Pragmatism vs. Romanticism

There is much consternation with what is called the increasing vigilantism by the AAM Admi party in the state of Delhi. The one’s whining about it are mostly the different hued politicians from mature political parties that dot the landscape of India. The angst is understandable considering the fact that well established practices of corruption and poor service are now being questioned by the poor badgered Delhiwallah’s. The latest has been the initiation of a hotline for complaints on corruption and apparently it has been an instant hit with the phone lines being choked by callers. Group’s from the AAM Admi Party scour the countryside and visit hospitals and schools at random to check on the service or lack of it. This is a romantic new beginning and has caught the imagination of the common man. While the whole idea may lack pragmatism, it certainly is romantic and who can win, at least in the short term in the face of romance. The people of Delhi and their Government are still honeymooning and during the honeymoon all faults are swept under the carpet, even poorly articulated ideas like that of Prashanth Bhushan who seems to think that a referendum needs to take place, in Kashmir on whether the Indian Army needs to stay or go. Now with all due respect, this might best be left to the honchos in the relevant ministry’s to decide. This particular snafu takes me back to my days in the middle-east. Invariably I would hop on to a cab, driven by a gent from Pakistan, whose interest would rise the moment he realized I was from ‘Hindustan’. I would gingerly say that I hailed from the state of Karnataka and the connection to ‘Tipu Sultan – the Tiger of Mysore’ would be instantaneous. It goes to probably, show that our neighbour’s know their history well. The next topic of discussion would be Kashmir and the hackles would rise, with both of us taking extreme positions. As corruption is, Kashmir is just as emotive an issue with the AAM Admi and political parties mature or otherwise would be well advised to remember that.

Ashamed to be Indian

I like N.R.Narayanamurthy ( Founder of Infosys ) or Murthy as he is called simply because his simplicity shines through in complex situations and he is able to cut through the flim-flam and BS with ease and felicity. Yesterday he told the Indian public at large that he was 'Ashamed to be Indian'. This from a man who probably is an Indian icon for much of the civilized world. He is ashamed for the horrific act of brutality that six or more lumpen elements perpetrated on a young women in a moving bus in our national capital New Delhi. This reminds me of Mahatma Gandhi who said something similar when the Indian sub continent was suffused with hate and vengeance even as the sub continent was being cleaved into two nations in what was a weird and tragic accident. Does Murthy offer a solution? He is humble enough to say that he does not have all the answers for the moment but is just ashamed to be Indian! Contrast this with the lovely Gul Panag ( Bollywood actress), who says that statistics are probably lying and that Delhi is not the Rape capital of India. Does this really matter in the face of the agony that the young women who battle for life faces? The portly Kushboo ( South Indian actress - made famous by a temple being built with her as a Goddess in Tamil Nadu ) goes on to add that all rapists need to be hanged pronto, all the time resembling a Deepavali fire cracker about to explode/implode! Brand Delhi is taking a beating - much to the oblivion of its politicians and Indian society at large is taking a bigger one with our inability to look at women as simple human beings, rather than item girls or pieces of entertainment. As more women enter the workplace, issues of harassment are going to become pieces of contention that will surface with increasing rapidity and regularity, unless there is a fundamental shift in the way that the Indian male thinks.This can only happen at home, where parents teach their young son's that there is an intrinsic equality among all life that needs to be respected and preserved.Subjugating other people is not sustainable over time as history has shown repeatedly.Bullying, harassment and rape are forms of primitive subjugation that has no place in modern society and people who indulge in them need to be aware of the repercussions. Interestingly Should we be ashamed to be Indian? If we are proud to be Indian for many things that this great civilization has thrown up, we ought to be ashamed as well for this horrific act of senseless, drunken brutality perpetrated on a young woman who fought with all her might to defend herself. The only one who probably, needs to be not ashamed of herself at the end of this sordid and rather chilling episode!