Sunday, July 14, 2013
The Pink Daily Journalists of India.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Unwashed Masses
It was a move unprecedented anywhere else in the World. Giving birth to an Adult Franchise based democratic Nation, at the stroke of a pen, was a Giant leap from a thousand years history of being a conglomeration of feudal states. The concept of Adult Franchise was specially pushed by our First Prime Minister Pandit Nehru. Most of the other members of the constituent assembly were hesitant about it. But Nehru was firm on it.
In all other nations, Adult Franchise based democracy had a long gestation period. Democratic rights preempt that the Masses/Electorate know what they need and they deserve what they need. The electorate in India comprised of a mass of 12% literates in 1947 in other words 88% illiterates. Another Caveat, even the figure of 12% was absurd as “the definition of literate was one who could write his/her name.” With such “Unwashed Masses” as electorate to conceive of Adult Franchise was a Major Risk. People like Churchill predicted doom and said India deserved a Benevolent Dictator and not democracy. Though the phrase “Benevolent Dictator” itself is an oxymoron.
Gandhi was the first Politician in India who brought the “Unwashed Masses” center stage. Till Gandhi , disembarked from a ship, after spending 23 years in South Africa, the Indian National Congress was a Political Party of Lawyers and the Elites dressed in Bund Galas and Suits. It was a Drawing Room Party, its activities were largely limited to Drafting and sending Memorandums to British Governments.
Gandhi gave a new paradigm of a mass based Political activism at Champaran, fighting for the rights of the Indigo farmers. His very first agitation in Bihar brought a radical shift, inviting incarceration, with Truth and Courage as the only two weapons in his armoury. The response of the “Unwashed Masses” was unprecedented. While Gandhi’s case was being heard in the court, a mass of 5000 peasants was standing out of the court under heavy rains waiting patiently to hear the decision. He met them for the first time and was able to become their messiah. He must be credited for metamorphosing a Paper/Memorandum trajectory struggle, to a street/mass based agitation.
This sort of faith and conviction can be found only among the “Unwashed Masses”. The literate and awakened people are always skeptic about grammar and the consequences of any agitation. The “Unwashed Masses” always look at their leaders as their saviors, and follow their diktats seldom questioning them.
It was the entry of such “Unwashed Masses” in the Indian National Congress that made the ‘Elitist Jinnah’ quit Congress. Gandhi was one man who recognized the aspirations and imagination of the Marginalized masses and made the party interact with the plebeians. He tried to understand their grammar and communicate with them in their language.
His followers largely comprised of Lawyers and Barristers. His closest ally namely Nehru was as distant from the masses as Jinnah.
In recent times Lalu Prasad Yadav did open a line of communication with the “Unwashed Masses” successfully. He went as far as to give the “Unwashed Masses” a Group Bath with the help of Fire Brigade Hydrants. He collected a few hundred “Musahar community” people, gave them a Hair cut and a bath. Yet Lalu knew how to strike chord in their heart, and make money by managing their mandate. He was undoubtedly successful in his project.
These “Unwashed Masses” often believe in Images and Idol worship . Though they do form the largest segment of Voters in India, they can be easily bribed by Freebies. Economic development can be attempted by policies that will necessarily have a long gestation period. It is extremely difficult to sell economic policies and get their votes. They are goaded by gimmicks of Doles like Cheap or Free Rice and or MGNREGA. Freebies can have limited impact on alleviating their miseries. Most of it is lost in the Government mire and small fraction that reaches them, makes them complacent. Any money/Doles will always have a debilitating effect on anyone including the “Unwashed Masses”.
The Political parties vie with each other in offering freebies. GoI waved loan of Rs 80,000 crores in 2009 just before the elections and won the election. Such waivers are crimes both on the canvas of economics and sociology. It will be doubly difficult to recover next loans from the same group of people. But these are the moves that win elections. Parties have distributed Laptops to Mangal Sutras. All such freebies would soon be recycled in the market for cash and help the “Unwashed Masses” breach the Poverty Line (BPL) for a week or two.
