Tuesday, April 14

Indelible Ink…for the future!

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My last blog update was quite back, agreed! But the point is, one needs encouragement to write. A person who writes, doesn’t necessarily wants money for it; he needs feedback, good or bad. That keeps him going…. And as well, also updated that people do read what he writes, why else would anyone post blogs…

Moving on, 15th Lok Sabha elections are going to take place. 1st phase polling will be two days later, and I believe, we must all go and participate, in this carnival of democracy, for a better India, a better world, and of course, a better neighbourhood, and a better livelihood. Go ahead, and get put those indelible ink on your nails, and support the one you think, will make the maximum impact. Most of Us, don’t see any point behind it. But I do…! Though, I get a stupid feeling that, we have to choose between the least rotten lot. But, in the present scenario and prevalent condition, we have to make the choice. One doesn’t have any other choice. Indifference won’t help. So, go ahead and make a wise choice!!!

However, in the long run, something drastic, something on a macro scale needs to be done. Because the society we are living in is far from equitable. The pace of growth is haphazard, and is inviting acrimony between different zones. At one hand, we have Delhi, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai which can compete with the top cities of the world. At the same hand, we have Patna, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar where you get to see, even the bare minimum things lacking. You get to see, serious lack of enthusiasm, and ability to give concrete shape to plans. On one hand, we have cities like Delhi where BMW, Merc too many to get noticed, a large cascade of money floating around, where buying a 3BHK for Rs. 1cr, is not considered too expensive(by average standard). On the contrary, we have cities like Patna, where there is no Drainage, no proper Urban Planning, not much economic activity, no aesthetic(yeah, it has an own life, albeit a vibrant one, even without all this), and most importantly, no political or bureaucratic willingness to move ahead and change things. Lethargy has crept in decades back, and onus lies on GOVT ON INDIA, not making supra-regional economic headquarters, and then regional economic zones. Had we done that, since Independence, made some, say 8 supra eco zones, and then further 18-24 regional eco-zones, there would have been proper growth and development. It would have had curbed, many current headaches of government, migration, livelihood, sustenance of agrarian society. But the govt has maintained an eccentric behaviour.

Even after knowing the perennial problems, we are not doing anything to get hold of it, by its neck. It really irks me. To the core. Regular flood in Bihar, Drought in Orissa and Maharashtra, are we that inept, to sit back and watch. And still, it fails to stir the ‘mighty souls’. Why can’t we talk to Nepal, and get a permanent solution for KOSI sorrow, which not only takes away it hundreds of billion rupees in cash and kind, displaces millions, invoke migration(humiliation is a free-package along with it)of lakhs, kills thousands, and takes away with it not only the fertility of the soil, but also many dreams, myriad ambitions, and gives many wounds. Ditto about the drought, when we know it has to come, why can’t the ISRO, Agriculture Deptt., and other scientific bodies of India work on it to find some solution. A permanent one.

Just similar to the way, I was talking about economic zones, supra and regional, in a very similar vein, we need to have education infrastructure, institutions of repute, at different places. Not concentrated in one corner. Actions have been done, but they are too few, too little, and too late. Emphasis needs to be put on setting up research centres, not mere, commercialized shops of education. Lots of funds need to be diverted to research, if we want India to lead the way.

One Unique Identification of every citizen is the need of the hour, which acts as multi-purpose vehicle for accessibility to different requirements. We shall be able to track, how much and how soon is the benefit reaching across to our countrymen. And it will, also help us in fixing accountability for corruption, and benefits not reaching across to the targeted citizenry. Moreover, It will also help in keeping crime under control.

Water and Land is a precious commodity, Government has to guide its action to this branch as well, before it gets too late. Land is not being properly utilized. And we keep on cutting new grasslands for land requirements. It would be a herculean task, but an important one, that we start concentrating spread out villages to one point, so that the rest land could be used for farming, and facilities could be easily made available to the farmer and the rest. Same could be done about small towns, which wouldn’t be easy. But political acumen is the need. Staving off bureaucratic lethargy, a necessity! Water preservation has to be done on a large scale. In the same vein, I would carry forward issue of Environmental degradation, which has to be prevented any further, on any cost. Not much action is there on the forefront.

