Advices

Try being ill

For a day

And you’ll find

Everyone’s a doctor.

Try making a mistake

Just once

And you’ll see

Everyone’s a teacher,

A preacher.

Damn it.

Advices.

Don’t we all

Love ‘em?

Love giving them,

I mean.

Taking advices?

Bullshit.

I am

My own boss.


– Vaishali

#Time

#Picture

98% Indian Voters Want To Do THIS To Politicians; There Is No Excuse For It And We Know That: READ

Truth be told, majority of our people once believed that politics was a ‘profession’ that had no conscience. The poor, misinformed people forgave the government every time for dashing their hopes, respecting the sentiments of the said conscienceless profession. But things are changing; views are changing.

When on July 10, the Supreme Court passed a judgment that any Member of Parliament or legislative assembly convicted of an offence punishable by more than two years in jail would be disqualified from his office with immediate effects, the people of India outspokenly supported the apex court’s ruling. A strong base of 98% Indian voters, in an Avaaz poll, back Supreme Court’s attempt to decriminalize politics. Also, based on the existing Representation of the People Act, 1961, a convicted person would not have the right to contest elections from the date of conviction to until six years after his release.

However, on September 24, the Union Cabinet approved an Ordinance to overturn the Supreme Court ruling. This executive act shows that the government has blocked its ear from the public voice – by choice. The national dialogue seems to be of no importance. They ask for statistics; they love majority; yet, show them the Avaaz polls results and they might reconsider their love for numbers. More than 115k people have signed the petition asking the government to disinfect the democracy. More than 13k people have written to the Vice President and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to send the bill to a Standing Committee for proper scrutiny and public opinion.

This unpopular ordinance will give the UPA nothing but more loss of credibility. Although, not every politician has shown comfort with the proposed ordinance, the Indian polity is very much a refuge for criminals, for whom protection from the law is the main reason for their interest in becoming a lawmaker. The BJPs half-hearted opposition of the improper move comes as nothing but oppositional politics seeing the number the criminals they breed in their own team. Rahul Gandhi’s comment, sure, is Congress’ tactic to take away the limelight away from BJP. The ordinance is to save their party members from the gnaws of justice. Of course, they can’t state this obvious reason in the public. Their very simple concern is outlined in the fact that the ruling might severely damage the candidate’s prospects in politics even if later proved to be innocent, considering the amount of time the whole legal procession generally takes. In that case, why not advocate fast-track courts?

Go for the analysis of the political records and one will find that almost 40% of the winning candidates from both BJP and Congress are those with “serious criminal charges”.  162 Lok Sabha MPs have cases pending against them. It’s a shame that an MP's crime case takes more years than the existence of the average Indian youth. How does one expect to kick criminals out of politics when the base line for candidates is so lenient and unconsidered?  The parliamentarians with criminal charges against them are fighting back to come into power. Their rotten-apple effect does not need any demonstration, people can judge for themselves.

It’s a general consensus that we need a political revolution. We all agree that politics needs to be decriminalised. It’s a slap on our face if the said parliamentarians with as serious charges as rape, murder, extortion, corruption etc come to claim our votes. We need practicality in our system, not mockery. The allegations and cases can be worked upon with practical effectuality if there are fast track courts dedicated to expediting criminal cases against elected representatives. The Indian politics needs a ‘conscience’; the ordinance has shown how much they are ready to have one; and, its unpopularity has shown how much we want them to have one. 

Also published on Youth ki Awaaz

Peshawar Bombing Shows That Pakistan Has Lost Its Tolerance Under The Influence Of Extremists It Breeds

Shirts soaked in blood - plumes of smoke touching the sky - burned bodies lying under wreckage - screams for help resounding ceaselessly - breaths of helplessness and despair in the wind. This is only a little description of what an exploded place looks like. What it actually feels like is indescribable. You look up to God, and you see smoke. You look around in despair, and you get more despair. Just what the survivors and the deceased feel every time after an attack. Just what they must have felt after the double suicide bomb attack in northwest Pakistan.

