Category: Politics & Social Issues

I have always wondered, why does our breed of Politicians not wake up and see the futility in the myraid way of ways of politics they practice, the ultimate form of protest – The BANDH. To protest they still resort to and use this old colonial way of protest. Bandh or stopping work was effective when you wanted to slow down production and hurt the British East India Company. Nowhere in the World is such a form of protest prevalent. What a Bandh really does achieve is that it forcefully brings the State or Country to a standstill. Besides causing a lot of genuine hardship to a lot of people. What does the daily wager do ? He curses this period of non-activity, because what it entails is that he and his family has to go hungry. But who cares, certainly not the Politician who knows that when the time comes he can certainly buy their votes.

Instead why can they not use a more effective mass media tool which is available. Use Mass Mailing protest, Mass SMS’s or any such electronic form of reach out which besides giving a lot of penetration would dissuade people from having a forced holiday. The Political Bodies calling for these Bandhs should actually be asked to pay for the loss of production for that single day which would cause loss in crores which no one at least not the Country afford.

I was reading an article today about some survey conducted by The Times, where the Child born in this Century would be oblivious to many of the “hardships” their parents had to undergo, like growing up without a cell phone, or eating at Dominos, McDonald’s etc etc. So why then should the Gen Next be made aware to this malady of “Bandh”. Why can this very frivolous and extravagant show of mass protest be publicly banned.

This is one Democratic right which should be declared darconian and amended so as to allow normal live to go on despite whatever decisions are taken by the ruling Government. I for one fail to understand as to how is it ever possible that calling for a Bandh can make the Government stop their policies from going through. Ever since my living years I am yet to see one reversal of any decision taken by the Government because of the result of a BANDH…then why call for it in the first place.

India is an Union of 28 States. Each of these States have their own culture and this very diversity is waht makes and has always made India Unique. Then why is it that we even 65 years of being independent and governing ouw own affairs, these seven sisters continue to be neglected. It is not as if they are not beautiful. They might be the most beautiful of the lot. Both in terms of locale and in terms of the physical beauty of the people inhabiting in these seven states.

The anger and affront at this neglect has been shimmering for a long time now. The recent events like the Assam riots and the panic exodus of the north eastern people from certain cities is a rather unfortunate and shameful incidents. What more can the irony be, when the Prime Minister of the Country has been elected from one of this very place. The region has many issues but because of a lack of political will we tend to totally disregard and consequently it hardly gets the mainstream attention.

Apart from addressing the issues, first we need to understand and believe that these seven states are an integral part of the Union. The step-treatment has to go absolutely and each and every Citizen of India residing in these seven States need to feel wanted and have an inherent sense of belonging. The people in these states are not aggressive by nature. They just would want their fair share of development and growth. The potential for promoting these wonderful locales as tourist destinations both from relaxation and from adventure sports is tremendous. But there is very little effort made to do so. We do recite the usual sermons, but hardly ever follow them. India might be one Country, and we may be mostly good people at heart, however we are perhaps also the most internally racist nation. The thinking is quite shallow. we discriminate on colour and creed. Yes the people from the North East have a more oriental look. But at the same time they are both attractive and beautiful. But is this the Nation we would want. Where people look for differences rather than similarities ?

The North East is hungry for good education and a decent jobs. Where has the Government made the inraods in providing such an infrastructure in any of these states. To get good quality education they have to come out of their homes. Why have we not provided them with the IIT’s, IIM’s and Medical Colleges of repute ? Why have we neglected to understand and realize the economic potential of this part geographically speaking. The North East can give India access to east Asia by opening up the trade routes to Countries like Thailand etc. The Leadership in New Delhi plans for Golden Quadrilaterals and super highways between Delhi and Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai etc but why not a 2400 KM road linking Guwahati with Bangkok. The tremendous potential of such a venture can only be imagined because it is not even thought about yet.

We need to bridge this gap. Stop neglecting the huge huge potential that this eastern sector of India can open up for us. It is like we have the Kohinoor but simply refuse to acknowledge it…Politicians in our Country are selfish and self-centered, and cannot think beyond themselves. It requires the Citizens of India to take up the cudgels on behalf of the overall betterment and development of these seven states.