But frankly speaking, we as Indian, as common citizen, just are well versed with passing the blame. Do we really care enough, for Bharat? I see no civic sense prevailing in people, everyone expects Govt to do everything. Its high time, we realize Government is not an omnipresent Genie, its US. We change, Government Changes. If we really want this century to be of India, lets make individual resolve first, of doing small things for our motherland to begin with; lest it gets too late!!

Till the moment, we come across a revolution, which shakes up everything, and make a new start, lets go and vote! And choose, the candidate, who makes a difference……Or, if you feel really, this strong for the country so as not to vote in protest, go ahead fight elections in protest…..with your agenda!!! A muscleman, or politician can force people to vote for them, but remember we have secret ballot system. All you need to do is convince people, of your agenda, of a change, long due!!!

Start fantasizing about the indelible ink on your nails…… Jai Hind!

भारतवासीयो, भारत को चुनो, अपना मत दो...एक नए भारत के लिए! जय हिंद!

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I humbly urge of you, to participate and give your views, how can we make the country better. There are lot of Ideas floating around in feedback! So, come lets get our head together! Its high time!


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

ohhh!!! Atlast you have updated your blog,
for which i have been waiting for long!!! [oh its rhyming..hehe...]
Anyways..
Thank god..no..no..thank you because after going through many lame blogs in the past sometime I have now come across a blog which do have some sense and is on an earnest topic, in which one not only blames the system and discusses it's shortcomings but also encourages everyone to take active part in changing it..Inactive participation of the common people in polling clearly indicates their evasive nature..
Everyone should go and vote and try to choose "the least rotten"...
and yes I agree that a writter is always in search of genuine and true feedbacks but still you should not stop writting...
so PLEASE keep going!!!
JAI HIND!!!!

Unknown said...

@preeti

Thanx for the feedback. I feel, there has been incoherency in this write-up. Actually, I got slightly distracted by few things going on in home. And I need solitude, for blurting it out in an organised manner.

And yeah, apart from the least rotten ones, there are also good candidates in fray, yeah, there are far and few, but there are! One should go to exercise voting, else your one absent vote might help the wrong candidate.

We are a part of system, I was blaming ourselves, not just politician, but also bureaucrat and common people. Onus of failure lies on one and all.

And yeah,, I need to know that people are reading, then only I can go forth. If I know,that people aren't reading, why would I write.

Waiting for Prashant, Mahima and others to comment with their invaluable ideas.

I plan to start a party in future......willing candidates, come pester me.... :-P

Prashant said...

Aaah... पोल के बारे में मत सुनाओ भई, मुझे अत्यंत खेद है कि घर पर रह कर भी इस बार अपना वोट नहीं डाल रहा हूं! कोई मुझे मेरा वोटर कार्ड दिला दे, भगवान उसे लाखों देगा। :( और इस सब के बाद तुम्हारा ये फटकार से भरा ब्लॉग पोस्ट! उफ़!

Unknown said...

hey PV, I know you wanted to, but you can't!!!
So, no Issues. It was my personal opinion, and is not binding on rest as well.

However, Don't you think, 'The' Delhi(India) and say, 'The' Chhapra, Bihar(India) are not only separated by a thousand kilometers but also by a hundred years, in almost every other terms, barring just a little few.
Equitable development has to be there....Its the need of the hour.

I urge readers to come and participate in a discussion to make the real Bharat, better in every aspect!

Anonymous said...

"Equitable development has to be there....Its the need of the hour."
i do agree..but i think that it can be possible only when the natives get engaged in the process..means...the people of that peculiar place should stick to that place and work over there and not just got attracted to the metropolitan cities in want of better living standard's..experienced and educated citizens can change the condition of a place..and please don't think that i am against the movement of people from not so developed area's to the developed one's..

Unknown said...

@ preeti

Problem is, migration is not a leisure activity, its a necessity! Will give you one instance:

You might have had heard about the floods in Bihar. When it came, it flooded away millions of homes, their entire crop, killed many bread-winner of family. So, in that condition, you have lost the home, your produce have vanished, your entire saving(that too, meager) gone, family members dead...soil rendered uncultivable, what would one do??? The people who only know farming what can they do????

Similar with the tribals of Andhra, and Madhya Pradesh, you cut away their forest, you take away their everything....what can they do??

