Independence From All Evils
India celebrated its 65 years on independence from British rule last week (that was August 15). The year 1947 is assuredly one of the momentous occasions in the glorious history of our nation. Known for her diversity and rich culture, India is one amongst the fastest developing nations in the world. Despite all the progress and advancement, there is a looming question that threatens the very freedom obtained painstakingly six decades back - What has this independence achieved?
Well, it's easier to write to about all of this. But practically speaking, the evils in the society that existed before continue to haunt us today, albeit in various forms. Women continue to be mistreated - cases of rapes and molestation are rampant, and other crimes like female infanticide and dowry still exist in this modern India. Moreover, diversity and multiculturalism comes at a cost and it becomes limpid in light of the recent ethnic clashes in Assam between the Bodos and the Muslim settlers and the following brouhaha at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. And the latest to join this list is the mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore and other south Indian cities fearing ethnically-targeted violence.
Random calls and text messages (now traced to be of Pakistani origin) have triggered panic resulting in them leaving their studies and jobs. This incident alone is sufficient to shame everyone of us. The city of Bangalore, considered as one of the new-age multicultural capital, has reported stray acts of violence and discrimination against the people from north-east. Their sense of insecurity is evident from the fact that people from the south still continue to suffer from xenophobia, giving them an 'outsider' tag despite their mingling with the society for education and work. What is needed immediately is the government's complete assurance of safety and the identification of such nefarious elements that purport to seek division amongst the people and what more, tolerance towards fellow citizens.
That brings me to the current political scenario in the nation. As precarious as ever, the incumbent Congress government is facing charges of corruption for a new scam dubbed 'Coalgate'. Reeling under several scams including the 2G spectrum scam, the UPA II is facing intense charges after India's Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) revealed that the allocation of coal blocks during 2004-09 has caused a massive loss of 1.84 lakh crore rupees to the exchequer.
Corruption has become all-pervasive and all possible moves to fight it out have ended up losing so far. Anna Hazare's demand for a strong Lokpal Bill is yet to see the light of the day and his own anti-corruption movement has taken a political twist. As citizens of the nation, have we become so inured to such things that these are no longer perceived as shocking? And for bureaucrats, they so far seem happy as long as their pockets are filled and seem to possess utter disregard for the country or its people. Will there be an end to their avarice? I wonder...
Moving to the world at large, tragic events of violence and bloodshed keep continuing to befall the people of Syria. The Arab Spring might have been for a good cause, but it's turning out to be a humanitarian disaster nonetheless. Peace seems to be an elusive dream for the middle-east, the crisis itself too complicated and intricate. The U.S.A. was witness to three separate shooting incidents in the last one month, the first being the deadly mass shootings in Colorado at The Dark Knight Rises movie première killing 12 people and leaving 59 people injured. The second incident, regarded as a hate crime, left six Sikh people dead and several others injured after a gunman, a former U.S. Army soldier, opened fire at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin. Close on the heels of these two came the third when a police officer and a civilian were killed near Texas A&M University. What America needs urgently is a set of proper gun-control laws to curb such mishaps.
India, and the world, are progressing no doubt. But crimes and acts of violence need to be actively brought down to ensure the development is not only economical, but also social and societal.
Well, it's easier to write to about all of this. But practically speaking, the evils in the society that existed before continue to haunt us today, albeit in various forms. Women continue to be mistreated - cases of rapes and molestation are rampant, and other crimes like female infanticide and dowry still exist in this modern India. Moreover, diversity and multiculturalism comes at a cost and it becomes limpid in light of the recent ethnic clashes in Assam between the Bodos and the Muslim settlers and the following brouhaha at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. And the latest to join this list is the mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore and other south Indian cities fearing ethnically-targeted violence.
Random calls and text messages (now traced to be of Pakistani origin) have triggered panic resulting in them leaving their studies and jobs. This incident alone is sufficient to shame everyone of us. The city of Bangalore, considered as one of the new-age multicultural capital, has reported stray acts of violence and discrimination against the people from north-east. Their sense of insecurity is evident from the fact that people from the south still continue to suffer from xenophobia, giving them an 'outsider' tag despite their mingling with the society for education and work. What is needed immediately is the government's complete assurance of safety and the identification of such nefarious elements that purport to seek division amongst the people and what more, tolerance towards fellow citizens.
That brings me to the current political scenario in the nation. As precarious as ever, the incumbent Congress government is facing charges of corruption for a new scam dubbed 'Coalgate'. Reeling under several scams including the 2G spectrum scam, the UPA II is facing intense charges after India's Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) revealed that the allocation of coal blocks during 2004-09 has caused a massive loss of 1.84 lakh crore rupees to the exchequer.
Corruption has become all-pervasive and all possible moves to fight it out have ended up losing so far. Anna Hazare's demand for a strong Lokpal Bill is yet to see the light of the day and his own anti-corruption movement has taken a political twist. As citizens of the nation, have we become so inured to such things that these are no longer perceived as shocking? And for bureaucrats, they so far seem happy as long as their pockets are filled and seem to possess utter disregard for the country or its people. Will there be an end to their avarice? I wonder...
Moving to the world at large, tragic events of violence and bloodshed keep continuing to befall the people of Syria. The Arab Spring might have been for a good cause, but it's turning out to be a humanitarian disaster nonetheless. Peace seems to be an elusive dream for the middle-east, the crisis itself too complicated and intricate. The U.S.A. was witness to three separate shooting incidents in the last one month, the first being the deadly mass shootings in Colorado at The Dark Knight Rises movie première killing 12 people and leaving 59 people injured. The second incident, regarded as a hate crime, left six Sikh people dead and several others injured after a gunman, a former U.S. Army soldier, opened fire at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin. Close on the heels of these two came the third when a police officer and a civilian were killed near Texas A&M University. What America needs urgently is a set of proper gun-control laws to curb such mishaps.
India, and the world, are progressing no doubt. But crimes and acts of violence need to be actively brought down to ensure the development is not only economical, but also social and societal.
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