Another issue with this segment is they can rarely distinguish between image and real. It helps the political parties to get away with slogans and mirages. Indira Gandhi’s “GARIBI HATAO” slogan worked magic in 1971 elections. She became messiah to the “Unwashed Masses” and the syndicate led by senior Party leaders lost miserably.
In the Independent India this marginalized group has been taken for a ride by one and all. None has made even semblance of a sincere effort to ensure their inclusion in the Nation’s growth.
This segment neither has the capacity nor the desire to analyze the issues that can actually bring long term sustainable benefits. Mirages like “Reservation” garner lot of support for the political parties. If anyone tries to analyze the number of Government Jobs available vis-a-vis the population of that particular community, the probability of availing benefits of Reservation for an individual would be akin to buying a lottery ticket. The equation gets further skewed as often the reservation keeps on getting hijacked by an infinitesimal small fraction of the community and others remain mere bystanders. Yet the said “Unwashed Masses” keep on getting misled perennially by the pied pipers of Hamlyn.
The phrase of Vibrant India appears a joke. Seems the elite using such phrases sit in the Lobby of a Five Star hotel and try to absorb and understand India. The statistics of the BPL also is a matter of controversy. Stretching from 80% as stated in Arjun Sengupta’s report to the Planning Commission’s report of about 35% makes the 9% or any growth figure looks comical. Unlike our Planning Commission Head Honchos who see the "Unwashed Masses" in form of Pixels in Power Point Presentations, I do interact with them often, in the course of visiting the “One Teacher Schools” in far flung tribal villages. I have seen societies where people still hunt for food. None of these villages have potable piped water. Several of the villages do not have electricity or all weather motorable road. The only sign of progress or change in their life is the presence of a ubiquitous Hand Pump in their village.
Nehru’s speech “Long Years ago We made a Tryst with destiny….” Made on the eve of Independence rings so hollow, when even after sixty six years of the said speech the unwashed masses still await the Hydrants that will wash them.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
THE MAI BAP SARAKAR
Sarkar is a Hindi word for Government. Yet the very word in Hindi has connotations way beyond what is commonly construed by the word ‘Government’ in English. The Hindi word “Sarakar” virtually means an unbridled AUTHORITY. During the British regime the Government was even termed as a Mai Bap SARAKAR .Lately even in Independent India the Government of India is once again metamorphosing into a Mai Bap SARAKAR.
It all seemingly began in 1975 with the proclamation of much written about, commented, condemned and apologized for, the ‘Emergency’. On the 26th June 1975 midnight, the Democratically elected Government dropped all its pretensions and Became a ‘Mai Bap Sarakar’. The local SHO or Police station Inspector-in-charge assumed the ultimate powers. Any one protesting against any form of authority, did it at his peril of incarceration. “Fear was the Key”. People crawled when they were asked to merely bend.
That was a short lived experience. Within 19 months by 1977 March, emergency was abolished. Now let us do a fast forward to 2012 AD. Lately once again the ‘Democratically Elected Government’ is trying to assume the status of a Mai Bap SARAKAR in a surreptitious manner. The arrogance of Electoral Victory is prompting the ‘People’s Representatives’ to don the mantle of Autocracy. The basic tenets of Democracy are being tempered with, brazenly.
The first and the most corner stone or breast milk to democracy is ‘The Freedom of Speech’. Caveat no one is talking about an absolute freedom. The old axiom still stands that Your right to swing your Arm stops a few millimeters before my Nose.
Lately the Noise Emanating from the Government of the day is very Ominous on this regard. Mr Kapil Sibbal is talking about Regulating Social Media even. The ground reality is, “the Formal Media has been made completely subservient to Indian political Rogues. It has been bought over either for Love or for Lucre by the self seeking politicians. The only media that SPEAKS truth/lies/nonsense yet sentiments of the hoi polloi and does not ‘PARROT’ ‘His/Her Master’s Voice’, is the much maligned social media. The rise and the might of social media has lately made its presence felt via the ‘Arab Spring’ and Anna Movement, closer home.