And even apart, in normal situation, places which has no infrastructure, no job, nothing at all, like hamlets in West Bengal, and most importantly, not a "power soul" has stirred in decades, you have just the option of waiting for eternity, or moving on....

Civilizations have prevailed, Cosmopolitanism/Globalisation came in search of livelihood. Its natural, if you don't have a college in your area, you would move on to the next nearest.

And Since, the equitation is not there, there is so much unrest, so much vitriol!! Go to WB, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, North-East....and you might seethe with anger and frustration. You won't believe, my dad in NE sends me a letter through post, and it reaches me in 20-24days!! You want to surf internet, in Mon(Nagaland), a district headquarter, and you get to know that only cafe has no internet connection by BSNL. I try my father's two different cellular, of different operators, and I just pray that 'the customer you have dialled is not reachable'.

You go to a hamlet in Bihar, and for covering six kms, you take 3-4hours, and when you reach, you know there is no electricity, and no drinking water....

Unknown said...

But, you have a valid point. But that is an ideal state.......and that Ideal state, as you know, is ideal, and unachievable!

Kaushik Saurabh said...

hi :)
sare politicians pe pehle to Age Limit laga dena chahiye, And if UPSC qualification ka compulsion ho to that will be even better, haha.

Unknown said...

@ Roide

I differ with you on this. In democracy, everyone must be given a chance. Literate, or Illiterate! Literacy is important, but shouldn't act as a bar for rest. Villagers who might not have got chance to study.

Age limit, yes.....

Proper individual representation, differentiated representation, special group representation...as WILL KYMLICKA professed, is also very apt, for a multicultural, multi ethnic country like India

Kaushik Saurabh said...

Do you really believe that somebody who is illiterate can represent our country internationally??
Locally it sounds fine,like in a village, but globally i doubt it.
According to me, My leader should have this passion for Developement for my country, And if he is from village, he should take the Test not as a Qualification but as a challenge to Prove Himself.
what say?

Rajeev R said...

Well, what you saying is not wrong! Its absolutely, required for a person to be well-read to represent us. Agreed!
But there might be few exceptions,where a person has been deprived of education...or many other factors. Few villagers are quite intelligent, albeit without education. All I mean to say, is for 1% of people, we should not have these bars.
And moreover, nowadays, literacy is coming in. Even in current LokSabha, there might be just a meagre percentage, who are illiterate.

Anonymous said...

