CITIZEN MARCHES

Another day dawns,another citizen's march beckons,only this time around jurists and citizens combined are marching in forty cities to raise their voices against the rampant corruption that seems to be well entrenched amongst our babudom, netadom,mafiadom and every other real and imagined dom in whichever shape,size and form it exists.
Candle light vigils and marches holding up placards and banners seem to have become the in thing ever since Rang De Basanti hit the screens way back in 2006. These vigils,marches begun with the activities involved in ensuring that the killers of Jessica Lall are duly sentenced and get the punishment that they deserved,then came the activities attached with the Priyardshini Mattoo,Ruchika Girhotra and last but not the least the inaction on part of the infamous Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the now eyeball grabbing Aarushi Talwar case.
The crowning glory of them all were the marches organised by various citizens rights groups and Non Governmental Organisations (NGO's) to raise their voices in protest against the apathy displayed towards the victims of the dastardly terrorist attack on 26/11 and to ensure that the perpetrators were bought to justice and were duly punished under the relevant/applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code for their heinous crimes.
But,what boggles the mind is whether these vigils,marches and other forms of protest really have the desired long term effects and force the auhtorities that be to do a rethink and formulate user friendly policies/laws/strategies/theorems and so and so forth.Lets' critically examine the difference these measures have made/had on the government/relevant authorities.
Vikas Yadav and his co-conspirators,cohorts in crime find themselves theroretically incarcerated within the four walls of the capital's Tihar Jail for life but have already stepped out of the jail premises more than sixty times on one flimsy pretext or the other as a Right to Information query succintly and rather cruelly revealed.The murderers in Aarushi Talwar's case are yet to be identified by the CBI sleuths even after two and a half years of so called intensive investigation,lie detector and brain mapping tests and all the other bunkum and hocus pocus.
S.P.S.Rathore is out on bail and cocking a snook at the law and the citizens who raised their concerted voices against his sins of omission and commission thanks to his being hand in glove with the very authorities who are vested with the powers of investigating his crimes and building up a fool proof case that ensures that he gets the due sentence he so richly deserves.Ajmal Aamir kasab is busy enjoying an extended lease of life in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, wolfing down biryanis and kababs as if there was no tomorrow, occasionally making highly illogical and absurd claims pertaining to his innocence and his not being involved in the tragic events that unfolded on 26/11 that send the entire law and order machinery into a tizzy and sending out the wrong signals about the inherent weaknesses/loopholes/maladies and contradictions that continue to plague our criminal justice system.
Yours truly is of the informed opinion that the afore mentioned measures though both highly desirable and welcome pale in significance to the right to recall that should be enshrined within our constitution,let's all join hands and force our lawmakers into incorporating the right to recall our elected representatives in the face of non-performance,being tainted by the tinge of corruption or wrongdoing, indulging in any corrupt,immoral or dubious act that serves to undermine their stature as the people's elected representative, or any other sins of omission or commission covered under the various sections of the law.
Let's immediately begin a citizen's movement demanding the right to recall,clamour for an additional choice to be included in ballot papers thast gives us the right to abstention in the face of political parties failing to nominate candidates with squeaky clean backgrounds, begin casting our votes with alacrity and due diligence at any and every given opportunity,begin signing and framing petitions with crores of signatures that would go a long way in guaranteeing us the rights denied to us for the last 65 years. Let's amalgamise these measures with the stereotypical marches and vigils and then see whats stops us from ushering in an India where anybody and everybody would be accountable and answerable for any and every act.
VANDE MATRAM.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.     

