Sharrayu Aroskar

I write here for a civil society first, not in particular to the educated class but a class that thinks common sense makes generic sense and education is an aftermath of the same. I don’t want to be cryptic here but lets think of things that have stopped India from seeing through what progress it should have post its independence.

British did what they could. I am not too sure if it is right for me to expect a lot out of that rule but I still think they left us with some infrastructure but shaken spines. I don’t want to name leaders I think should have stood a little straighter than they did. I would like to mention though Swatyantra Veer Sawarkar is my hero. Read between the lines if you can.

That was history, rulers ruled and India waited for governance. Of the 14 times that our Lok Sabha was formed it was just thrice that non-congress led governments were in power. Being in power what the Congress party has done and I as an individual with sense of self respect for my country and common sense that is in general common in a society that wants to progress with pride and responsibility strongly oppose:

State of emergency: A state of emergency declared by a Prime Minister needed her to put the freedom fighters in jail. I have read of dictators doing this. I guess Mrs. Gandhi could pull it through without much opposition as the media wasn’t as vocal as it is today and anyone who could initiate an action was already in jail.

Reservation: Babasaheb Ambedkar was a leader with a sense of pride and far sightedness. Writing a constitution of a complex and multicultural country requires sharp analytical skills and knowledge of the law and system intricacies. In my understanding India is one country that has a constitution that is written thinking of the complexities and challenges decades down the line. I respect the far sightedness it’s architect had. In this constitution, Dr. Ambedkar proposed a reservation policy for the dalits in this country to give them a helping hand till was required to take a developmental path. He was for eliminating the reservation system after some years. He probably missed to define those years in the constitution and sadly we lost him quite early than we thought we would. Congress without understanding the thought and reason behind the initial reservation policy made it a marketing tool to get votes.

I know of a case in my rental apartment in Pune. My maid servant earns just enough to run her home and put her kids through school. Her son secured 89% in SSC. I was amazed at this considering the conditions under which he would have had to study. But that did not fetch him admission to good diploma engineering school. He had to seek an alternative. Guess why was this the case? A reserved candidate who came from a similar background or better than his, though with lesser merit got the prestigious seat. Thus RESRVATION OVER MERIT rules even after 60 years of independence.

I am thus not surprised that Sonia Gandhi who has never ever uttered a single word on policies in India but only makes typical CONGRESS STYLE speeches of “hum garibi haaenge” and “hum Pakistan ko muh tod jawab denge” in midst of a rural crowd is  in upscale position in Congress regardless of her performance in governance. First the lady who hails from Italy has got the Indian political system and meaning of ruling the country wrong. Her actions speak for her ignorance. In my opinion Mrs. Gandhi feels that politics is about waving your hand with fingers joined so that it does not lose the congress feel. Secondly, she thinks that patriotism is not to be questioned for her because she has lost her mother-in-law and husband to terrorism. Thirdly, she thinks that ruling in the government is not about ideology but keeping the numbers above half the strength of the house come what may.

I wish to tell her this. Any leader who has been assassinated in this country is a loss to each of its citizens. We feel your pain as a family but that does not give you a certificate of patriotism or approval to your policies against terrorism (that there weren’t any that can be debated is a different question altogether). My country men fight on borders of this country, my country men have lost their own lives and also their near and dear ones in terror attacks here, there and everywhere in the country. So Mrs. Gandhi don’t make the assassination of our leaders a political issue just because they are your family and because the rest of the country who has lost kins is not standing to be elected.

Minority Politics: 13% of the population in India is Muslims about 80% Hindus and the rest. We all form a cultural and socio economic strength of this country. The first divide was initiated by the British and the Congress has taken over to make sure that the divide remains for them to be used to secure the 13% vote bank. My question to Congress is many fold. If 13% is a minority then what is the Kashmiri pandit population in Kashmir which reduced from 15% in 1941 to 0.1% in 2006. Why does secularism to Congress mean anti Hinduism and crippling the Muslims by calling them minority? Why didn’t the Congress declare Kashmiri Pandits in the valley as minority to guard their interests and protect them in the valley? The Nehru family is Kashmiri Pandit. Then why didn’t the Congress leadership then or even now feel the need to call Hindus in the Kashmir valley as minorities if they were upfront about Muslims being a minority in rest of India? The answer is simple, 15% of the Kashmiri votes then and 0.1% of the votes now might not have transformed into enough votes for Congress to take up that issue. It is after all about vote bank.

