Voice of An Ordinary Indian

                                              

In 2014, according to the Election Commission of India, 814.5 million people were eligible to vote for the 543 Lok Sabha seats. The average election turnout was around 66.38%, the highest ever in the history of Indian general elections. This was the first time I went to a polling station to cast my vote. Yes, FIRST TIME, because I felt , country needs progress, we need better life.  I went to cast my vote with the hope that now India will change. I believed Mr. Modi could do it. I saw the potential. I stood in the queue for an hour and finally voted for him. Today, I have no doubt that he is trying to do what he promised.

“Intolerance” is not a very common word for Indians. We have tolerated many corrupt, illiterate and arrogant politicians ever since British left the country. We have tolerated such (so called) representatives  of fringe elements from almost all religion, but never organized the national and international view on our own motherland to defame the Government. No one ever went to Pakistan and sought support to uproot and throw away the Government in power. I wonder, if  staying out of power can be so frustrating ?. The agenda seems very loud and clear “Development? if we did not do it, why should you?”. There seems to be a competition among some of our politicians, writers and celebrities to prove who can throw more muck on the Government and all those who voted for them.   

There are efforts to prove that “ Make In India” , Clean India” or any other campaign run by the Government are only farce and cannot yield any result( No matter how much Government will try but we won’t let that happen). An indirect attempt to block investment to India, discourage flow of foreign tourists and prove India will remain dirty. Is it a campaign against the Government or people of India?. It’s like yelling at people like me, “ You voted for Modi, we will teach you a lesson”.  

I believe in today’s India. I believe in the aspirations of young Indians. No matter, who comes to power, people will seek accountability. India cannot stop. India is not “Banana Republic” as perceived by some and particularly Shri Robert Vadra.

21^st Century belongs to us!! 

Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

Capt. Virendra Nath Mishra

Pain of An Ordinary Indian

I found a very interesting question on a famous website quora.com ,  “How do so many people from Bihar clear the civil services exam?” This question only shows that there is no dearth of educated, competent and qualified people in Bihar. People from Bihar have earned respect by occupying most dignified and celebrated public offices now and also in the past, be it President of India, Chief Justice of India, Governor RBI, Speaker of Lok Sabha and the list can continue for the rest of the page.

Today, when I see Tejaswi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, appointed as Dy Chief Minister of Bihar, I feel helpless, I feel people like me do no matter. I feel, there is no one to hear what we have to say. Democracy in a state with low literacy rate can brutally murder the very concept of democracy. A state heavily divided on the basis of caste and religion can kill meritocracy. Imagine, most qualified and competent bureaucrats reporting to a person who did not even finish school. What a mockery of democracy!!!

To add insult to injury, we see picture of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, congratulating and hugging Lalu Prasad Yadav. This man had started crusade against corruption not very long ago. Today he looks completely comfortable being in their team with broad smile on his face.

Capt. Virendra N Mishra
Bharat Mata Ki Jai

The Great Indian Television Debate Tamasha

Almost all national television channels conduct debate on daily basis at a time when they feel maximum viewership can be achieved. Even ordinary wisdom would expect a debate to inform and educate the viewers on issues affecting their day to day life. We expect to gain some knowledge or receive viewpoint of various political parties which are represented by their official spokespersons in these debates . 

In reality, these debates on privately owned channels, deliver neither information nor knowledge. In any civilised society or nation, you would expect that one speaker will express his views on the subject of discussion in a time suggested by the channel or the anchor of the program. Many a times the spokespersons and very senior politicians from almost all political parties extend no courtesy or respect to the other fellow speaker and start interrupting in between, that too with very loud voice. Such a behaviour, one can expect, earns them brownie points from their bosses in the party. Many a times viewers can’t even hear what any speaker has to say. If this is not enough, the anchor also joins the verbal riot and starts screaming and shouting. Do we ever get to know the purpose and benefit of such debates?  

Well, this all looks staged. It is the cheapest form of Tamasha. It is more like entertainment now. There is no real purpose or motive to achieve an outcome from these debates. Television channels are particularly searching for some controversial remarks, comment or some absurd speech from fringe elements from so called religious groups. This makes the show interesting. The spokespersons from political parties are expected to fight each other with very loud voice to make the show very gripping or interesting. In rural areas one may have seen dogs fight for the enjoyment of the crowd.  

But, there is a clear danger resulting from such debates. It is dividing the society. It provokes people for all the wrong reasons. It is capable of even inciting violence. For the sake of increasing their TRPs, are the TV Channels causing irreparable damage to the society and country? In most of the debate the subjects which are chosen for discussion are founded on hate. Hate is being nurtured and served to the viewers for increasing TRPs and earn more money. At what cost? Dividing the society, creating hate and division among people. We have seen the political parties opposing each other in the past also but not with such intensity and hate. Who is inciting them to behave like this? Every participant in the debate wants to show that I can shout louder than you. What is the root cause of so called INTOLERANCE? Who is adding fuel to the fire? Let’s hope these so called debates do not take us to a point of no return.

Is It Time To Consider Alternate System of Governance?

Even after six decades of achieving independence, India has not been able to get rid of poverty, unemployment, gender inequality, dowry, female infanticide, caste discrimination etc. It is not the lack of policy or law, but the will to implement the law which is stopping us from achieving the end result. Do we need people who are qualified and competent to run the system? We, in India, are proud of our democratic form of governance. Elections are our biggest festivals. Do people with the right credentials, qualifications and vision contest the elections? If the answer is no, how do we get right kind of leaders to run the nation.

In the current system, people elect Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly. These elected (so called) leaders represent us in the parliament. Due to their vested political interests they only settle score against each other in the parliament and nation’s interest is not even considered to discuss. Even if people want to teach a lesson to their representative they have to wait for five years. That is too much of a time to ruin a country.

Why we shall not consider alternate system of governance?

 There should be competency examinations held (Written as well as interview) for those aspiring to become ministers whether in state or central government. Applicants shall have at least 10 years of experience either in public, social or corporate life. Those who pass the examinations and qualify to become minister should be assisted by leaders elected by people. The system shall be completely transparent. These leaders should be given the role of advisor to minsters. So the ministers will have two sets of advisers. One who represent people’s opinion and second, the very qualified talent coming through Indian Civil Services. Parliament should be more like board room to discuss only issues affecting the nation. The performance of the government shall be audited by audit companies of highest credentials.

We should at least start thinking about it. Where have we reached in these six decades? Why we are not able to build world class universities? Why we are not able to create best infrastructure in the country. Why young ambitious Indian wants to migrate to other countries? The answer lies in our system of governance. We need to put our house in order. Have correct and fare system of governance. Right people doing the right job.

India will change for better.

Jai Hind!!!

Capt. Virendra Nath Mishra

vnm@shippingtribune.com