WORLD CUP TEAM

The five wise men, name ly the Indian selectors have done their bit by picking a team that they firmly believe will be more than able to bring back the World Cup to our shores after a rather long interim period of 28 years.Is the selectors new found confidence in the fifteen selected by them in their infinite wisdom sheer bravado or total balderash, let's pick holes in the arguments tendered by them and find out for ourselves.
Eleven out of the fifteen cricketers selected by the men in the hot seat would walk into any team or rather be automatic selections in any Indian One Day International squad, it is only the four diputed or unwise selections of Suresh Raina,Praveen Kumar,Ravichandran Ashwin and Piyush Chawla that raise the hackles of yours truly and coerce him into questioning the cricketing wisdom of the so called five wise men.
Messrs Srikkanth and Company have so far been basking in reflected glory thanks largely to the inspired leadership of Mahendar Singh Dhoni,indubitable and rather impressive man management skills of Messrs Gary Kirsten and company and last but not the least the irrepresible team spirit and self belief displayed by the Indian team over the last three odd years. A period where we assumed the mantle of the best test team in the world and the number two ODI team in the world.
The nagging feeling that somehting seems lacking in this mix of fifteen players selected to represent our motherland in the World Cup 2011 in our own backyard yet constinues to persist and seems to be gnawing away at yours truly innards akin to a rather virulent form of cancer.The contestable selections of R.Ashwin and Piyush Chawla seem to have been made to please their regional satraps rather than really reinforcing the bench strength of the present team as one fails to understand the cricketing rationale behind these two selections as the Indian team management has always favoured a three seamer and one spinner formual and these two afore mentioned gentlemen seem to lack the wherewithal to step into Bhajji's shoes unless in the case of a debilitating injury or prolonged illness.
If picking a second spinner in the spin friendly conditions prevailing in our backyards was an absolute necessity, then pray why did the selectors overlook the claims of an Amit Mishra who has wonderfully acquitted himself in the limited opportunities accorded to him in the longest version of the game.Apart from being the best leg spinner on view by far,Mishra is safe fielder and a more than useful lower order batsman who would have ably complimented the off breaks and doosras of Harbhajan Singh.
Praveen Kumar seems a luxury in these rather seamer unfriendly conditions.Praveen's forte is swing rather than seam bowling and the fact that he struggles to exceed the 130 kmph mark regularly at his best reduce him to nothing more than cannon fodder for the marauding batsmen of the opposing teams who must be licking their lips in anticipation at the very thought of mauling abowler who struggles to swing the ball at speeds not exceeding 127-28 kmph in fast bowler unfriendly conditions.
One fails to understand why the selectors choose to overlook the claims made by Shantakumaran Sreesanth, he was the best bowler on view by far during the New Zealand and South African series succeded in pciking up a handful of wickets at the time when the team most needed them,was constantly at the throats of the opposing batsmen and proved to be more than a handful for them on most occasions,more than proved his value on the field with some breathtaking stops and acrobatic catches and last but not the least consitently swung the ball at pace exceeding 135 kmph per hour more often than not,what more does poor Sreesanth have to do to en-sure his longevity within the Indian ranks.
The now more or less automatic selection of Suresh Raina in very form of the game continues to baffle both conventional as well as cricketing logic, here is a man who has struggled for form in all forms of the game after his sterling exploits In Sri Lanka six-seven months back.His struggles against short pitched bowling are well documented in the minds of the opposition bowlers and captains and one can be sure that he will receive more than his fair share of "parfum"balls whenever he comes out to bat,his technique and temperament are highly suspect and his rather innocuous off spinners would put many a club cricketer to shame.The mind boggles as to why the indomitable Manish Pande who has strode like a colossus on the domestic cricketing stage for the last two seasons and shone like a beacon in the Indian Premier League seasons two and three in the thankless role of an opener was not considered in Raina's place. It is clearly evident that Raina has the backing of a few sugar daddies both within the selection committee as well as the team management.
The most absurd of them all was the selection of Piyush Chawla here is a man who has been languishing in the cricketing wilderness for the last two seasons,not exactly set the stage aflame with his sterling deeds in domestic cricket or the IPL and is still selected overlooking the claims of a Parthiv Patel who performed creditably in the rather unfamiliar role of an opener in the two opportunities that were provided to him against the black caps and all this when Dhoni's acute back and finger related problems are the subject of many a national debate centering around the glorious game of cricket, starnge are the ways of our selection committee.
ell, our Five Wise Men? have made their choices logical or not and it is our sacred duty as Indians to unconditionally back and support the team through it's two month long campaign to regain the World Cup, Hail Team India, may all your world cup related dreams come true.