On Sunday, 22^nd September, around 500 worshippers attended the mass at the All Saints Church in Peshawar, an important town in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. After the service, the worshippers were about to receive a free meal of rice outside when an explosion hit the congregation followed by a more powerful one. A twin suicide attack that left the walls pockmarked of ball bearings that were used as shrapnel to maximize the damage. What remains of the historic and harmonic symbol of faith is a haunting mix of destructed walls and blood. More than 85 have been declared dead and more than 140 are injured, some in a critical condition in Lady Reading Hospital.

Bodies piled in the hospital while the Jundullah wing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) took responsibility of the attack, claiming it was act of retaliation for US drone strikes. The danger looms large at their vow to kill Non-Muslims till the US cancels its drone attacks. Imran Khan, the opposition politician whose party controls the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, stands strong on his solution to militancy with the magic word ‘negotiation’.

Although, an attack in Pakistan is, sadly, not uncommon – seeing that the Shias have been the target of brutal bombings in the past – but this has served as a major blow to the Christian community in the Muslim-dominated Pakistan. It raises questions on the government’s inadequacy of safety measures for the minorities. It is said to be an unusual assault on the Christians, considering they haven’t been targeted in the past, which makes this the deadliest ever attack against the countries’ Christians, who are a politically weak minority in the country and are subjected to mob violence and prejudices time and again.

The attacks have sparked nation-wide protests by Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. The angry crowd took to the streets condemning the government’s failure to protect the minorities and its steadfast approach to do soft talks with the fundamentalists. Peace talk with these perpetrators of extreme violence is a sure shot failure when they consider Pakistan’s constitution as un-Islamic. Their idea of religion is not humanity. Burning in the hot, relentless flames and taking several innocents in the same griddle of death does not need courage; it needs ignorance, and on so many different levels.

The country that was formed as a secular state, with Islam as its main religion, has lost its tolerance under the influence of the extremists it breeds. While we express shock and grief, some demons in the guise of humans laugh at the terror unleashed and the mission accomplished, in a parallel universe. Unhe faqr hai!

Also published in Youth ki Awaaz

#Jeans

We Need Something New, And Now : Here’s Why Giving The Aam Aadmi Party A Chance Is Worth It

If there is one thing I have learnt from reality, it is this – we all want happiness. And we’re lazy. We fall from our expected territories every time and we crib. We crib and become accustomed with it. Someone comes up and shows how we can change it. We mull over it, discard it, and crib again. Such is life! Happiness is not elusive; we deliberately make it so.

I was never interested in the political scenario because I knew things were a dirty mess and that nothing would ever change. Then came IAC and I could see the silver lining, the texture of hope – so endearing, I wanted more of its yield. But then Modi came into limelight. And, boy, did he drive the magnetism around himself! Knowing full well of his history, people wanted to trust him because he was their saviour; because he could end the Congress regime- like some daredevil force. Agreed. But what about his own personal interest in communalism? Gah, that can be ignored for once, they say. People are choosing the easier way. They want to overlook his deeds in the hope of the development his Gujarat portfolio shows. Most don’t know what it will be like but they are waiting for it anyway. So, what remains of the Aam Aadmi Party? What about Arvind Kejriwal’s challenge to Sheila Dikshit to overthrow her rule in Delhi? After all, she has been the Chief Minister since the past 15 years. It seems that the AAP won’t give up easily. After all, truth doesn’t go without a fight, or some such. But the present situation demands Mr. Kejriwal to understand that:

We are not ready for a political revolution. Sure, he is trying to fight against power and get justice for the masses. Sure, his party has not made caste and religion the premise to lure the voters. Sure, AAP has a sure shot background check with honesty on the top of the list for its candidates. Sure, his door-to-door campaigns in poor localities in the fervid Delhi afternoons are nothing short of applause. Sure, his answers guarantee that things will get done. Sure, his team members are loyal enough to discard all the popular options they are being given. Sure, his brilliance shows in the systematic and winnable plans that he breeds. But there is a mysterious blanket of tolerance that covers all of us. Bad things happen and we move on. It is our spirit, you see, to harbour grudge against criminals and with that in our hearts, we move on. We do not, therefore, require a political revolution.

