Special people, special treatment

Very Common instance. You are out of your home and want to reach office in time. Usual rush and traffic. And you get to know roads are closed! Reason: President is visiting Pune city. For some obscure function. So? 

So there are protocol and usual safety measures. And the common people and their travails and inconvenience - taken for granted - simple. It is your need to commute to the workplace. You have to literally find the way out to your destination. 

The President of India if and when, wants or has to go to any place for work, inauguration, meetings or just like that, is accompanied by 75 vehicles.  

The President of India uses a Mercedes Benz 500 SEL (W126) and with the national emblem on the license plate, while the Prime Minister uses a B5-level 2007 armored BMW 7 Series. Both are escorted by the SPG in Tata Safari and Mahindra jeeps.There are doctors comprising the medical team for unforeseen emergencies.For the CMs, Cabinet Ministers and others the convoy is still big with some variations in the number of vehicles and Medical teams.

I feel people have forgotten. The Bombay High Court in Feb. 2011 had questioned as to why VIPs, right from President to the Ministers of State and Mayors, use roads during rush hour causing undue hardship and inconvenience to the general public. 

And President's office had specified that after the court remarks several measures will be taken to avoid embarrassment as much as possible. Henceforth President’s convoy size would be scaled down by replacing few cars with mini-buses. 

However main reason remains to be the threat perception to the lives of VIPs. The High Court also had observed that there are SPG and commando for protection. 

More relevant point is The High Court commented that the Traffic Department can arrange all the flow of traffic and roads in such a way that there is less hardship for the general public.

It is different matter that there is no significant change. Disgusting fact of the matter is that we live in a country where there are few VIPs and VVIPs who gloat about their security. It is sort of status symbol for them that they are different than common people and they would show off.  

Bye the way, the budgetary allocation in 2011 for the elite (SPG) Special Protect Group, which guards the Prime Minister and certain other VIPs, is Rs 279 crore.  And the budgetary allocations at the state levels are on the same lines. Certainly there is some expenditure on vehicles, fuel and their maintenance.

It is not that these should be changed drastically. However there has to be a judicious balance.

Successful first step, long way to go

Last few days were exceptionally different. Very rarely have something unique happened in India with huge support from people. I think this would qualify as an unprecedented event, when there would be a committee of elected politicians and people from civil society drafting a crucial law. The Lokapal Bill gives a much needed push to the fight against corruption.

Small section of India, Lutyens' Delhi and some people in south Mumbai for example, are very cynical and envious. They just cannot fathom how a man without any articulation and high English accent or any flashy upmarket lifestyle could go ahead and catch imagination of almost whole nation, which is deprived of and looking for any true leader. 

Fact of the matter is that a 73-yr-old ex-army Gandhian, Anna Hajare, has got extraordinary support from all the Indians, irrespective of cast, language, region, state, religion.    

The united nation got someone to follow on a very precious topic – fight against corruption. Not to forget the media, especially the electronic one, rallied and gave coverage of all the details of the fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar.

Although Anna Hajare had been working on various issues in Maharashtra for last 22 years, it is now in New Delhi that he has a projected image on the national level.  Some even compared him to the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and JP. Fortunately he is very clear in his head, he is not the ultimate savior of people. He is just another activist resorting to non-violent measure to protest.

Some tried to thwart this joint exercise of people at large and Anna Hajare, saying the institutions, the executive, and the judiciary is in grave danger. Actually even the Central Government ignored and under-estimated the fast. They tried to play it down, until realisation came in form of astonishing outpouring of public support.     

Lokpal bills were introduced in Parliament in1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, and in 2008, yet they were never passed. It is such a case, almost every MLA, MP, or Minister will detest, simply because honest representative of people is an extremely rare species! 

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft of anti-corruption bill that would pave the way for a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, CVC, and CAG which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.  

All said and done, this is certainly no time to be complacent and to gloat.   

I feel this is just the beginning,a first step of a long, long journey. And lest we forget, unity of people is indispensable.  

Khel khel mein!

There are three things indispensable in Indian society, per se. Cricket, Politics and Cinema. People just can’t resist talking about these and having their own 'expert' opinions. 

Out of these, Cricket in India is special, it is not just any other type of sport; it is indeed a religion. That we Indians love and worship our cricket players is an understatement! And when you win world cup, it is extraordinary moment.

What does this win really signify? It is not just a euphoric moment worth the celebrations. It also brings about the fact that we have someone, a group of people, who are world champions. The real icons are very few and far between. Simply because we have more number of Kalmadis, Rajas and other dishonest and shameless public figures and icons than Sachin, Anna Hajare, APJ Abdul Kalam, Saina Nehwal and Dhoni. 

Last few months witnessed a decrease in collective self confidence of people. There was deficit of trust, a sort of self doubt was evident.

You need someone to look up to, someone as an idol and larger-than-life entity. And people almost literally worship sports icons and film-stars such as Rajanikant and Bachchan Sr.   

In an environment filled with negativity, lack of transparency, corruption, day-to-day issues like inflation, pollution and not to forget/ forgive the scams, it is rare sight to see entire nation erupting in genuine joy. Last time we lifted the world cup was in a distant 1983, 28 years ago! It was made such a prestige issue, as if we did not win, Sachin would forever be termed as lesser player. 

The people were joined by Hindi film-stars in what could certainly be called as the extended festivities. The revelry continues.     

    

Girls are source of happy life!

Numbers don’t lie. They have their own stories to tell. And it is fascinating to listen.

For example, now you have 1.5 Indians in every group of six people in this world. Consider this - India's population at 1210193422 is equal to total number of people from USA, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia!

It is widely believed that God took more time to create girls and boys were the job done in hurry! Girls are more intelligent and powerful than boys. Eventually, they give birth to new life.

However if you go into the details of 2011 census data, the warning signs emerge. Now we have the lowest number of girls per 1000 boys since independence. In 2001 census we had 927 girls per 1000 boys. It is reduced to 914 in 2011. When we had very low literacy rate in 1961 the girls were 976/1000 boys. Ironically now that we have 74% literacy rate, people 'opt for' and 'want' boys only. Instances of aborting a girl child are far too many to ignore or not act against.

As far as Maharashtra is concerned, the picture is not at all rosy. We have 883 girls per 1000 boys. Punjab has 886. And this when these states are progressive, developed and have one of the highest per capita incomes.

Kerala has a healthy figure of 959/1000 boys. Traditionally seen as backward states, Chhatisgarh, Mizoram, and Meghalaya are better off with 964, 971, and 970 respectively!      

There are dangerous social ramifications if the balance of male and female is tampered. Every effort is to be made to maintain the equilibrium. Equal treatment to girls and strict implementation of punishment upon checking sex of the child before birth are some of the corrective measures.