ON REFUGEES

There has been constant talk off late within the print as well as visual media about the rather alarming trend of many a regional leader threatening to label non locals (so called outsiders)as refugees and calling upon their followers to turn out such citizens from within the city's/state borders as these so called outsiders are usurping the jobs meant for'insiders'and thereby proving to be the biggest impediment in the economic progress of the real populace of the state/region/city.
Have these very same leaders conveniently sidestepped the fact that we are all refugees in the real sense of the term and will have to vacate our respective abodes whenever the lord of death knocks on our doors."Zindagi Ek Kiraaye Ka Ghar Hai, Ek Na Ek Din Badalna Padega,Maut Jab Tumko Awaaz Degi Ghar Se Bahar Nikalna Padega". Well the fact remains that a majority of us are refugees who migrated into India after the tumultous events that unfolded in the name of the partition of India and Pakistan.
Who is a refugee? any body who migrates/wanders from one place to the other seeking avenues of livelihood and better living standards is a refugee, however what yours truly fails to understand is how one can be labelled a refugee when the Indian Constitution guarantees all it's citizens the right to own property, reside,move and take up livelihood within the territory of this gargantuan monolith called India.
This meaningless debate about insiders versus outsiders primarily seems to have arisen in the face of a paucity of issues and newer and better governance related ideas that could fire the imaginations of the electorate within a constituency,city, state and also serves to keep the divisive fires assiduously stoked by many a two bit politician alive in tha face of rising unemployment,inflation and a sense of insecurity amongst the citizens regarding their bright and prosperous futures.
Yours truly is off the view that each of us gets as much as he or she deserves,"Waqt Se Pehle Aur Muqadar Se Zyada Kisiko Nahin Milta", so then are we always clamouring for more,why bdon't we take a leaf out of our animals friends books or then bother to observe those who are lesser mortlas and learn the nuances of the sublime art of sharing the spoils equally.
Why have we become so self centered and obsessed with oneselves all of a sudden whatever happened to the dictums of Atithi Devo Bhava or Jyot Se Jyot Jagate Chalo, Prem Ki Ganga Bahate Chalo, Raah Main Aaye Jo Din Dukhi Sabko Gale Se Lagate Chalo. If this is what so called economic prosperity and better standards of living reduce us to then we are better off without it. The Lord sent us down here as his/her manifestations, is this how the manifestations of the good lord conduct themselves, we should be ashamed of ourselves,introspect,meditate,seek salvation and find a new meaning and substance that would better our spiritual lot and bestow upon us the divine right of calling ourselves "HUMAN BEINGS".
The uncrowned king of psychologists/philosophers, Bertrand Russell succintly remarked,"Man is a dangerous animal and an educated man is even more so",why are we hell bent upon proving Bertrand Russell right and reducing ourselves to mere caricatures or abject apologies for the glorious human beings that the good lord meant all of us to be.
In the meanwhile, let's all take a leaf out of the books out of our progenies books and beging to learn the arts of sharing and co-existing in relative harmony with our neighbours, no matter whatever be their caste,creed,sect,religion,or last but not the least whichever nook and cranny of the country they belong to.
The creator didi not differentiate between each one of us while creating us so who has bestowed on us the right to differentiate between each other and draw up artificial borders and abrriers where none exist?
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.

what price honesty?

