Saturday, December 17, 2011

Is the JLP movement democratic?

The Jan Lokpal movement has already entered in its ninth month starting from April, 2011. Do we have any result yet? In the formal terms (rather on the paper work), I would say it is too far away from achieving what it set out to achieve and hence, it has still a long way to go. But, it has achieved a lot in terms of public awareness. It has done the next to impossible task of pulling the allegedly indifferent middle class of India along with others to the streets for a common cause. That in itself is a big achievement. Team Anna is still pushing for a strong Lokpal bill travelling all across the country and through public mobilization. I have been following it closely through ever fast news channels and friends. There are still a few reservations and confusions about the authenticity of team Anna pursuing government for JLP. Here are a few and my opinion about them.

The first that I hear many a times is that MP's are elected representatives of the people and parliament is the supreme in a democracy. They should not be forced by someone outside the parliament for a particular law. Firstly, some people might even doubt if MP's are really the fair representatives of the people with all the irregularities involved in the elections. I would still like to believe that majority of them are elected fairly. But the question I want to raise is if they truly represent the views of the people once they are sent to the parliament by the people. In an ideal democracy the MP's should discuss any issue with the people ( with the help of lower representative bodies like gram sabha or mohalla sabha) and convey it to the party or the parliament and if there is any difference of opinion, it is his duty to convince the concerned sides. I seriously doubt if that happens in our present democratic system. Presently, the party issues a whip for all its MPs and they have to follow it even if they have different view. We all accept the supremacy of the parliament, but at the same time, it should represent people not individual parties.

Second, Team Anna is not elected by the people. How can they claim to represent them? I agree, they are not elected by people, but they have also never claimed to be one. As a citizen of India, they have all the right to ask for a particular law. They have been just doing that and in the process got the support of the people who have the same opinion on this particular subject. The proposed JLP has gone through several round of discussions and has gone though many improvisations and it's still open changes on a logical basis. In fact, the present form is probably the 20th version of the original. So, it will be wrong to say that it is their bill, rather the JLP is the bill formed (or improvised) by the people of the country.

Third, is Anna Hazare blackmailing the government by fasting? Fasting is totally legal, ethical and powerful tool of protest in a democracy. It has been employed many times before and I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Most importantly, Nobody suffers because of it except for the person who is doing it. The fact is, it is not the fast of the Anna Hazare which is disturbing the government, but it is the backing of the people that the movement has garnered which is giving the sleepless nights to the government. There has been many other indefinite fasts (some even fatal) and much longer, but the government wasn't bothered by them because they did not have this kind of people's support. And this movement would have been faded as well if the people of the country were not fed up of the corruption that they face everyday.

The setting up of the deadline (though it was enough time) baffled me a bit in the starting because this kind of a law needs time to be drafted. But going by the incidents and intentions shown by the government in last nine months, I think this is the right way forward. Eight months are more than enough to draft any law. Whole constitution was prepared in about 2 years.

It is not about the time required, but the political will and honesty required to draft this law which is lacking in present system for understandable reasons. Nobody wants to give away his power easily and this time also it is not going to be any exception. You have to always fight for your rights in any part of world and this cause, I would say, is quite sacred and worth fighting for. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

एक बार और जोर लगाते हैं

हर दिन एक नया संघर्ष है
रोज़ दृढ़ता का कवच पहने मैं घर से निकलता हूँ
और हर रोज़ घायल छलनी छलनी ही लौटता हूँ
कितनी बार सोचा 'अब बहुत हुआ'
'अब और देर न ठहर पाएंगे इस विपरीत प्रवाह में'
पर बार बार कुछ सोच कर रुक जाते हैं
लगता है चलो एक बार और जोर लगाते हैं
आगे न बढे तो क्या हुआ
शायद जगह पर खड़े खड़े ही पार लग जायेंगे 
कुछ नहीं तो कम से कम, हार कर भी 
दर्पण में अपना प्रतिबिम्ब तो देख पाएंगे
पहले भी कई बार संघर्ष छोड़ 
सरल मार्ग को चुना है
पर हर बार पश्चात्ताप ही किया है
इस बार यह जिद ठानी है कि
या तो प्रवाह को चीर कर 
लक्ष्य पर ही पहुँच जायेंगे 
या फिर धारा के साथ बहकर 
सागर से ही मिल जायेंगे
पर किनारे पर बैठकर
औरों का तमाशा देखना 
अब हमसे न होगा |

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Another blast...

