GENOCIDE IN THE BACKDROP OF PROSPERITY

India is developing at a brisk pace & today we are being conferred as an energy efficient nation. Having said that I strongly believe that with great power comes greater vulnerability. Testimony to the foresaid, India along with Russia, Italy, London & Spain have the distinction of being called a country to have incurred self-inflicted disasters. While some of the accidents occurred, some were incurred. While countless people died, their coming generations suffered terribly.

In last few weeks I have come across some appalling articles, which got featured in newspapers & other social media platforms. The articles were specially dedicated to the problems of common mass & the way ignorant government has been ducking it as always. 

I would start with one of the worst disasters of India, which took place in the city of Bhopal. An adversity from which the city is still recuperating & people living there are yet to overcome the demons of their past. Yes, I am talking about the leakage of MIC form Union Carbide factory, a fertilizer manufacturing facility on the night of Dec 3,1984. MIC, which is believed to be one of the most deadly chemicals that ever existed, escaped into the atmosphere on the fateful night. The layer of gas shrouded one quarter of the city & those who came in its contact died one of the most brutal deaths that any human would ever imagine of. Those living in the nearby areas were reduced to corpse within a few hours. People succumbed to vital organ failure & serious respiratory complications. Such was its intensity that even today a newborn comes into the world with physical deformity. Read more about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy here.

The city of Bhopal has come a long way since then, the only thing that hasn’t changed is the place and the ill effect that it casts over the citizens residing there. A recent survey conducted in Bhopal doesn’t augur well for the city. Little do they know that the remains of harmful mercury particles which settled down on the ground & further got soaked by the underground water has now contaminated a major portion of water that is supplied in the city. The unaware people have consumed the same water & have infected their body mechanism in the long run. If that is anything less, the obtuse government has turned a blind eye towards them, thus leading them to a life-threatening situation. The newborns in the adjoining areas inherit congenital disorders and infections. Few NGOs have tried to voice their suppressed resistance by exposing the genuine issue & bringing it to the notice of those accountable for their wellbeing but a concrete solution still looks bleak.

The other story is about UCIL (Uranium Corporation Of India Limited). UCIL is located in Jadugoda district of mineral rich Jharkhand which houses major chunk of mineral resources found in India. We know that uranium is a mineral of utmost utility when it comes to generation of nuclear energy & production of power. In the pursuit of development the poor laborers working day & night in those dark trenches have been continuously ignored. Uranium being radioactive substance dissipates the harmful particle into the respiratory system of those who come in its contact, thus reducing their lifespan of the recipient signally & also affect their coming generations. People die because of lung cancer & other forms of skin disorders. Their children have been nursing dreadful diseases like cerebral palsy, deformity, mental illness & limb disorder, most of which are congenital disorders. But I guess the MDs of these conglomerate hardly bother about their safety.

The last phrase of the story is about KMML (Kerala metals and minerals limited); here the industrial effluents have contaminated the area in the 500 meters reach from its nexus. An initiative taken by a news channel unveiled the reality of the place. While some of the activists from the local areas have been waging their lone crusade but it took a special report from them to make the government acknowledge the reality. The contaminated water has spread to the tube-wells where the pH level was measured too acidic to drink. The govt had confirmed that an area of 150 meter was affected & would be taken over anytime but the reality check revealed that 500 meters of the area was obsoleted & remained instrumental in spreading deadly health hazards. Skin disorders like cracked legs; sore skin & burnt skin had been discovered among the inhabitants. Their woes were multiplied by their drying paddy fields. The government finally put a full stop to their miseries by confirming that 500 acres of the area in the vicinity of KMML will be taken over by the state run enterprise & people will be relocated to a safer place.

These major problems gives us an insight to the reality & there are many such issues across the length & width of our vast land which even fail to tickle the government’s ears. But the million dollar question that arise here is, ‘When are we going to value human lives above other material benefits?’

