SANJOG MAHESHWARI,
C1A-42 B M.I.G.FLATS,
JANAKPURI, NEW DELHI-110058
WE ALSO WANT CHANGE
The word ‘change’ put him on way to the White House. The magic worked and worked resoundingly, unbelievably; more so because Barack Obama uttered the word with the sincerity which carried courage of convictions and a firm resolve to deliver. And the miracle happened in spite of the obvious disadvantages: being a black man, a half- Muslim with Hussein as a middle name, rumours of his early days addiction to drugs and association with grotty characters; a political minnow who apparently had no chance even against Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Thousands of thinking persons have celebrated this historic event of global significance by writing millions of words eulogizing America for its capacity to shake off the dark past for which Abraham Lincoln had made the supreme sacrifice. The Indian chapter of the club couldn’t help but wonder when, if ever, this dark period of insipid, spineless, thoroughly rotten and corrupt leadership will finally end yielding place to the inspiring and committed leadership in our own blessed land. - The “change’, we desperately need and crave for. More so, is it possible to user in the much coveted ‘change’ under the shadow of our grossly debased variety of Westminster type of Parliamentary democracy which was adopted in unseemly haste. Even before more than 90% of our populace could know what is this all about “We The People” were made to adopt, enact and give to ourselves a Constitution, the good-intentioned provisions of which when put to practice delivered just the opposite. For example, it was hoped that Executive would be de-linked from the Legislature to ensure clean and vibrant administration. Instead it made the Executive a handmaid of the Legislature. Our system of elections and electioneering contributed substantially to the criminalization of the politics. It created the politics of vote-bank which in turn helped demagogues with criminal background to ascend to powerful positions in the government by playing religion, caste and recently region card and pursuing quota-reservation policies with dogged determination to woo, cultivate and consolidate caste and minority vote-banks. While we always want the best man to win an election, he simply dreads to run.No wonder, democracy in our country has degenerated into highly criminalized and corrupt ‘mobocracy’.
“America wants change, and I stand for change”,thundered Obama and got elected to the highest position of the mightiest nation. Far more than U.S. of America, we, in this country want ‘change’ and need it most desperately. If not for any other reason then to get rid from the scourge of terror violence- the way America has done after 9/11- terrorism, created by soft-on-terror state policies. We also need the ‘change’ to affectively and decisively curb and contain fissiparous tendencies, inimical to the national integrity and solidarity, created by the divisive identity politics of vote bank and state policies of ‘quota and reservation’. We need it to extricate ourselves from the quagmire of economic disasters; thanks to the gross mismanagement of our economy. Do we also not want to throw in the towel this highly criminalized ‘mobocracy’ run by tainted politicians-which we love to call world’s largest democracy for the sake of delusion and self-deception?
Contrast it with the mindset of politicians of our country. ‘Change’ is a dirty and dreaded word for them. Instead they prefer to shout ‘growth’ from the housetops which, in the context of present political climate of the country, is a meaningless jargon that fools no body. While they profess that it is the ‘Economic Growth’ what they mean, in actual practice it translates into: unplanned development, state policies which impels amass migration of rural populace to urban areas resulting in grotesque, unplanned urbanization with landscape dotted with R.C.C. jungle of skyscrapers coexisting with jhuggies and jhonparies in the close neighborhood, an abysmally inadequate infrastructure which is groaning and crumbling under the weight of burgeoning population swelled astronomically every year by hoards of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants encouraged to settle and make India their home, (do they not make for a solid ‘minority vote-bank’ for certain political outfits and politicians?), unplanned and unsustainable development and mindless, haphazard industrialisation to satisfy the insatiable greed and caprice of a few rich and mighty causing unbridled pollution of natural resources at the cost of health and life of the poor and the deprived, grossly mismanaged economy backed by rampant corruption, giving rise to the ugly problems to the society and rendering the life of common man more and more miserable- the policies which make rich the richer and poor the poorer (while in the club of ten richest persons in the world four are Indians, hundreds of poor commit suicide each year due to poverty and hunger).
All this can be changed provided our politicians could shed their entrenched vested interests and vote for the adoption of American model of Presidential form of democracy which could effectively de-link the Executive from the Legislature.
-SANJOG MAHESHWARI
“America wants change, and I stand for change”,thundered Obama and got elected to the highest position of the mightiest nation. Far more than U.S. of America, we, in this country want ‘change’ and need it most desperately. If not for any other reason then to get rid from the scourge of terror violence- the way America has done after 9/11- terrorism, created by soft-on-terror state policies. We also need the ‘change’ to affectively and decisively curb and contain fissiparous tendencies, inimical to the national integrity and solidarity, created by the divisive identity politics of vote bank and state policies of ‘quota and reservation’. We need it to extricate ourselves from the quagmire of economic disasters; thanks to the gross mismanagement of our economy. Do we also not want to throw in the towel this highly criminalized ‘mobocracy’ run by tainted politicians-which we love to call world’s largest democracy for the sake of delusion and self-deception?
Contrast it with the mindset of politicians of our country. ‘Change’ is a dirty and dreaded word for them. Instead they prefer to shout ‘growth’ from the housetops which, in the context of present political climate of the country, is a meaningless jargon that fools no body. While they profess that it is the ‘Economic Growth’ what they mean, in actual practice it translates into: unplanned development, state policies which impels amass migration of rural populace to urban areas resulting in grotesque, unplanned urbanization with landscape dotted with R.C.C. jungle of skyscrapers coexisting with jhuggies and jhonparies in the close neighborhood, an abysmally inadequate infrastructure which is groaning and crumbling under the weight of burgeoning population swelled astronomically every year by hoards of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants encouraged to settle and make India their home, (do they not make for a solid ‘minority vote-bank’ for certain political outfits and politicians?), unplanned and unsustainable development and mindless, haphazard industrialisation to satisfy the insatiable greed and caprice of a few rich and mighty causing unbridled pollution of natural resources at the cost of health and life of the poor and the deprived, grossly mismanaged economy backed by rampant corruption, giving rise to the ugly problems to the society and rendering the life of common man more and more miserable- the policies which make rich the richer and poor the poorer (while in the club of ten richest persons in the world four are Indians, hundreds of poor commit suicide each year due to poverty and hunger).
All this can be changed provided our politicians could shed their entrenched vested interests and vote for the adoption of American model of Presidential form of democracy which could effectively de-link the Executive from the Legislature.
-SANJOG MAHESHWARI
C1-A-42 B M.I.G. FLATS,
JANAKPURI, NEW DELHI-110 0058
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