What Lures People into Politics

It is really difficult to find out why people are running after political parties to join them. Many reasons crop up in my mind. This is the way my feeling is.

Politics has become a cheap affair.

Women are 49 % -- That’s what the Advertisement Says

Women are 49 % -- That’s what the Advertisement Says

In all simplicity and truth and neatness the Tata Tea Gold advertisement says – Women are 49%, so don’t ignore them.

I like the way the words of the lady and how she makes her man make some tea for her. The main part is when the tea leaves open to spread the colour and taste. That’s the essence and she confides that she…one person can be ignored but not all. This speaks a lot how women folk cannot be ignored.

What does this advertisement really want to say? It is Election time calling –women are said to make up 49% of the voting population in this country – their votes count and mean a lot and they can’t be ignored.

In all reality, the ratio of the numbers of girl child at present in India is on the decline. The ratio has gone down and creating a concern.

INDIAN POLITICS

Indian politics is showing a change. The different states may not have spoken by themselves, but we, the people of this country showed courage to wipe out the ones who had created a great mess in this country. Those who have been swept clean never once thought about the pangs they created for the common man, who constitute the mass of this country.

They sat comfortably in their cool luxurious chambers and went on doing THIS and THAT now and then, thinking they are the Lords or Kings who had every right to act in their Lordly fashion...the way they liked.

Little did they remember that India is a DEMOCRACY now and being the largest democracy in the world, with a huge population of highly educated people and even people with little learning have started to know the Right from the Wrong and also know they can fight for their RIGHTS. And this Right was very well exercised in casting of their (common man) votes.

It is no longer, "Jago India (Bharat) Jago"., for already the people are saying, "Hum Jag gaye hain, aab dekho...".

The two words – Secular and Communal

These two words Secular and Communal have been making rounds in my mind. Thought best to sit and make a personal judgement on them – find the right and the wrong in them and their correct applications to those who speak such words with a loud open mouth and make that big noise like the bursting of crackers on the Diwali night.

India is a Secular country which does not have an official state religion. Let’s see where this leads to.

Secular: Secularism means, equal treatment meted to followers of all religions by the state and envisions acceptance of religious laws as binding on the state, and equal participation of state in different religions.

Communal: Meaning in Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, “pertaining to a commune or community”. So there is no specific reason to say that Communal means being hurtful to other religions apart from the religion you practice.

So by using the word Communal repeatedly, some people who call themselves Secular are trying to divide the country (India) on religious ground.

Here I have to say, having been brought up in an area where the Muslims families were more in number than Hindus, never felt any difference. From a tender age till now religion has never drawn a line in my life to differentiate people. Even we had Christian families who were very close. The people of the other religions always participated in each other’s religious festivity.

It is a great mistake if we tread upon the path that has been made by some to divide this huge country on religious grounds.

Common man wants to live in peace for he has to toil hard to earn his bread and butter. Those who are doing this nuisance have lots stashed in their kitty…maybe out of the wrong earnings they have made. They want to live in peace and see the fun in making others fight, and in all this there is creation of fear, tension, anger and loss of lives.

I say these two specified words, used mostly in politics, hardly makes any space in my life.

Jai ho!

When the Year 2011 came in...

This year came and I have made no resolutions. I know I don’t have to think much for there is so much to see, read, learn and think about.

The year came in as Onion Tears were being shed.

Take a thousand rupee note to the market and the bag comes home half filled after the buying only few monthly grocery items for the home...Indian Economy...Economist heading our country.

News about Murder, Rape, Robbery, has become a daily news item...when fear has been sidelined...it happens.

Watch the powerful politicians going around as though they are carrying the country on their palms...you live or die they’ll make thoughtful claims once the elections come round the corner.

Scams, scandals and all the drivel in the news...make money while the sun shines...when in power...hahaha.

I have no time to think about making New Year resolutions...for to think or not to think is the same for me at present.

Why rise my stress level...just accept what’s happening...doesn’t mean I’ll keep mum when I see something wrong...will raise my voice...hear you may...or ignore...a resolution...did I make one???

Let Cricket be Cricket - The Game That It Is...

What’s happening in the cricket arena is a sad episode. The IPL has created such a hullabaloo that this noise pollution will take some time to drown. The game of cricket was lost in all the mess and the dirt, to be more precise, was just popping its head from the dirty mud tank to make its presence be felt as the final of the IPL 3 brought down the curtains for this season.

The IPL blame game was all because of the huge amount of money that was associated with it. So many Bigwigs who are a part of it are now washing their dirty linen clean in the water of the "Political Ganga”. Some are the guardians of power which makes it all the more easy to clean themselves in this tank.

What has so much Glamour to do with Cricket when the game in itself is so glamorous. Cheer girls had been brought in the earlier IPL tournament for whom??? - is something to ponder about. Women in the stadium in short dresses and colourful pom-pom’s in their hands, is not in the interest of the game. The late night parties after an IPL game was all for the interest of the organisers. Happenings at such party-sharty is for a handful of Kha-aas People and more of a fairy tale and distant dream of the Aam Aadmi.

Money, glamour, women, glitz and much more that only the organisers can tell about, which will remain locked in cupboards, is all because of the money that came unaccounted and is tax-free for them. I say tax-free because the top brass in the government never bothered that this could bring in so much “tax-money” to the country’s coffer. After all the common man is always there to pay his/her income tax religiously every year.