IT’S BETWEEN A DEPLETED GRAND OLD MAN AND A RECKONING MAN OF STEEL

“Are you scared of one to one battle with BJP prime ministerial candidate Mr. Modi” quizzed Arnab. “Actually I see a huge power of youngster suppressed, our task at hand is to utilize the suppressed power, empower women and bring a more powerful RTI” replied VP(vice president of congress party). The reply was completely irrelevant of the question tossed at him and he sounded more stereotyped, a well-memorised answer it was, something ilk we used to do when we were a kid, memorising by heart with the help of cardamom seeds and a glass of water every morning. Similarly, he kept replying in a random fashion to most of the questions thrown at him, trying to put his best foot forward and veil the visibly relevant exasperation written all over his face. Arnab Goswami went on to ask if congress had lost the elections before it began but alas even this question failed to receive a thumping reply. Apparently the interview went viral on the internet with YOU TUBE views surpassing the million mark in no time and drew flak from the internet geeks as well as the English literate mass almost instantly who were keen to see the ‘Shehzada’ take to guard against unarguably the best news reporter of the country. Like others I too closely followed the 80 minutes candid talk between Arnab and congress’ VP, though it didn’t turn out to be one of those candid talks full of wit and knowledge powerhouse at display which most of the fellow Indians anticipated, rather it turned out to be an awful experience for the viewers and nightmare for the frontrunner to the most coveted post. In the course of the interview, Arnab resembled a Dale Steyn and VP resembled a Suresh Raina and a one-sided game being played in which a visibly petrified Gandhi scion was left languishing to tackle the torrents of short pitched balls and bouncers which were well directed at him. While ducking and swinging, he took several blows but at last he unwillingly spooned one of the balls to the second slip (he acknowledged the role of congressmen in 1984 riots).

To begin with I won’t discourse all those talks doing round these days i.e the much awaited 2014 general elections, nor will I discuss all the equations being set up. As these exit polls and math work is good only till a news channelwala wall or a magazinewala does that, and so far all the equation leads to a common consensus in BJP statesman Mr. Narendra Modi being the pick of the masses. But before I write anything let me be very specific that I am quite an apolitical type of person who shares more or less same insight for everyone.

The other day when I played one of those videos from latest TV series 7RCR which is an initiative of star news and co-hosted by famous novelist Chetan Bhagat. The main purpose of this series is to educate the viewers about our prime ministerial candidates who are vying for the most coveted kursi. The episode on Mr. Modi being the foremost clearly gives an indication as to how the plot is being prepared to woo the masses. With the kind of unprecedented adulation he has received through the lengths and breadths of the country, it clearly shows the kind of fan following and support he enjoys. The crowd has shown its inclination by jumping into the NAMO bandwagon, and no points for guessing the pro NAMO waves that has stormed the country. Meanwhile, the nexus of my talk still remains that only a deserving candidate should be the able heir to the throne. With both congress and BJP having their own shares of ugly episodes, it becomes quite a herculean task to pin point the right one. Where UPA II was marred by some of most disgraceful scams as coal, commonwealth and 2G. In addition to that PM drew the bulk of flaks for being a puppet to congress president. If that was anything less the inflation turned out to be the last nail in the coffin for UPA II. As regards BJP how can one forget the memorable statement of last BJP PM Vajpayee ji who after losing the elections in 2003 went on the records to quote that, “Godhara led to our defeat”. And despite Mr Modi getting a clean chit from the supreme court,    one can’t turn a blind eye to the incidents of Godhara. Though few of his ministers got caught he came clean despite re-appeals by Mrs. Zakia Zaffari widow of slain leader Ehsaan Zafari and re-probing by SIT (special investigating team). And eventually he remains the prime suspect of marshalling the whole plot of Godhara for many pseuds. Though it is one of the most horrible accidents in the history of the country, one can’t deny that it was a reaction to what happened with Sabarmati express. Well BJP has been drawing its own share of criticism for being a staunch Hindu and have become quintessential of the agents preaching their own values, kind of raising a voice to suppress the Muslims. However, I won’t dug much deeper into this and go on to share my views of them.