I wish to draw a seemingly grisly analogy. I remember a Doctor explaining an Ex Leprosy patient, who had weak neural sensibilities in his feet, certain facts. The Doctor was explaining that Feeling of Pain is an important element for survival. Absence of Pain is bad for health. Without this feeling of Pain one is likely to cause self inflicted injuries unconsciously. Pain activates the self protection mechanism. One’s body is normally more or less on auto pilot mode. The sensation of Pain is the Enunciator that makes one aware of the injury/ailment and thereby seeks protection/cure/takes remedial action. Without the early feeling of this Pain, the self protection mechanism would not activate itself. The delay can render the cure difficult and or impossible.
Similarly if one puts Covers on NEWS and Public speech, it would be akin to removing the Pain sensing faculty. The wounds in the society then would keep festering without the HEAD/brain becoming aware of the injury. Slowly and surely soon the problem would become carcinogenic and incurable.
The second most important element of Democracy is the Trust between the State and its Citizens. The recent statement of Supreme Court clearly castigates the State on this issue. Supreme Court states in the Baba Ramdev case, that the incident of the midnight adventure by Delhi Police clearly show a major trust deficit. The state without this trust is merely a Geographical entity and cannot be testified as a nation.
In the minimum it erases all our pretensions of being a Democratic state and reduces India into an autocratic state and in the maximum it reclassifies us a Failed State.
Free and Fair ELECTIONS are a pre requisite to any pretensions of a Democracy. Elections are the most important festival of a Democratic Process. Yet the Mighty powers in Delhi are now conniving to tie the hands of the constitutional authority of the Election Commission, behind their back. They are trying to convert the august office into an ineffective arm of the Ruling Party aka Government. With a weak election commissioner and toothless commission, the party in power would bend all rules in the book and play havoc with the entire process of elections.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has been Satirically renamed as Congress Bureau of Investigation. The high and mighty CBI must play Footsie to the Party in Power or bear the brunt.
A very ominous remark that has not been deliberated much was made by the Solicitor General against SC Judges during the CVC Mr Thomas’s Case hearing. The “Sarakari” stooge remarked that ‘If the Judiciary wishes to review all important appointments, Government would initiate intense Investigations against all the judiciary appointments…….. That is to say that If the Judiciary would initiate any problems for the State, the state would retaliate by investigating all Judicial Appointments intensively and make their life difficult. This is an extremely unfortunate remark with widespread ramifications. State is threatening Judiciary and asking them to not to mess with the State.An extremely ugly expression of Arm Twisting by the STATE.
Our Finance Minister threatens the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, “We know how to create problems for you and we know how to solve them too”. It is neither democracy nor federalism.It is plain and simple Dark Threat or Blackmail, fall in line or else.
Now the NCTC, all these antics show a complete disregard for Democracy,Federalism and it veers towards ‘Feudalism’.
Rahul Gandhi has been shouting from Roof Tops that India’s Prime Minister’s post is just for asking for him. He says he could had become the PM of India at the age of 25. He has trivialized The Congress Party, the Nation and the PM’s post all of them abominably. This juvenile claim is an utter disregard for any democratic process.
