Democracy in the 2nd largest democracy depended this week on a full stomach and a fax machine! A hungry man is an angry man was a saying proved this week in Jammu & Kashmir, after the assembly was dissolved. If you are confused – please revert to the headlines this week. The surprise announcement came after three foes became friends with benefits. One of them already had experience of being a friend to a foe previously, and so a threesome was a step up. The threesome caused consternation in the Raj Bhavan ( it was something new), the only stable where horses are not traded according to sources, and where the fax machine works selectively, if at all – it beeps only when messages come from outside the state – maybe becuase of internet issues. The consternation about opposing ideologies coming together led to conspiracy and treason (T without reason) theories, and panic, forgetting perhaps that political parties with opposing ideologies in the sate had married previously using their horse sense to provide a ‘stable’ government but soon discovered, that the stable was divided into two with an insurmountable barrier between that did not allow the horses to wag their tails to drive away the flies. The events of the week in Kashmir also resembled in a way, the story of the resurrection – even as democracy was destroyed with the largest alliance being denied an opportunity to prove their fevicol and worth, single party panchyat polls were being held to revive it!
While airlines have become the railways, the railways have become our airlines – the passengers have moved up in the air and on the ground – but they know not how. Like electronics, with time, flying, travelling by rail and even by road in luxury has become cheaper, but so have those who benefit from that cheaper luxury travel, it would appear from a railway report. The upper classes of Railway travel are meant for the upper classes of India – now classified as those who can afford it as compared to previous classifications – but the classification is based on any behavioral scale it would seem! Indeed, the AC classes of rail travel take care of passengers, like they don’t want them to fly, ever. They cater to all the needs of passengers from food to bed linen and face towels to draw them into their fold. Then the passengers fold the linen and towels and make away with them. That’s what a railway report says.
Over 21 lakh towels, bed sheets, blankets and other commodities have gone missing from air-conditioned coaches of Indian Railways trains during the year 2017-18. An official was quoted in an IANS report saying that the prime suspects for these incidents are the affluent AC passengers! In the last fiscal year, passengers are suspected to have made off with 21,72,246 bedroll items specifically, including 12,83,415 hand towels, 4,71,077 bed sheets and 3,14,952 pillow covers from several Indian Railways trains across the country. Apart from this, Indian Railways detected that 56,287 pillows and 46,515 blankets were missing from the AC coaches in the particular period.
A senior Railway Ministry official was quoted in the report saying that the total estimated cost of all the missing items is over Rs 14 crore. This is a pittance compared to the figures being bandied about in the same breath as fighter jet – but then is rail transport, and it is also true that the missing wealth of the nation is spread far and wide across the country – After all India is also the second most populous nation and is socialist at that – until the word, like secular, is removed from the preamble of the Constitution – it might soon be…then only a few will sleep on bed sheets and use a face towel. The rest will use the bed sheet as a face towel or vice versa!
Convergence is a term more often used in the internet communications space, but it is today (and will be till May 2019 perhaps) a term more associated with the ancient city of Ayodhya. Everyone, but everyone is converging there ahead of 6/12 creating a 6/12 like situation (1992). If you are old enough you will recall it. If not you will be educated about it by the concerned. The text book is however NCERT ordained! Everyone but everyone wants to lay a hand on a carved stone of May 2019. Not to throw it obviously, but to lay it gently by force! Convergence is taking place even by flight for the fight! So its not just a coping mechanism – fight or flight – Its fight by flight! What will emerge is difficult to say, but there are interesting statements being made every day which indicate that there are different fonts on the same page of the election bulletin. According to an NDTV report on November 23rd 2018, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, attacking ally BJP over the demand for special law to enable the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, said today: “We brought down the Babri mosque in 17 minutes, so how much time for a law?”. Orgasmic experiences are described similarly – in terms of minutes!
Efforts to integrate everyone into our destructive way of thinking is perhaps unwise to say the least. Shouldn’t we learn to live and let live? That is the message that emnates from the death of Chau, an American tourist on the Sentinelese island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Just because we want to add to our taxes, our tourism income, and our social media feeds, should we break thier arrows, or for that matter allow thier arrows to peirce our bodies? I know body piercings are a trend that is catching up in India, but this is extreme..
We all know hugs can make a difference, but it depends on who hugs whom.. Some try and try to use hugs to get something in return but end up empty handed, even their invites to attend events are turned down. Others succeed with one hug! What is the secret one wonders – Warmth or sincerity or both?
Months after Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former six hitting cricketer (now replaced by Rohit Sharma) was castigated by his former mentors, the BJP for his visit to Pakistan to attend the inaugural of Imran Khan’s Prime Minister-ship and his hug of a Pak General for his kind words on Khatarpur (as reported in the Media – I didnt hear them, and from what I keep reading and seeing in the media, no Pak General has kind words for India or Indians) the former cricketer claimed that it was his hug that worked the magic for the Khatarpur corridor. After he returned to India, Sidhu said General Qamar Bajwa had told him Pakistan may open the corridor to Kartarpur and promised to throw in a kiss next time if the corridor was opened. This week, India and Pakistan have said they’ll develop a corridor to help Sikhs travel to the final resting place of Guru Nanak, their faith’s founder — a gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan. Now he will have to keep his promise, bad breath notwithstanding….
Then came the advertisement. It has to, no escape! A day after Pakistan and India announced they would develop a pilgrim corridor, on both sides of the border, to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the fall of the Berlin Wall to underline the potential transformative nature of the diplomatic move. “Kisne socha that ki Berlin ki deewar gir sakti hai. Shayad Guru Nanak Devji ke aashirwad se Kartarpur ka corridor sirf corridor nahi, jan-jan ko jodne ka bahut of pilgrims’ progress bada kaaran ban sakta hai (Who thought the Berlin Wall would fall. May be, with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, Kartarpur corridor will not only be a corridor but can be a reason to bring people together,” Modi said Friday at a function to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev at the New Delhi home of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur. Two things gleaned; one the Berlin wall did not fall – it was broken down by determined people, and second, next time onward, the birth anniversary of the Sikh Saint can be celebrated where it should be…
Last Word
Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister for External Affairs announced that she will not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. That was probably the biggest announcement of the week. The timing was akin to Rohit Sharma’s when he is in prime form (not otherwise). The announcement does not however preclude her from becoming the Prime Minister in May 2019, a post many would like to see her hold, given her compassion for her fellow beings
Have a good weekend and a great week ahead
The author may be contaced at brian@newskarnataka.com