Another bomb blast within two months. First time, it was in Mumbai and now in New Delhi, capital of India, in a crowded place outside high court. I would like to give just an account of the reactions from different people.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh said, India will not succumb to terrorist attacks. A senior leader of opposition confirmed that India stood united against terrorism. Other big politicians expressed their condolence towards the families of the victims and their commitment to fight the terror. Some even went to the accident site and hospitals where injured were being treated. High alert has been announced in the country. People were panicked for a while. The ones whose known ones lived in Delhi called them to confirm about their well being.

Doesn't it all look too familiar? After every terrorist attack, they react in exactly the same way. Nothing changes at all. The political parties, who are standing together right now, will again blame each other after a fort night. Again some Digvijay Singh will try to defend the system by giving  a stupid statement, like ''At least terrorist attacks don't happen every day in India like Pakistan. So we are doing a good job''

People will again get back to their routine lives from tomorrow onward and media channels will show a special show applauding Delhi public's resilience (They just have to change the place every time). People always do that (Except that they showed their anger this time when the YUVRAJ of India went to the hospital to see the victims by shouting slogans against him). Do they have any other choice? Initially, it was definitely resilience, but now it has turned into indifference out of their helplessness. They know this is too big a task to fight on their own. Protest and demonstration can not work here.

It needs a systematic planning, clear thinking and strong determination at the governance level. Government showed their willingness to improve the system by strengthening intelligence and emergency forces. But I doubt their clarity of thoughts and determination.

Today's attack was carried out regarding the death sentence of another terrorist, Afjal Guru, whose death sentence has been pending for almost 10 years now. There is another terrorist who has been a privileged guest of Indian security system for 3 years. I don't think it would have been possible in any other country. Only one terrorist attack was enough for United States to attack on Afghanistan and send their troops all across to Asia. It took hardly 6 months in US for the trial of Headley, a suspect in 26/11 Mumbai attack. On the other hand, all the charges have been proved against these two in India, but their mercy plea is pending with president for so many years.

Cure becomes a compulsion once a disease is spread, but prevention is the best way to avoid all the complications. A precedent needs to be set to show these terrorist that India is determined to act tough against terrorism, to show that no matter how much political differences, but everyone has the same view against terrorism. Just the toughness in the words won't be heard by these deaf and dumb terrorist, it has to be shown in actions. 

Monday, May 2, 2011

मुकम्मिल जहाँ

बचपन में इन मासूम आँखों में 
कई ख़्वाब संजोये थे |
बारिश के बाद के साफ़ आसमान की तरह 
मंज़िल एक दम साफ़ दिखती थी |
इरादे बुलंदियों पर थे
इतने ऊँचे की ज़मीन दिखती ही न थी |
जोश था कुछ कर दिखने का
दुनिया पर फ़तेह पाने का |

दो कदम आगे बढे 
राह की मुश्किलों का अहसास हुआ |
ज़मीन पर चलना आसान न था 
और उड़ना मुमकिन  न था |
धीरे धीरे चलना सीखा
गिरे तो गिरकर उठना सीखा |
पर मंज़िल से नज़र हट गयी शायद
कई इमारतों में हमारी  इमारत भी खो गयी शायद |

अब तो इन्ही बाज़ारों  में भटक रहे हैं 
अपनी मंज़िल की तलाश में |
कई बार भीड़ के साथ ही हो लेते हैं
सब खोये हुए साथी मुसाफिर ही लगते हैं
किसी मंज़िल की तलाश में भटके लगते हैं |

शाम की डगमगाती रौशनी में 
कदम भी लड़खड़ाने से लगे हैं |
आँखों के आगे धुंधले धब्बे भी
चिलमिलाने से लगे हैं |
मंसूबों में भी अब वो बचपन वाली बात कहाँ
अंधियारे में जो चमके वो जुगनू का भी साथ कहाँ
बस इसी आस में बढे जाते हैं 
कि एक दिन तो हमें भी मुकम्मिल जहाँ मिलेगा |