Close on the heels of Copenhagen drama - an exercise in absurdity - and a X’mas as usual albeit amidst much fanfare, festivities and hopes, now enters a new dawn of a NewYear- 2010.
Are you as a world citizen, especially as an angry young Indian citizen appalled and enraged with the way our World moves on.
A save the earth campaign reaching nowhere, are you environmentalists the world over disillusioned and disappointed or nurturing an “eternally hopeful” attitude, if so very good and all best wishes. To hope for the best is human nature and without a spark of hope mankind is doomed, thus say the divine beings and those in the corridors of power. Because we consider them great we are tempted to deposit our trust in them. No trust-deficit. As long as they are enconsced in their musical chairs in the air-conditioned cabins we can move ahead with a relaxed mood -‘blessed lot’ they are and so each of us.
Are you angry young men shivering with rage while billionaires and millionaires among them are cold-blooded criminals with umpteen cases pending in courts occupying chairs in our Parliament and State assemblies preaching the need for a welfare state and to facilitate the forming of such a welfare state they appeal to us fools to strengthen their tainted hands from public platforms flanked by black-cats with full-throated sermons and we never forget to provide them whole-hearted support in ample measure. How many of us have cared to find out the way they lead their lives in pomp and pageantry? How many of us are aware of them spending millions to turn-court journalists - most unethical of media world both print and visual to enlighten us - flattery is the apt word- pages and visuals idolizing them while their bankrupt rival candidates finding it hard to keep pace with these billionaire candidates Have you heard about a new term fondly and simultaneously with sarcasm ‘package journalism’ on the rise in India especially during the election season? This lucrative dirty business has become a blot on the face of ethical journalism in the raging competition in the media world. A nasty exercise indeed. While not claiming to be a professional journalist- praise the Lord - as one who is a Post-Graduate Diploma holder in Journalism this sort of dirty ‘politricks’ were unheard of during those times. A much acclaimed journalist of that time Arun Shourie who brought out many a ‘Skeletons in the cupboard’ of corrupt politicians through investigative journalism is unfortunately in the political arena now. However he has kept his hands clean not allowing them to be dirtied and in the media world barring numerous pestering insects bent upon destroying a good harvest, a number of dedicated journalists like P.Sainath, Kuldeep Nayar, N.Ram, Nirupama Subramaniam, Vidya Subramaniam etc much to our relief. Politics need not be counted as the last resort of a scoundrel, as Samuel Johnson defined it, If he or she stands by integrity, dedication and devotion to his or her society as a whole. But how many of those category are left in the picture must become a subject of hot debate across the world. During the Iraq war while the forces of George Bush and Tony Blair and other such imperialist countries were pounding that country without break there were umpteen allegations of international journalists who nursed a grudge against Saddam Hussein, spreading disinformation information around the world through their biased reporting which was notoriously termed “Embedded Journalism”. The true picture emerged before the world much later which was sordid and blood-chilling. Crores of innocent civilians fell to the bullets, bombs and grenades of allied forces. The much cherished and well-known Mesopotamian culture along the banks of Euphrates-Tigris rivers was literally wiped out. It is absolutely shocking that Mr.George W Bush and Mr.Tony Blair have not an iota of remorse or repentance even after it was revealed before the world that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Really deserving candidates for Nobel prize for peace at least belatedly.
While writing about “Package Journalism”, incidentally I was compelled to pen a few lines about this still prevailing “embedded journalism” by the so called unbiased correspondents of worlds’ popular international media.
In our nation India, ie. Bharat the other day results of an election in the State of Jharkhand came out. To the chagrin of all parties including Indian National Congress (our Grand Old Party) and Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) and regional entities it was a fractured verdict meaning no party can form a government of its own. Sorry, don’t term it ‘unfortunate’. Because hope has come to the rescue here also in the form horse-trading. Of course no dearth of money for this arrangement. Dearth of money becomes a nagging question tormenting our political leaders only when the demands of alleviation of poverty, malnutrition, habitats, sanitary facilities- they are innumerable- of the poor are persistent. What I am driving home is the stark truth that a government in Jharkhand is a near certainty depending upon ‘who comes first in the horse race’.
Do you feel ashamed of our politicians and bureaucrats or do you get angry when they boast about the surge in economic growth to 9% in the near future while teeming millions starve and perish under the searing Sun, unable to find a way out of this pathetic situation? While Manufacturing and Services sector register enormous growth, thus they boast at the top of their voice, they can very well reduce the volume when lamenting about only 0.09 percent growth in the agriculture sector which is the backbone of our nation. How nice. A ‘negative growth’ down 2.2% to 0.09%.
But we must keep our hope, always alive and kicking. Thus we are advised by the good Samaritans.
Certainly a very, very happy and prosperous ‘NewYear’ ahead as usual.
While Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are shivering with cold outside the thick blanket of establishment only the thoughts of millions of suppressed lot are some sort of relief to them.
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