This whole IPL controversy can never be a one-man show. But now the partners are trying to save their skin and come out clean as "dhood ka dhoola". It’s become a "Pitch of Ditch". These people will bat and bowl for such time till the whole issue cools down and then foes will become friends again for all are hand in glove in this whole dirty affair.

Cricket is the game that people love to see, why bring politics into it. Let the players be sincere in the field with the bat and the ball and let people clap to their hearts content when their favourite cricket stars perform well in the game. Leave cricket to survive as the Game That It Is.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Fudge

The last time when I wrote about the IPL it was about the combo of cricket and entertainment. Read here. Now the whole IPL thing is getting murky with so many controversies building up.

I feel the whole IPL thing is more about money, power, politics, glamour and less of the game. Some want to make big money out of this. And many players have become gainers monetarily...good for the cricketers.

The game of cricket, which once used to be so gentlemanly, has now become business for some. Is it not time to let the game remain a game and entertain its followers instead of making a mess of it for the vested interest of some?

Don’t hound the game to make personal money and fame out of it? Don’t go to such a level where the whole bubble of the IPL will burst leaving behind only thin air.

I want cricket to be the game I love to see. What do you think?

Women’s Reservation Bill and the BUZZ Around

To be very frank I am a fence-sitter on the Women’s Reservation Bill. Sincerely I’m against Reservation. Getting or reaching out to something under the Category of Reservation or in simple words under the Quota category is like grabbing something With an external force.

Women have worked hard to reach the place they are in. They need no sympathy to be what they are. They have the mind, will, power and determination to do and achieve what they want.

I am never in favour of Reservation of any kind. In this country the number of the Poor, living below the poverty line, is very much visible. In the name of Politics many nasty games are played and one among the many is in the name of Reservation. If at all the political parties are interested in giving privilege to the people of this country, time to stop increasing the quota percentage in the different categories. Think about the poor and draw the below poverty line edge and give these Economically backward people Reservation so that they can come up.

Surely most people will not agree with me. They will think many times and in the end come up saying 'this is not possible and not for the good of the country'.

If women want to get Reservation, it means they are weak and feeble, not able to stand on their own feet, instead will be tagged as babies who are making an effort to stand up but need support to stand on their own.

This Reservation will be more of a support than showing off before the world, “We are, we can and we will on our own”.

Look across the globe and you can find women adorning the highest place. Education can make a lot of difference in a woman’s life. And that’s the first stepping stone and not Reservation.

A Pre-Budget Thought

The first morning cup of tea invigorates the mind and body. But the saddest part is this morning cuppa has burdened the household by becoming costlier. It is all because of the rise in the price of petrol and diesel. Why has the government taken this decision in a hurry? This hurry raises the eyebrows of the millions in this country with a question that needs an answer. Why didn’t the government wait till the budget was placed before the nation by the Finance minister of this country?

The price of all commodities will rise further, leaving the home ministers of every household to re-write their monthly budget. In this whole process, many households will have to cut down on even some basic needs. With soaring prices it has become a tough job to shop for the monthly grocery and at the green grocer for fruits and vegetables.

It is time instead of making a hole in the pockets of the Aam Admi, the government should be looking into more serious matters relating to the people of this country. Startling revelations of adulterations have shocked and rocked the people. Apart from adulterated milk, recently it has been found how in the name of pure ghee adulterated ghee is entering the market. So also is the case with some of the powdered spices sold in the market. The fruits and vegetables are not safe to eat because they are injected with harmful substances which can cause fatal health problems. All this happening under the very nose of the government and if they say that can’t smell the rat, people will not believe them as confidence in the present government is losing grounds.

Just imagine the shocking revelation in Delhi of thousands of fake MCD employees. We, the tax payers of this country have every right to know where our hard earned money is going and how it is spent.

Most of the people must have seen on a news channel how a Lok Sabha MP is slapping a bank manager in public and thereby misusing his power. It shows those in power have got the right and guts to disrespect an individual publicly and go about unpunished. How can a party remain blind and deaf and let such people remain in their fold. Instead of discouraging with punishment it seems more of encouraging.

Another political controversy that has come up is of the misuse of political power and office. A minister in this ruling government had wanted to pressure a Madras High Court judge to grant anticipatory bail to a father-son duo arrested by CBI. Where are the rulers heading to?

The HRD minister comes up with the thought of doing away with the class X board exams. But he does not give a thought to the trauma the parents in a city go through in getting their child admitted in the entry level of a school. And what about the rising school fees? He should think of more vocational courses that will guarantee more jobs. A lot of homework needs to be done to bring about changes in the education and examination system of this country.

Global recession has hit the world job market not sparing the job market in this country either. At such a juncture more work needs to be done to stop people from flocking the cities and make them concentrate to earn their living out of agriculture in the villages. For that agriculture needs a boost. When people have food and earning at home why will they turn towards the unknown city which gives them a hard and difficult life, at times leaving them without food and a roof over their heads.

Water problem, electricity problem, terrorism, health-related problems, are among the many problems we all are facing in our everyday life. It is no doubt a hard uphill and challenging task for the government with so many problems but there has to be remedial measures. All that is expected from the government is good partnership, consideration and working towards getting the wrong mended so that common man’s life can thrive safely.