My tryst

With Amar Chitra Katha continues. I wonder if there has been any award / recognition given to Anant Pai yet. If not, its a huge mistake. I would know zilch of Mythology or Indian history, if not for ACK. I have probably mentioned this before.
Yes, I did go to school and study history, but the way it is presented in our books, it can be promptly forgotten. I did well and had loved history in school maybe only because of ACK.
I purchased a few more titles recently and was reading about the Indian freedom struggle and so many other things involved with it. The wierdest thing was, I came to infer that the reason for the country being taken away from us, our independance taken away, we have none else to blame but ourselves. Even in ancient history, if great Kings and leaders had fallen, some traitor had been bought over by the enemy. And much later, it seemed to be the case with Tipu Sultan (and a lot more, but this one is on top of my mind because I have just about finished reading it), he was betrayed by his most trusted aide. Even now the reason our country is the way it is, we again have only ourselves to blame. We are not civil. We do not follow the rules. We defile the roads. We allow corruption to thrive. No use blaming some politician or some government servant. We don't raise our voices against injustice. So many people. One of the most peopled countries in the world. And we remain silent to injustice.
So many times on my show on radio, the defeat of Lok Paritran as a party came up. The point is everyone kept talking about "kalla" vote. A lot seemed to praise the Lok Paritran. But the point is they had a huge defeat. Why?
Sometimes I think that the Indians as a whole are very emotionally stirred and spurred to action, sometimes for the right cause and mostly for the wrong. Especially in the name of religion and more recently, language, its so easily achieved. The Sri Ram Sene apparently has a very powerful leader that he got those part of his movement to do something as appalling as raise their hands on women and some men. And this is the country which says women are to be worshipped. Such hypocricy thrives. And we the people of this country are just plain shameless. Also, someone brought this to my notice. The media was present because they were apparently tipped off or were informed properly that this event was to happen in that particular pub. The police asked why they were not informed. Now what kind of a shameless media was that, they wanted to cover all those people being beaten up, they allowed it to happen so that they can flash it on their channels and make a lot of dough. The police, I hear, said that they'd have prevented the whole thing. Now I wonder whether the SRS actually paid the media for publicity and for not calling the cops. Because like they say, nothing like negative publicity eh? How has this country, with boasts of a huge cultural ethos allow the flourishing of such people? (read: News guys at the Mangalore pub event). Guess most channels are in the race to become headlines themselves. Every channel and its grandfather covered this atrocity. How do they watch AND cover all this. Can they not prevent it? They probably left their spines at home, coz they have to draw a salary? Or go higher in their ranks. Yes I am angry cause there were people who watched the women being beaten, covered it and telecast it on national TV. And allowed shaming the country on a world platform. And I think, it could have been prevented. Sure, correct me if I am wrong. Or if there is some law somewhere, a loophole in the legal system that says that people can watch atrocities.
I must admit that there are several times that I wish God comes down and vanquishes evil and all the wrong-doers. Since a lot of times I have heard that the politicians with honest service in their minds are not allowed to survive.
We had the DGP (Prisons) Sri Nataraj on my show. And so many people called to complain about this and that, about the implementation of the laws and even why people have not stopped spitting. How someone should be posted everywhere to levy a spot fine. Why the hell should the Police come and tell you not to spit and levy a spot fine? Don't they already have enough things to do? We have read so much about the police force being short staffed and ill equipped. And you'll be appalled to know about the monthly wages of an average policeman in this country. Have you bothered to know? Have you bothered to even care for the Traffic cop inhaling all the fumes from your cars and bikes, standing all day in the hot sun and you drive like a mad thing, in an A/C car, coming from an A/C house, or a hotel and you hurl abuses at how he cannot do his work. Have you stopped to probably buy a bottle of water for him? Or anything else? Can't someone in this city follow something that is called the law? Of course immediately the blame game starts on the very next beat. Very Nayagan style. Ask them to do that and then I will do this. Deeper and deeper do the people of this country go into the quicksand of making excuses. The DGP said one thing, which was almost a refrain. "We need the cooperation of the public to create a peaceful, just society". Is it not our business to make sure that the police have no work to do by being law abiding citizens?
We are not fighting any foreign ruler right now but I think the country, OK let me not say the country, I have not traveled its length and breadth, let me just say that the people of this city are involved in a mass civil disobedience. For what joy?? Search me. I am without a clue.
I also wonder if its because there are several first generation vehicle riders in the city now that they want to show the world that they own it, in their own sort of way by handling their vehicles that way. So should we wait for the insolence of this generation to tide over?
Probably there should be another Independance struggle. And this time, we should probably struggle to be free of the endless coils of crap we have allowed to be spun around ourselves - by others and by us as well, because many a time it has seemed convenient.
When I see someone spit on the road, I tell them not to. Some don't say a thing, some abuse. Which is typical. After a point its tiresome.
I wonder now, what the people of this city need to behave and be proper human beings instead of acting like the apes. Why insult the apes? Perhaps they are better. I wonder what this city needs. A capable leader or God. I also think the people as a whole have enough in the them to terrorize a God as well. So maybe neither. It seems hopeless sometimes.
So to a certain lot of shameless citizens of India, don't you dare blame corruption, red tape or the politicians. You are worse than all of them put together because you, the Indian citizen have allowed a crappy society to thrive.
But I think I am going to take the path of this Mr Traffic Ramaswamy and file one Public Interest Litigation case after another. The first thing I am going to see if I can bring about a ban of blaring the horns in the city by filing a PIL.