First of all, congratulations on managing such a lengthy (for a second it seemed never ending…) & good piece...amidst your exams and all the chaos (about which you were telling preeti :-p).
You have made valid and desirable points in your write-up…
There is a glaring difference in growth between the various states of India. And it is because of multiple causes--
First is concentration of industries in some states and their constant growth in those areas. The question which arises is why did only some states witness development and why do they continue to grow where other states are still struggling? After independence, in the initial stages development was the foremost need. At that time all those states whose leaders were dedicated, ignited and took efforts, got support from the people as well as the central government and developed the basic infrastructure that is the root level requirement for any kind of development. Now even if their leaders adopt a lethargic attitude, their growth will continue because their root level infrastructure and policies are sound and in place. More and more organizations, commercial as well as educational, are attracted to these states only as it is easy to establish in a place which already has everything than to make an initiation in a new place. So for the development of other states, what is required is an initiation and combined efforts of all elected representatives not just a scattered few. And this can only be done by leaders, not by those who become leaders to serve their power needs.
Good leadership is undoubtedly necessary ‘for a better India, a better world, and of course, a better neighbourhood, and a better livelihood’. And the only way to pave the way for good leadership of our country is by casting sensible votes. So I am all for it…although, personally I do not see much hope in any of the present leaders. Agreed, few are dynamic mature and responsible, with a sense of karma but these lone efforts are not going to bring substantial improvement in such diverse a country and such big a democracy. My vote is going to be only with one hope that the candidate elected does not let the state of things get worse. Because to bring about any change on a macro scale, we definitely need a revolution…where Indians unite for their betterment. But this unison is far sought because as diverse is our nation, 10 times diverse are the vested interests its people and 1000 times diverse, the vested interests of its Netas.
What is it that our netas do best? Blame game, scams, poking their noses and making mountains out of mole hills rest of the time and every time an election comes up, self-praise. What I don’t understand is this that does their conscience never prick them or is it that they don’t have one at all? Do they get a good night’s sleep after indulging in dirty politics all the time when they could have channelized their energies to do things they were elected to do? I guess power and money game suppresses all little revolts of consciousness that may raise its tiny head inside them.
I know raj, you would be itching to say ‘if you feel really, this strong, go ahead fight elections in protest…..with your agenda!!! A muscle man, or politician can force people to vote for them, but remember we have secret ballot system. All you need to do is convince people, of your agenda, of a change, long due!!!’ Definitely a person who does this and shoulders his responsibilities with values, dignity is 100 times more certified in saying all this about our netas than I am. But when you say this you forget all the practical difficulties which those few face who actually take such a step.
Is it actually possible to do anything when 90 out of 100 are corrupt and all decisions are taken by majority? Is it actually possible to even get elected when popular votes are swayed by money and muscle? Yes, it is all about convincing. Yes, people indulge in sensible voting. But both sense and conviction are very objective in nature. What do you think is more convincing and sensible for 25% of the population living below poverty line – mere words of hope or just some money which would buy them their next meal? Who do you think is more convincing for 3/4ths of India’s rural population where basic amenities of electricity, education, sanitation, etc. are lacking- a single candidate who looks like just another person and promises development or a person from a big political party who comes in a cavalcade, distributes gifts, puts up hoardings with his face on it and makes those same promises?
One question that I would really like to put across to all those who have power in their hands… we blame the British for creating differences in our country, for dividing the people of India into castes and communities… but what you guys are doing, is it any different from their divine-n-rule policy??? Every single political party raises Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Dalits, in their agenda. Why can’t the people be addressed as just Indians instead of Hindus, Muslims and Christians? Why can’t promises be made to Indians instead of every caste and community and religion? Is the need for power so important that you are neglecting the future of India, the future of your own generations to come and pitting it against the uncertainties of communal divides? You are not immortal… no body is… Yes you are in power so right now you do not feel the how suffocated and tensed from inside our nation has become. But are you sure your children would be have the same powers… and even if they have… the league off the people in power would still be free from the suffocations caused by the divide of India at innumerable levels? If not, why do you want to leave a suffocating future for your children?
I guess I have ranted enough. But after saying so much, I still believe exercising your vote and without prejudice is a must for all above 18. To keep a hope alive that maybe that 1 SIGNIFICANT vote of yours brings such a person in power, who rises above petty personal issues, convinces the rest of the majority of elected candidates and like a true leader leads India to the road of Development.
One or a few scattered good leaders cannot bring about a change in the largest democracy of the world? It needs a combined effort of all its leaders. And also the people, who have to realize their responsibilities, follow rules, know their rights and make demands for improvement.
And voting is one such right…
Heard it on 98.3 fm… DOT HAI TO HOT HAI… lets get hot (hoooo!!!) everyone…

Anonymous said...

the above comment is never ending........infact longer than the blog itself...
i couldn't read it ...its very difficult...
can anyone summarise it for me???
anyways..who is this anonymous???...
you really deserve a big round of applause.. for typing such a long comment...i guess you got a typist!!!!

Anonymous said...

sorry raj...there are a few typo mistakes here n there...
@preeti... this proves that sadly, i did not hire any typist.i guess i should have.

Anonymous said...

please don't hire a typist..abhi itna bada feedback hai..to phir to........OMG..

Rajeev R said...

@mahima...

Well, every system has its flaws, and will always remain. Albeit, we want it to be miniscule.
That doesnt mean...we should leave it...abandon the system...there is no other way out....than struggle to remove the barrier...

If we leave it, unheed, cancerous tissue of corruption and lethargy would eat up everything, just like in Pakistan/ Zimbabwe....see and imagine the same happening over here.....One wouldnt want anything as such happening over here,ain't it?

Btw, your thoughts were well worded and presented....

@preeti- In short, she means to say is, she is not happy with corruption, lethargy in the state, which has over-enveloped everything else...and she wants that instead of a vote, a revolution is necessary to weed out all the malice in one go.

mahima said...

well...i did not really mean what you have said raj! all i meant was to expect anything out of our political leaders is absolutely useless as they have not risen above themselves. and even if 1 or a few of them have, it doesn't really make much difference as this is a democracy where majority rules.
voting is definitely necessary but more than that, the need of the hour is to regulate our politicians and our political parties.