A Democracy Gone Haywire

The chopping off of the hand of Prof Joseph by the Muslim fundamentalists in Kerala, the stoic inaction of the State Government, the meekness of the Christian community, the distancing itself of the other communities and the silence of the level headed within the Muslim community, reminds me of the 'Sturmabteilung' - the Storm troopers of the Nazi party and who played a key role in the rise of Adolf Hitler to power.

The signs are ominous. Unless swift, firm and deterrent action is not taken immediately, the image of the Government of India will suffer immeasurably. A grim future awaits us if we do not act now.

Let each Indian not bask in a false sense of security that what happened to Prof Joseph cannot befall him / her. The mass of the German intelligentsia too lived in a world of make belief till the Nazis came to power.

It was not a Muslim who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi; neither was Mrs. Indira Gandhi gunned down by a Muslim; nor did Nalani and group, who were responsible for the death of Rajiv Gandhi, Muslims.

To generalize a community because of a few fundamentalists within them is inappropriate.

But at the same time, the law of the land should be the same for all. Subsidizing Haj travel, over-riding a judgment of the Supreme Court through an ordinance etc sends wrong signals to all, particularly the fundamentalists within a community and the responsibility for it lies at the door of every vote seeking political party, be it in power or out of power.

The BJP cried itself hoarse when not it power, about how public money was being squandered for the Kashmiris, raising questions why Non Kashmiris were not allowed to buy property in Kashmir etc. But when they came to power all talk was simply 'Sound and Fury, signifying nothing’

I totally agree that Indian MP's and MLA’s are the lowest paid.

The old adage ' If you pay peanuts, you only get monkey's' is so true.

Watching the proceedings in Parliament from time to time and the Karnataka assembly recently, one could not ignore that what was televised for the world to see is –

'Monkeys, monkeys all around,
Jumping here and there,
Shouting, screaming, scampering,
To the Speaker's Chair...!

Why don't we rename the MLA’s as Members of Legislative Zoos (MLZ?)

14-Oct-2010

More by : Ravinder Malhotra

Top | Opinion

Views: 3496 Comments: 2

EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE.

The people who comprise the Naxalites and the many others who have had little or no education, are always in awe and fear of those who have both Power & Education and only the poor and uneducated can understand what it's like to suffer. Educational Theory and Good Practice go hand in hand, then ony will fear disappear as lack of both these components will allow corruption to breed and prosper.

Additional money will not change anything, Education for Everyone will help eradicate the monopoly of the corrupt, therefore provide good governance and the basis for advancing above a Third World Country Status.

Chris Todd
15-Oct-2010 23:59 PM

Someone has to stand up for what is right. Unless we start punishing the guilty and hold people accountable for their deeds there is no hope. It was a shame to see Kalmadi smiling on the TV during the CWG, he is a man who needs to be hanged, but who has the balls? The country is crying hoarse over the Naxalite problem, have you ever met the people who comprise the naxalites, they are very simple, very poor, sweet villagers but the like of Madhu Koda have stolen their rights. All our problems are rising out of poor governance and the likes of you and me not willing to dirty our hands in the filth which we call administration.

Ravindra Dixit
15-Oct-2010 01:15 AM

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