Massacre by Gentlemen: Kashmir
It is disheartening to see the way things are moving in Jammu & Kashmir. One website aptly threw the question for vote by the public - "The current distressing situation in the Earthquake hit areas is a result of - a. Natural disaster b. Man-made disaster".
There needs to be a fundamental rethinking done on the way we go about doing things. We sometimes get so used to the system we are in, that we never get to sense things when everything's gone awry. There are so many impulses bombarding our senses simultaneously from all directions that we fail to pick the grave ones up.
How else would we explain it, when people in power are busy knocking out the modalities of transfers of power in a State, rather than going all out putting things back in order after the massive tremors struck? When the Chief Minister states that it was a "gentleman's agreement" and it would be taken care of, he definitely is not talking of the implied agreement made between the State Machinery and the electorate at the time of the elections that put him in the seat. The parties involved are discussing the change of ministries, as per the despicable haggles in the concept called "Power sharing agreements". Commentators and the public have left it at the discretion of the Power Centres to decide whether to go ahead as was scheduled or continue with the present ministry, reacting to the exigencies of the situation. The person lying beneath the rubbles, the one who moans the devastation of his family, the child rendered destitute, the mother who has got her limbs amputated, the elderly patients who spend their nights out in the cold with no shelters, none of them would give a damn about whether the 'Gentleman's agreement' is honoured or not! The fact is that the Government which they thought would support them in the hour of need, is pre-occupied in embellishing their offices for a few new faces all set to enjoy the hearth.
The Deputy Chief Minister of Kashmir is on record stating that there are just 3 companies making tents in India! And he has something to say about placing orders! Excuse me! Is he talking of tents for some private party? Does he mean to go about visiting those 3 tent manufacturers and take a catalogue to place orders? Is it possible that there can be just 3 manufacturers of a commodity in a country as vast as India is? It just plainly underlines that fact that people who are supposedly holding positions of responsibility have resigned to fate - not their fate, but the fates of the thousands who are left stranded! If that is going to be your stance, do we need someone in power at all?
One click in the net gives us the list of tent exporters in India. And the list definitely seems to be more than 3! Is this the sort of (mis)information that one would expect from a Deputy Chief Minister of a State? Alright, he has said there are 3 manufacturers. How many of the 3 have been contacted by him/ his Party/ his Government?
The Government is nothing but a group of people sitting merrily out there, supposed to serve the rest. This group of people is supposed to be having the database ready, and is expected to move swiftly into action the moment something on this scale happens. Government was not supposed to be about self-preservation or about resignation to fate. People who participate in public life need no special privileges, if the only thing they are efficient at is on the ways of keeping their positions safe - be it through hard core politics or through any 'Gentleman's agreement'.
There needs to be a fundamental rethinking done on the way we go about doing things. We sometimes get so used to the system we are in, that we never get to sense things when everything's gone awry. There are so many impulses bombarding our senses simultaneously from all directions that we fail to pick the grave ones up.
How else would we explain it, when people in power are busy knocking out the modalities of transfers of power in a State, rather than going all out putting things back in order after the massive tremors struck? When the Chief Minister states that it was a "gentleman's agreement" and it would be taken care of, he definitely is not talking of the implied agreement made between the State Machinery and the electorate at the time of the elections that put him in the seat. The parties involved are discussing the change of ministries, as per the despicable haggles in the concept called "Power sharing agreements". Commentators and the public have left it at the discretion of the Power Centres to decide whether to go ahead as was scheduled or continue with the present ministry, reacting to the exigencies of the situation. The person lying beneath the rubbles, the one who moans the devastation of his family, the child rendered destitute, the mother who has got her limbs amputated, the elderly patients who spend their nights out in the cold with no shelters, none of them would give a damn about whether the 'Gentleman's agreement' is honoured or not! The fact is that the Government which they thought would support them in the hour of need, is pre-occupied in embellishing their offices for a few new faces all set to enjoy the hearth.
The Deputy Chief Minister of Kashmir is on record stating that there are just 3 companies making tents in India! And he has something to say about placing orders! Excuse me! Is he talking of tents for some private party? Does he mean to go about visiting those 3 tent manufacturers and take a catalogue to place orders? Is it possible that there can be just 3 manufacturers of a commodity in a country as vast as India is? It just plainly underlines that fact that people who are supposedly holding positions of responsibility have resigned to fate - not their fate, but the fates of the thousands who are left stranded! If that is going to be your stance, do we need someone in power at all?
One click in the net gives us the list of tent exporters in India. And the list definitely seems to be more than 3! Is this the sort of (mis)information that one would expect from a Deputy Chief Minister of a State? Alright, he has said there are 3 manufacturers. How many of the 3 have been contacted by him/ his Party/ his Government?
The Government is nothing but a group of people sitting merrily out there, supposed to serve the rest. This group of people is supposed to be having the database ready, and is expected to move swiftly into action the moment something on this scale happens. Government was not supposed to be about self-preservation or about resignation to fate. People who participate in public life need no special privileges, if the only thing they are efficient at is on the ways of keeping their positions safe - be it through hard core politics or through any 'Gentleman's agreement'.
posted by Krish at 2:58 AM
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