India ka kuchh nahi ho sakta: Because we, as Indians, are not willing to learn from mistakes. We choose to hide behind the garb of excuses and hurl globs of imprecations when cheated. But we are fine this way and there’s nothing much he can do about it. If we like to shelf our trust in a communal individual and a corrupt official it’s obvious that we don’t deserve a messiah. Now, do we? We are okay writing blog posts full of sarcasm, and blind jokes on the scams, and cartoons of the hyenas in the Parliament. Let’s keep happy endings for the movies; reality dwells in disappointments.

Corruption is like a cigarette. Even when we know its use will one day make us hollow, we use it. Out in the open or hidden behind the crevices of some four walls. Those who don’t use it have accepted the ways of the world and think that their voice will make no difference. They let the world get polluted and live with it. Doesn’t AK know what a mess it would be to clean the air? Does he not know that people have sent themselves RIP letters already and are not interested in his help? Does it not occur to him that his idea of change is something we would never be able to digest? Does he still want to get involved? God save him!

We are an accusation-hungry society. Oh, how we love it! Someone robs us and we have a whole list of people and things to blame: politicians, police, criminals, God, neighbours, pets, the feeble cement in the walls, but we won’t address the main issue of why and what the actual reason was. The crux of the matter is always forgotten and accusations jump this way and that in the hollowness of the wind. Even when Mr. Kejriwal fearlessly exposes the array of corrupt ministers and parties, he gets the famous accusations thrown against him, “You point a finger at us, and you point four at yourself.” So much for logical consistency!

The concept of AAP is so idealistic, it brings tears to my eyes. How can anything be so noble and pure? That’s supposed to be in fairytale books, no? His party is all about truth, sincerity, and what not. But we aren’t conditioned for that. We have been told to live miserably and raise another incredibly miserable generation. So, even if he tempts us with a happy life, a happy society, and happy savings, we do not want to trust him because he promises us happiness. And happiness is elusive, remember?

Comparisons do not deter us. Although, AAP promises all that’s important to the satisfactory functioning of a government – Lokayukta, Jan Lokpal Bill, an independent CBI, strict laws, recommendations from the people, transparency and RTI; but it’s still a new party. Shouldn’t we go for the parties that have been ruling us in tried and tested ways? We’re not shying away from good governance, of course. We just don’t want to be a part of the delusional concepts that AAP is promoting.

We are a bunch of stubborn unhappy voters. We’ll curse them, make jokes on them, and abhor them till our last salient breaths but no, sir, we won’t vote against them. After all, ‘We give, you snatch,’ has become a culture and a game for the nation. And the nation is okay playing this sport. We would hate it if some day we filed a complaint and, without a fight, the police officers go probe into the matter. Not acceptable. We are accustomed to fighting against the police and preaching them about their duties. They can’t be so responsible all of a sudden to do their duties without being reminded of the same. If crime rates fall, what would we protest against? If electricity rates fall, what would we be grumpy about? If things are good, how would we ever complain?


As to my belief, without any sarcasm, I am ready for a political revolution, a clean government, and a happy society. I want change. I want people to recognize change. I want to be a part of this change. We have been given a chance; it’s up to us how we take it. The party, whose very birth took place with the intention of a corruption-free India, will serve us something towards our mutual goal. Of course, it’s too early to give AAP the reins of the central government. But, and this is a crucial but, we need to give them a chance. I hope they win a few constituencies in Delhi and prove themselves in the next five years. Good things come to those who wait, and there is no denying the fact that we have waited far too long for a fair government. It’s time to get off that “chalta hai” soapbox and actually do something.


Also published in Youth ki Awaaz