets to the country so why aren't they treated like one? In the times when people are trying to pump life in the future of this game there are people putting nails in its coffin.