We are witnessing an alarming situation. The Nation is being transformed into a fiefdom. The nationals are being transformed into SERFS with State as ‘SARAKAR’ and 'one Family' as Mai Bap.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
SHOE:A MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION
जूता परिधान का वह अंश है जो खुलने के बाद ही दिखता है। जूता अपनी सहज अवस्था में तो अद्दृश्य रह कर ही पांव को ढंकने का काम करता रहता है। हां असहज अवस्था में पांव से निकल जब हाथों में दृष्टिगोचर होता है तब किसी न किसी ढंके हुये को नंगा करने की भुमिका में अपना योगदान कर रहा होता है।
सर्वप्रथम जूते की भुमिका को त्रेता युगीन पौराणिक ग्रन्थ रामायण में वाल्मिकि ने चित्रित किया था। भरत अपने बड़े भाई राम की श्रद्धा में अवनत अयोध्या की राजगद्दी पर भाई राम चन्द्र्जी की पादुका या जूते को ही राम का प्रतीक बना, आसीन कर देते हैं। राम की पादुका के परोक्ष से स्वयम पास के गांव में रह, राज्य संचालन करते हैं।
आज कलयुग में भी भाइयों के कई ऐसे उदाहरण मिल जायेंगे। अब अयोध्या की जगह मुम्बई को रख कर देख लीजिये। राजा यानि जिसका मुम्बई राज्य के लिये राज्याभिषेक हो रखा है, वह 14 वर्षों से बनवास या दुबई वास भोग रहें हैं, और मुम्बई में उनकी पादुका के परोक्ष से अन्य “भाई” उनके राज्य यानि मुम्बई का संचालन कर रहें हैं। यानि यहां जूता “भाई” भक्ति की अभिव्यक्ति है।
इस उपरोक्त समीकरण को महज variables बदल कर दिल्ली या इस्लामाबाद तक CURVE को extrapolate किया जा सकता है। धुरी या axis भी वही बनी रहेगी और सत्ता में जूते की भुमिका भी।
द्वापर युग में पहले तो श्री कृष्ण, पाण्दवों के यज्ञ के दौरान, आगन्तुकों के जूते सहेजते हैं और युग के अन्त में स्वयं जूता नहीं पहने,नंगे पांव होने के कारण एड़ी में तीर से आहत हो अपने प्राण गवांते हैं।
कलियुग एवं 21 वी सदी में जूता दो जगह दिखता है। मन्दिर के बाहर या किसी जिन्दा व्यक्ति के हाथ में। मन्दिर के बाहर जूता आपके अहं का प्रतीक है। जिस तरह आपको अपने अहं के साथ भगवान के दर्शन नहीं हो सकते उसी त्तरह जूता पहन कर आपको किसी भी मन्दिर के भगवान के दर्शन नहीं हो सकते। अतएव मन्दिर के बाहर पड़ा जूता व्यक्ति के अहं की अभिव्यक्ति है। जूता या अहं त्यागिये और प्रभु दर्शन से लाभान्वित होने के लिये कतार में आ जाइये।
जिन्दा व्यक्ति के हाथ का जूता इन दिनों काफी चर्चा में है। 21 वी सदी में जार्ज बुश से शुरु हुयी जूते की गाथा हमारे गृह मन्त्री पी सी चिदाम्बरम के पड़ोस से गुजरते हुये हाल में युवराज के सुरक्षा चक्र को भेदते हुये अपनी गण शक्ति को अभिव्यक्त कर गयी। यहां जूते की खासियत है कि इच्छित निशाने पर न लगने के बावजूद लक्ष्य भेदने में अर्जुन जैसी अचुक क्षमता है। पिछले दिनों चलाये हुये सारे जूतों की TRAJECTORIES अपने निशानों से दूर ही रहे।
