People Power
Things are starting to look bad in Jordan; and the ruling party headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, are on fire as of this writing. Mr. Mubarak has reportedly fled the country by private jet. Phew.. and does all this have a point?
I am drawn here to use that peculiar phrase called 'People Power'- so often hackneyed this past decade, that the article took on its own name. The phrase, as many would know, is a reference to the original People Power Revolution of 1986, Philippines, which overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power. What are all these people, who are more often than not doused like irregularities on a plain map, trying to say really? Corruption, unemployment, poor living conditions, freedom of speech and expression, food inflation- whatever you want to call it- they are looking for a regime change. Some get it, some don't.
In recent memory, we also have the Burmese protesting the Junta in 2007, several shots at the Chinese authorities in provinces like Xinjiang and Guangzhou (2009-10), and who can forget Thailand spinning out of control with the 'red shirts'?
'Reform' is the buzzword everywhere- be it in government, politics or finance and economy. The hoi polloi seem to have opinions, and they are overflowing with hash-tags.
Finally, I pose the following question, which perhaps has crossed many a mind: how far has 'people power' got in India? Yashwant Sonawane, an Additional District Collector in Malegaon who questioned the 'oil mafia' on adulteration issues got his answer recently- he was burnt alive. This has happened before: IOC officer S. Manjunath was killed in a similar adulteration case, Satyendra Dubey suffered a similar fate when he exposed corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway project. Outrage has overflown in the Indian media now, as it did then. But has anything changed? When if ever, are we going to be free from this politician-mafia nexus?
Really, sometimes I feel Mr. Arnab Goswami and his ilk are just plain wasting their time- not to forget that they bring about excellent public discourse- but to what end I say? Then again, I am struck by that fact we all know too well- 1/3rd of this country's area is now officially under the Red Corridor (Maoist rule)- which examined closely is no different than a parallel government, one that gives two hoots to the Congress in New Delhi! Shouldn't this be telling our M.P.s a lot?!
Mr. Singh, with all due respect for your efforts, while you are very busy attending to all those scams that have struck your government- let me recount: Adarsh, CWG, 2G, Radia, CVC, oh well.. you might do well to remember that all of these have an underlying message- a message that the aam aadmi is trying to get across. It might be about time to wave that magic stick labelled 'reforms' once again, and fast.
And oh Mrs. Gandhi, just so you know- pieces like this one are going live onto the blogosphere every minute- what a blessing technology is. But that's besides the point; also 2014 isn't very far away when it comes to the Indian Election Clock. Get ticking would you?
I am drawn here to use that peculiar phrase called 'People Power'- so often hackneyed this past decade, that the article took on its own name. The phrase, as many would know, is a reference to the original People Power Revolution of 1986, Philippines, which overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power. What are all these people, who are more often than not doused like irregularities on a plain map, trying to say really? Corruption, unemployment, poor living conditions, freedom of speech and expression, food inflation- whatever you want to call it- they are looking for a regime change. Some get it, some don't.
In recent memory, we also have the Burmese protesting the Junta in 2007, several shots at the Chinese authorities in provinces like Xinjiang and Guangzhou (2009-10), and who can forget Thailand spinning out of control with the 'red shirts'?
'Reform' is the buzzword everywhere- be it in government, politics or finance and economy. The hoi polloi seem to have opinions, and they are overflowing with hash-tags.
Finally, I pose the following question, which perhaps has crossed many a mind: how far has 'people power' got in India? Yashwant Sonawane, an Additional District Collector in Malegaon who questioned the 'oil mafia' on adulteration issues got his answer recently- he was burnt alive. This has happened before: IOC officer S. Manjunath was killed in a similar adulteration case, Satyendra Dubey suffered a similar fate when he exposed corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway project. Outrage has overflown in the Indian media now, as it did then. But has anything changed? When if ever, are we going to be free from this politician-mafia nexus?
Really, sometimes I feel Mr. Arnab Goswami and his ilk are just plain wasting their time- not to forget that they bring about excellent public discourse- but to what end I say? Then again, I am struck by that fact we all know too well- 1/3rd of this country's area is now officially under the Red Corridor (Maoist rule)- which examined closely is no different than a parallel government, one that gives two hoots to the Congress in New Delhi! Shouldn't this be telling our M.P.s a lot?!
Mr. Singh, with all due respect for your efforts, while you are very busy attending to all those scams that have struck your government- let me recount: Adarsh, CWG, 2G, Radia, CVC, oh well.. you might do well to remember that all of these have an underlying message- a message that the aam aadmi is trying to get across. It might be about time to wave that magic stick labelled 'reforms' once again, and fast.
And oh Mrs. Gandhi, just so you know- pieces like this one are going live onto the blogosphere every minute- what a blessing technology is. But that's besides the point; also 2014 isn't very far away when it comes to the Indian Election Clock. Get ticking would you?
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