Well, we are over and done with the pomp, pageantry,ceremonies synonymous with the Republic Day Parade and last but not the least, the undertones of superficiality and arrogance that has come to be associated with our so called "Aam Aadmi" friendly sarkar.
One wonders whether the military might,pomp,new found bonhomie and spirit of superciliousness which was on blatant display this morning was the harbinger or portrait of India or the dastardly and ghastly attacks that were perpetrated against three civil servants who dared to discharge their assigned duties in a manner deigned to be true to the latter and spirit of their respective codes of conduct over the last two days were the mirror image of India in the 21st century?
The Additional District Collector of Nasik(Maharashtra)paid the ultimate price and made the supreme sacrifice while discharging his laid down duties.His only crime being the fact that he had the moral fibre to question the shenanigans of the ruling 'Oil Mafia'within the state and put paid to their nefarious activities solely initiated with the express purpose of looting the exchequer to the tune of crores of rupees with the active collusion of the ruling party within the state.
Yeshwant Sonawane was burnt alive by a band of nine goons identified by his driver, he was accosted by three of them,beaten up, publicly humiliated, doused with a 20 litre jerrycan of kerosene and then set alight as he had committed the heinous crime of filming them in the act of pilfering petrol with kerosene.
Two other civil servants were respectively attacked by the goons of the cement mafia and errant electricity bill paying citizens for commiting the sacrilege of collecting the dues payable to their respective departments.One has not yet forgotten the supreme sacrifice made by Manjunath and other whistle blowers like Amit Jethwa while exposing the sins of omissiona and commission of the high and mighty.
yours truly would like to ask whether honesty has become a crime today? is being honest a boon or a dastardly sin? why are brave sons od this glorious motherland paying with their life whenever they summon up the courage to question the wrongdoings of a callous few who have abrogated unto themselves the right to supercede all laid down laws,systems and judicial practices and precedents.
Are we living in a democracy which swears by the supremacy of the laid down laws in our constitution or then in a banana republic where the rights of a few are seen to be the rights of the silent majority as they wield the reins thanks to the might of their money,muscle and political power.The new found bonhomie between the various mafias and political dispensation while not exactly an overnight phenomenon is even more disturbing as the display of the same was not so blatant and disgraceful as it has come to be today.
This rather sorry state of affairs has carried on for too long and the country is crying out for a revolution that will set things right and usher in the rule of law within our motherland once again. Please join me in being the harbingers of change and initiating sincere,time bound and relevant efforts in the direction of a new and brighter future for our progeny.
SUNDEEP CHOPRA.

WITHER NATIONALISM

Friends,fellows and my dear countrymen, our glorious country finds itself at the crossroads on the eve of it's 62nd Republic Day as the events that unfolded earlier today on the Kashmir-Punjab proved.
The reprehensible events of this afternoon have once again given rise to the highly relevant question of whether a handful of seccesionists and separatists can hold a country of the magnitude to ransom, where were  the reactionary tactics, new found love for law and order and fear of a bloodbath when the Yasin Malik's and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's of this world unfurled the Pakistani and Chinese flags on more than one occasion at the highly combustible Lal Chowk, why didn't Omar Abdullah and the home minister display the same alacrity and alertness at that time?
This rather sorry state of affairs is a direct fallback to the policy of appeasement being practiced by this Congress lead UPA government and every other Congress government that preceded it, the Congress has always believed or rather conformed to the sectarian idiom of equating minorityism with secularism, while any two bit rationalist worth his salt would be well versed with the fact that the two idioms are as different from each other as chalk is from cheese and the two cannot even co-exist with each other in mutual harmony.
The country finds itself being broken upto into smaller parts and principalities as the present day regime believes in bending over backwards and letting matters come to a head before reacting and nipping all separatist and nocturnal tendencies aimed at dividing and subdividing this glorious country of ours for their narrow sectarian needs and insatiable lust for enjoying the spoils of power any which way they can.
Friends our leadership has woefully failed in discharging the onerous task of keeping this country together and it is high time that we the common citizens of this country took up the cudgels of putting paid to the nefarious thoughts and deeds of the Yasin Malik's, K.Chandrashekhar Rao's, Raj Thackeray'a and all other so called leaders of the same flock let's all stand together on this Republic Day and send out an unequivocal message saying that this country will remain united come what may.
Please join me in redeeming our pledge towards our loyalty to our motherland first and strengthen my hands by postibg your invaluable messages of support on my blog, JAI HIND and thank youf for your unstinted support.