Vision 2020 : Gone for a Six

Our ex-president Dr. Abdul Kalam had a vision for India. He termed it the Vision 2020. He envisages a politically powerful, agriculturally self-reliant India by the year 2020. It is not a dream but a vision. And that involves a functioning plan in place to attain that vision. The vision was shared way back in 2002 when he became our President. Today its 2009 and it becomes very essential for each one of us to try and introspect if we are even a contributor to this process. If yes , how? And has India changed from what it was in 2002 to what it is today? Most important of all, do our leaders even share that vision in the first place? Or has petty politics ensured that we live on a 5-year contract stumbling ahead somehow with no goals in sight. Completely directionless , rudderless under the so-called leadership of our spineless politicians.
One must have a look at the President of India's Republic and Independence Day speeches for the past few years. The speech writers have this amazing quality of portraying the Indian State as a model of democracy , development and pluralism. Don't they watch TV ? Aren't we a flawed democracy where history-sheeters are eligible to stand for elections? Don't we see extreme poverty and farmer suicides in the same states that boast of cosmopolitan cities? Have we really seen the last of those gory communal riots in this country? I know I am painting a very sombre picture of our young nation. I may even balance it out by sprinkling some positive happenings in the country. But will that overshadow the dangerous shortcomings in our society? The country is nowhere near being a superpower or a developed country by the year 2020, a fact that we should humbly accept. It will take the combined might of the Indian polity, the Indian people & the Indian diaspora in other countries to help redeem ourselves on the world stage. A glorious past won't help us secure a glorious future.
As for those immersed in watching 20-20 cricket , there's some news... Your country's Vision 2020 has just been hit for a six...

APNA SAPNA MONEY MONEY...

Hey guys... I'm back
This time with an interesting political subject that has been doing the rounds lately. Hmmm yes... 'Black money stashed in foreign accounts belonging to those filthy-rich , tax-evading Indians...'
It was Advani first who raised the issue of reclaiming and bringing back home this enormous wealth which will solve India's (read BJP's) financial problems. Then came those claims from the BJP think-tank and indpendent surveys that the amount they are talking about could be well over 50 lakh crores.... how much exactly?? I'm sorry I wont try guessing the no. of zeroes after 5 but i suppose there are quite a few and too hot to handle. We could see how every other political party has now started promising that they will bring back the money if they are brought to power. I mean, Money is a great leveller. Look at the thrill and enthusiasm this issue has generated for every Gandhi, Yadav, Paswan, Karat and very soon Mayawati(she's got more).
Jokes apart , what is even more surprising is the timing of this issue. Did it really require the good sense of one Mr.Advani to remind the whole nation of this open secret? What were the others doing all this while? Weren't we serious about claiming such gargantuan amounts earlier? Or is the Indian Government a major stakeholder of sorts in this bounty? ohh its confounding.

One thing is certain , 'puri daal kaali hain'. None can claim innocence in this rot. I'm equally sure this long-drawn debate will meet its natural death shortly after elections are over. This is a mere ploy to keep the intelligent voter on his toes and force him to think. Its like a wild goose chase. You really dont know what to do if you caught it. (that was borrowed and conveniently modified to sound original... hehe)

Even if this issue is kept alive or even better, investigated by the next governement , the businessmen, gangsters, politicos will be given enough time to relocate accounts and the newspapers will read "Not 50 lakh crores , but Rs. 99,999/- (Re.1 service charges) belonging to some Bangaru Laxman traced to hawala account...' And the curtains will fall.
Afterall , who would want to come clean on his/her clandestine activities when the entire system is encouraging them to carry on.
which brings me to another hindi saying , 'iss hamaam mein sab nange hain...' (cheaply translated as 'Everyone's naked in the bathroom')
lols ;)

adios

Ready for Change ??

There are many leaders who arrived on the world stage and mesmerized the common man, the business world and the intelligentsia with their leadership. We could take names of right thinking men and moderates like Winston Churchill , Ronald Reagan , Jawaharlal Nehru , Lal Bahadur Shastri , Mikhail Gorbachev and many more as well as the not-so-right thinking ones (understatement) like Adolf Hitler , Joseph Stalin , Benito Mussolini , Indira Gandhi , Richard Nixon etc.

A common thread that binds them all is that these leaders came to the fore in times of hardship, in times of imminent war or a demand for radical change. Whether it be the World War II era , the Cold War or Indo-Pak war , these men led their people to what they thought was right. However , we really weren't a witness to those times and all we know about them is either through books or the History Channel.
Now look at the following names and tell me if you really ever considered them 'leaders' in the first place :
George W Bush , L K Advani , Asif Ali Zardari , Vladimir Putin , Ahmadinejad etc.
Common thread 1 : our generation leaders
Common thread 2 : HOPELESS MEDIOCRES

However , they say 'Change is the only constant in life'. The US of A was lucky to discover and then elect this 'change' in Barack Obama. A story of an inspiring journey to the top with humble beginnings but lots of determination. A second-rate citizen, to be precise, for the America of the pre-Martin Luther King era assuming the top government office is nothing short of a social phenomenon. The Americans braced themselves up to embrace this change. They grabbed this opportunity with both hands and in one voice. The results are there to see for one and all. The man talks of peace and not war. He talks of sound economics and not mindless politics. He talks of nuclear disarmament and not nuclear warheads. He talks of an increasing role for the developing countries in the new world order and not of preserving the ineffective and stifled G-8 in the scheme of things. Not an armchair theoritician , Obama promises to act and fulfil his promises in his new role as the world's president.

Coming back home, we get to see a completely opposite scenario. Our elections see the emergence of more and more criminals, mass murderers, scamsters, frauds, swindlers occupying the treasury benches in Parliament. Have we really stopped caring?
Today, its upto us if we are willing to follow the example set by the people of America and elect leaders of the stature and promise of Obama in our own elections. It is only then will we be able to say that India, too, is READY FOR CHANGE...

IGNORANCE..

Subhashchandra Bose once said to his fellow Indians, "Tum mujhe khoon do, aur mein tumhe aazaadi doonga..."("You give me your blood and I'll give you freedom...") . These words came during the extremely difficult and do-or-die situations of our Freedom Struggle. That was a time when all of India came together and fought for its independence from the British Rule. It was the sheer grit and determination of the average Indian who came out in large numbers to achieve a common goal ; Independence.
Subhashji's words may seem out-of-context and gory- or even laughable - to the average Indian of today who doesn't even care to cast his vote during elections. He doesn't realize that he's lucky to belong to a country that holds democratic elections to parliament every 5 years unlike most of our neighbours where bullet prevails over the ballot. To feign ignorance in most aspects of nation building is the only despicable commonality I notice in our men today. To celebrate a mere 55-60% voter turnout is akin to celebrating apathy. For a country that boasts of 70% of its population belonging to people aged under 35, there is a lot left to achieve.
A humble start to purge ourselves off this ignorance is to ensure that we all vote and also catalyse our neighbourhood by encouraging all eligible voters to step forward and vote intelligently. As a popular ad running on TV keeps saying "This time, lets not vote FOR .. but VOTE AGAINST.... " - against our IGNORANCE.