इसके बावजूद भी इन चले हुये जूतों के mass communication की क्षमता अपार रही है। आवश्यकता है mass communication महाविद्यालय के पाठ्यक्रम में जूता चलाने की कला पर प्रशिक्षण देने की। इससे जनता जूता चलाने का RETURN ON INVESTMENT भली भांति आंक कर ही जूता चलाये। बुश पर चले हुये जूते के कीमत एक महानुभाव ने बीस लाख तक आंकी थी। कहते हैं कि जिन्दा हाथी लाख का तो मरा सवा लाख का ।इसी तरह पांव में पहना हुआ जुता कुछ सौ या हजार का लेकिन चल हुआ जूता कई लाख का। शोध का विषय है कि चलने के बाद जूते का सेंसेक्स इस बात पर निर्भर करता है कि लक्ष्य पर कौन था। यानि जूते की कीमत बाजार इस कसौटी पर आंकता है कि जूते की TRAJECTORY के निशाने पर कौन था। यहां पर कोई आरक्षण की प्रणाली भी नहीं है। लक्ष्य की TRP ही जूते की कीमत आंकती है। तभी तो बुश जैसे खास व्यक्ति पर चले जूते की कीमत 20 लाख और आम आदमी पर चले जूते की कीमत ?? आम आदमी पर जूता कौन चलाता ? उसे तो सिर्फ आधी रात को जूतों से रौन्द दिया जाता है। आम आदमी पर जूता चल जाये तो कम से उस कम बेचारे को नंगे पांव तो “इलाहाबाद के पथ पर पत्थर नहीं तोड़ने पड़ेंगे”।
कहते हैं कि “जाके पांव न फटी बवाई,वो क्या जाने पीर पराई”। आज 21वीं सदी में नेतागण से अपेक्षा रखें की जूते न पहनें और पांव में बवाई फटने दें ताकि वे जनता की पीर को समझ सकें, यह तो अन्याय है।ये बवाई का फटना और जनता की पीर समझना ये तो का नाटक के प्रथम चरण के सीन हैं। दूसरे अंक से तो पांव में जूते आ ही जाते हैं फिर काहे की फटी बवाई और काहे की जनता की पीर।
आज के नेता गण की एक और बेबसी है कि चरण रज तो जूतों के चलते अब रही नहीं । पहले किसी व्यक्ति के नेता बनते ही उसके चरण कमल हो जाते थे और उसकी चरण रज मात्र से जनता कृतार्थ हो जाती थी।। अब जूतों की रज से लोग आतंकित भले ही हो जायें कृतार्थ कोई नहीं होता।
एक बहु चर्चित पुरानी कहावत है कि जब बाप का जूता बेटे के पांव में आने लगे तो बाप को पुत्र के साथ मित्र वत व्यवहार आरम्भ कर देना चाहिये। इसी कहावत को आगे बढ़ाते हुये कहा जा सकता है कि अब जब जनता का जूता नेता के सुरक्षा चक्र तक आने लगा है तो नेताजी को भी मालिक का पद त्याग बकौल स्वामी विवेकानद “दासस्य दासम” का पद अख्तियार कर लेना चाहिये या दिग्गी राजा का सुझाव मान जूते पर भी फेसबोक सम बन्दिश लगा ही देनी चाहिये। अन्यथा इस एक अभिव्यक्ति के माध्यम की शक्ति अन्य सारे सोशल नेटवर्किंग माध्यमों से भारी पड़ेगी।
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
MAOISTS
माओवादियों ने ट्रेन उड़ाई
पाँच मरे पचास घायल
कल तक यह खबर बासी हो जायेगी
पुलिस के खाते में एक आंकड़े के रुप में
दर्ज़ पायेगी ।
मैं सकुन से हूं की
मैं देश के उस हिस्से में नहीं रहता
जहां ये खबरें जन्म लेती हैं।
मेरे लिये चाय के प्याले के मानिन्द
दस मिनट में यह खबर,
ठण्डी और बेमानी हो जाती है।
राजा जानता है इस हकीकत को
पहचानता है अपनी
नपुंसक व असंवेदनशील प्रजा को।
निश्चिन्त है कि उसका महल
“ज़ेड” श्रेणी की सुरक्षा सीमा में आता है।
अदने से मुझ को कभी कभी बेवकूफी
का दौरा चढ़ता है।
और मैं जोरों से कहता हूं
हे राजन् इन बम बनाने वाले
हाथों से पूछो
कि क्यों ये कविता लिखने वाले
हाथ बम बनाते हैं।
राजा अपनी “ज़ेड” श्रेणी की
जड़ संवेदनशीलता के घेरे से
बाहर आये
इनकी पहचान से रुबरु हो
इनसे पूछे कि
क्यों इन पर इस सर्पिलि सुरंग में
बम लगा कर
रोशनी ढुंढने का उन्माद छाया है।
आसमान मोल देने को राजधानी
के हाट में मत बुलाओ
यहां ही इनके गांव में सूरज उगाओ।
राजधानी के हाट में ठगे जाकर ही
तो इन्होंने इस सर्पिलि सुरंग का रास्ता चुना है।
पहचाने उनके त्रास को
समझो कि ये महज आंकड़े नहीं
मनुष्य हैं।