When I see Modi I am forced to discourse the change he has incurred in Gujrat as CM in last decade. And I see him doing the same for India, a privilege which Indians have been eluded of in last 5-6 years. Given the kind of life he has lived in his 63-year-old existence allows us fair insight to what kind a person he is. Popularly known as chaiwallah (as a kid he sold tea at railway platform). He never had the luxury to make a lavish living, leave alone a middle-class life. I tell you I followed his initial 2-3 rallies very keenly until it turned out to become a regular affair. I recall the ‘Hunkaar’ rally at Patna, Bihar where he went on to address the local crowd in the local languages of state, that being Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Maghi. It left me thinking about the kind of personality he has evolved into and respect he commands. He has worked his ass out to become what he is today. If you take accounts of the development he cropped up in Gujrat, it is numerous. Some of them being the interlinking of rivers in the state to curb the irrigation problem, giving way to more foreign investment in the state, and enormous utilization of solar power. Even foreign countries like Japan and the USA have sent their foreign delegations to get the layout of development model of the state, per capita income has improved steadily as compared to other states and solely because of this one man show. When he delivers a speech I see adrenaline rush visible on his face, a positive energy gushes out through his every single pore, his talks are a perfect blend of wit and knowledge. Even most of the high profile news reporters including Arnab couldn’t get better of him because he has mastered this art of being precise and witty. One will not find him making promises as he relies on work more being done than said, he rather holds a mirror firmly in his hand in which he shows people the true face of UPA government. Having said that, I still affirm that it’s too hard to take a call on the legitimacy of the correct person.

When we talk of congress party the development talks take a backseat. With a couple of big schemes to their credit like MNREGA and AADHAR, they have more of scams poor governance to show and which has left people with so much of despise. So you just can’t blame me for being a pro saffron party, the fact remains they have not given us anything good to talk. Right ?? now on the other side we see Gandhi scion ready and up for grabs. With the bulk of impetus lying on his shoulders and compelling him to the fore in the race to prime ministerial post, he has a task cut out and after counting all the crimes committed by them in the 2^nd term I fear he will have to wait till he becomes a pro and grows a thick skin. Most of the good work done by the UPA-I was shrouded by the series of unpleasant events in UPA II. PM sir lost all the reputation he made all these years, the most memorable being his stint as Finance Minister during 1900-91 when he bailed the country out of the jaws of financial crunch. But that is a history and has earned himself a quite proficient tag of ‘bechara’. Had Mr. Singh taken firm steps to diminish corruption, degrading foreign policies, the taking-for-granted attitude of Chinese and Pakistanis who wanted to hear a firm and controlled voice coming from the top, the scenarios would be much different. Countrymen were left wanting to get a glimpse of their PM speaking, but he kept stretching his prolonged maunvrat and kept turning off aam aadmi. We need someone with I-give-it-back-to-you attitude. And I see that in Mr. Modi. A mere thought of seeing Rahul Gandhi as PM leaves me with wild goose bump. Reason being, what can be expected of a person who can’t afford to be candid or for that matter diplomatic to a reporter. Lastly, we must reckon that India is a democratic country, but I see monarchy system being followed in the backdrop of democracy. Let us realize that it just not the Gandhi family who holds the baton for the congress of for that matter India.

As of now I suppose Mr. Modi with his in-your-face persona, by far remains the aptest choice for the kursi. His invincible attitude is what makes him stand out of the crowd and has been rightly chosen as the saffron flag wielder. If India has to make a strong statement on the global platform and regain its somewhat lost pride we need somebody with a creative and confident head at the helm. Shehzada needs to be more mature and must get to know the syllabus properly so that the next time when he is up for an interview he doesn’t find anything out of syllabus. I guess VP is still a novice and really needs to grow a thick skin with all his homework neatly done (at least to show) before he conquers heart of 1.25 billion people.

NDTV opinion poll: How the BJP can get to 272 - possible alliances http://t.co/nBV7Xk9wqz
— amit chandra (@amit_cj) March 15, 2014