Of Mosquitoes and Flies

        Along with every dusk , arrive the mosquitoes to feast on my blood. It's been a practice so long that I really miss them during the winter months. Though having been branded the carriers of numerous diseases they tend to hurt you just twice -first when they sting you and the second when they withdraw- very much like the injection given by the pretty nurse at the clinic. They are very much sure of what they are doing. they leave you alone once they have their fill. It may not be nice to have them around but far better than having their distant cousins- the Flies.

          I can't think of anything which irks me more than a fly. More than its greater capacity to transmit diseases, it is it's displayed greed and ambiguity that irks me and that too in broad daylight. A fly can be rarely found in the less-lighted part of the day. This characteristic of the fly makes it irksome and more harmful as it tends to play with my sensitivities. The irritation caused by a fly to my sensitivities is most likely to be passed on either as a verbal or physical action. So quite obviously,I prefer mosquitoes to flies.

          Now, why am I talking of mosquitoes and flies? Obviously it is relevant to the present turmoil the country is witnessing. We, the ordinary citizens who have no say in whatever happens in or to the country are the flies and the routinely fresh controversies doled out by our leaders(not only politicians, they include imminent persons of the society as well who are looked up to for solutions) are the leftovers given in parts. During the independence, it was about Muslims, then Pakistan, China for a brief period,back to Pakistan again, then Bangladesh. After depleting all the external resources, we have now started pointing guns at those within the the boundary of the country- courtesy the leaders.

       Every time a leader raises a slogan, the people echo it without even giving it a thought and strangely it isn't the uneducated people who do it but the educated urban middle class who has of late become the synonym of the “common man”. The same “common man” who time and again elects the same person to represent him in the parliament, who throng the public meeting like flies to waste in the form of the same old tall promises. And thereafter protest against the actions of the representative once he is elected.

     The elected people, being from the same ambiguous “common man” too act with the same ambiguity. They continue with the same fly like behaviour, the “common man” being at the receiving end this time. They cause the same irritation as a fly by their actions- both verbal and physical whose instances are numerous.

        For the conditions to improve in this country, the electorate have to be sure of what and how much they want-much like the mosquitoes and elect only those who can matter. I know its an utopia,but who knows dreams may turn true.

The Aged: AreThey Expendable?

    It was a pleasant surprise when I had one of those unexpected visits of my cousin after  after a long time.Certainly she must have something bothering her which she would, as always confide only to my mother, her aunt.

A Stagnant Democracy

       Its really interesting.I had so far been immune to politics and political parties thanks to the defence forces.After all these yeas of existence,I feel like a new born trying to make sense of the new world which has opened up to me.

     There was no need of a voter's identity card for me nor did I require a ration card until now.This was because I didn't have to prove my own existence to anyone.As long I was in the defense forces,I was a part of them.I new them as well as they knew me like the back of our hands. And things have changed now

     Luckily, I have got my voter's identity card today and my ration card a fortnight ago.I also have got myself registered a the local employment exchange.A new beginning I believe.I assume the processes have gained speed because of the elections round the corner.

Representation in Parliament

      I am really amused at the figures. A mere 500-odd persons representing 1.21 billion people and most of the representatives belong to the pre-independence era.They are mines of knowledge which is irrelevant in this age.These people govern the country as if we were still a colony of the British.

      I can say that most of the electorate don't even know the people they have elected,the reason being that they vote for the symbol or party and not the individual.Literacy has got no role to play here.There have been rumours that parties are going to project new and younger faces-age around 50 years.That's good.But they won't be included in policy making or the cabinet.They will be silent observers in the parliament.

International Image

     

    Though we can claim to be the largest democracy in the world,we are largely insignificant to the world on matters which really concern thanks to our elected reprsentatives.It has been six decades of independence but we still look to others to guide us.Our neighbours like China have gone far ahead of us but we like to take solace in the fact that we are not the last in the race.

   The lack of assertion and commitment  and the follies committed overseas and even the UN by our representatives reflect the attitude of our country as a whole.We are still begging for a seat in the security council because of our policies.Someone had told me quite early in life that we ought to look at the superior for progress and get inspired by them instead of celebrating the triumph over an inferior.But we are habituated to doing quite the opposite.Instead of correcting the mistakes we tend to seek refuge in lame excuses.The total collapse of intelligence network ,the underestimation of the Chinese strength,lack of political will to tackle the threat has evetually cost us the Aksai Chin area in the east and the PoK in the west for similar lessons.The goverment isn't disclosing the fact of the Chinese aggression because once known to the public,they won't ever get  to rule again. So it is obscuring the facts under the guise of 'causing instability'.Moving to the recent past,the checking of prominet leaders of the country in western countries,speech goofup at the UN,forgetting to salute the National flag are in my view some unpardonable offences as they reflect the callousness of the people of India.Such unglorified acts over the years since independence have gone down the international diplomatic circles as "they can't and won't do anything " .Everyone in the government 'strongly condemns' atrocitities against Indians abroad but does nothing further. Our leaders ,however seasoned they maybe ,fail to rise to the occassion because they are quite busy making a political agenda of the situation. 

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     The body language, the appearance of our leaders at any forum clearly show the lack of confidence in themselves. Our leaders may be widely respected across the world for their age and knowledge but certainly not for their political thinking. 

Options

    

     I stongly feel that the political parties will never let youngsters with fresh intentions and ideas to take the front row.It is up to the youth,a large part of whom don't even vote considering it a waste of time, to contest elections.They ought to convince the electorate that they have for so long been living in a fool's paradise and they want to make it a reality.That they have to change loyalty if they aspire for betterment in life. Politics as a corruption free segment is only a wishful thinking.

    I feel ashamed that I have to even see the names of octogenarians and nonagenarians to represent me in the parliament and possibly the world stage.They should have a maximum age limit of the contestants as they have a minimum age.It can't happen unless we  elect younger people  to the assemblies.