Had Congress not done the further divide in this country India would have had lesser incidences of communal riots. Every element that tries to disrupt this country is an enemy, be he a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh or Christian.

Terrorism & POTA: The BJP led government realized the danger that the country was facing and it’s after math. POTA was a master brain of BJP. When the bill was to pass in the house, Congress opposed it calling it non-secular. The bill was opposed by the Congress led opposition just because it was a master brain of the BJP. Post 26/11 the Congress led government used the same bill and put it to pass in the house. This is like copying assignments in school and then going first to the teacher to make sure you get the credit of your friends work. Shameful that this happened in the government and media did not raise the voice enough. I respect Mr. Advani led government and the support they offered to pass the bill inspite of knowing the dirty game that Congress had palyed.

POTA never discriminated against Hindus and others. It was applicable to every enemy of this country. Sadly the word secular is defined as something else in the dictionary that the Congress leaders use especially Mrs. Gandhi. Secondly, the Congress lacks the farsightedness needed to tackle terror. Opposition to POTA by the Congress and ill preparedness of our state security forces has proved this. Congress always finds itself in reactive mode rather than a pro-active one.

Sonia Gandhi: My readers must be wondering what a shift from policy centric view to being personal. But yes I would not have opposed the Congress party as much as I oppose its leadership and existence today if it wasn’t for its party president. Sonia Gandhi with her mistaken understanding and half baked knowledge about India went on to advertise the hand that she had never fully held. She thinks that it is all about making promises in rural India, shaking legs with the tribals wearing Indian etc. I have never heard her speak about Congress ideology and policies for India. Other leaders do the job for her. If that’s the case why is the lady in power as the Congress president? When all of us know that people who cry in front of the world media like Renuka Choudhary and Sahin Pilot become her favorites. The world watched India in shame when Indian nationals were pleading in front of a woman of Italian origin who was refusing to take up the position as a Prime Minster. Didn’t the country have an alternative then? Congress leaders should have thought above party politics when they put the buttering show in front of the media. They should have sorted this internally rather than putting up a show for the world that humiliated Indians across the world. I laud Mr. Pawar for standing for a thought and forming a separate party. It’s unfortunate that he had to form an alliance with the same leader that he had opposed to.

Blunt promises: Congress has made many promises to the people of this country of all classes. I seriously doubt whom this has exactly benefited. When TATA NANO is the talked about car in the world and pride of India in a sense, the center did not consider it a requirement to interrupt when Mamta created a fiasco in West Bengal, Not too sure what the concerned ministry was busy with. I am sure it wasn’t Satyam as they did not catch it until it happened. Localites in Mumbai and Maharashtra are suffering for lack of governance in Bihar and UP with the population migrating in large numbers here. Neither the state congress govt. nor the one at the center seems to notice or care. They however want all 48 constituency seats from Maharashtra. Shame!

Over a period of years an average voter was looking for a change. The BJP government at the center did a lot better than the Congress in those five years. Infrastructure, technology, economic and foreign policies. There was a logic and intellectual debate possible for their actions. One mistake though was India shining and the drop outs from the party there after. I am not too sure how difficult it is to get back the lady in Saffron. If the leaders can she can win a lot of MP for BJP and BJP can give her a face and respect she needs again.

To sum it up BJP is the most feasible alternative to the Congress government for the 15^th Lok Sabha. I would like to see this country respecting merits. I don’t want to send my kids abroad to fetch education just because their parents can’t afford education in India and that they don’t belong to any reserved category. I would like to see a culturally diverse and respectful population. No one is a minority here. This is everyone’s country. I urge the minorities in the country join the main stream with BJP and flow like a river rather than staying all life like a stagnant lake that is so dependent on parties like Congress feeding them that water forgets how flow through the rocks.