Why is the government manufacturing a insurmountable problem (Manipur)

We lament that we live in a hostile neighborhood with China on one side and Pakistan on another. There is no denying the fact that our neighborhood is not a conducive one, but do we ever realize that how hostile and callous we & our government is towards its own  people - take the example of Manipur - I am told that there is an economic blockade there as a result of which - Price of petrol is a mere Rs 130/liter in Imphal. A gas cylinder is about Rs. 1500!! Why is the govt so indifferent to such problems, why it always gives a knee-jerk reaction, it can at least show a workable level of efficiency if not perfect efficiency? Is it not manufacturing a crisis? Does the government love being in a - what we call - "fool's paradise". Now when China will move in and start exploiting the situation - then the administration will come out of its slumber and will start crying foul. Why don't we act now? Or is it that Government thinks whole of Manipur is "Irom Sharmila" - forgotten for a decade? In this case state government too belongs to INC- hence why doesn't the government act what is stopping it from taking cognizance? Is it due to lack of Political will - well that they will have to muster on their own...
A friend of mine adds:-
The truth is even with all the army GOI has barely any control over NE. The reason? Because they want to control not provide good governance. Take Tripura it had a 3000 year old royal family which provided a better standard of living to itspeople in terms of schooling, infrastructure etc. Fast forward to now and it is a laggard state. There is a need to restructure centre-state so people in far off areas from the centre can receive the administrative deliverable due to them. Lets start with a glass of drinkable water for the whole country, that itself should be an achievement!

The "Sense of the house" & Vikramadiyta's throne - how are they related

Ideally any assurance by the parliament on any issue should lay to rest beyond doubt any suspicion about the government's intention - but alas! that doesn't seem to be the case. It was not a welcome sight when people were raising concerns on the reliability about the assurance given by the house. Not a happy situation for any citizen- but then what else one can expect in the present scenario? It reminds of a childhood story from my "Chandamama Days" (often retold by my dad as a bedtime story - well he had a set of favourites from which he used to pick and narrate). The story goes as follows:- The was once a sleepy village of Timarpur (1 of the default names I use  during any narration) . Every Wednesday a weekly haat (village market) used to be held in the football grounds of the village. Today was no different , children were running riot, caged birds were chirping, hawkers were shouting at the pitch of their voices vying for the attention of the buyers, the sweet meat shops were churning out the lovely yellow spirals popularly called the jalebi . Amid-st all this  activity the peace was marred by a ruckus raised by a war of words between two vendors. They were arguing over space for laying their wares. One of them contented it was his regular place , while the other contented that he had come first hence he was the rightful one to lay his shop there. In due course of time they went to the center of the ground which had a banyan tree , at its base was an elevated ground where sat a small kid. He volunteered to resolve the dispute. The villagers agreed though a bit hesitantly as the kid was too young for that, yet they agreed. The child asked both the hawkers if they owned the place or paid any tax for the place to this both replied in negative , then he asked the one who claimed that he was a regular to that place - if he used to go to the village temple? To this the person's answer was in affirmative.  The child further asked him - Do you go there daily? The hawker  said - Yes. Then he asked - Do you own the village temple? the hawker said- No.The child then said -as just by frequenting the village temple daily does not make you the owner of the village temple similarly the fact that you used to set up your shop on  a certain piece of land on a weekly does not make you the claimant of that place. As you do not pay any tax for the place hence anyone who comes first can lay his claim to that place. Everyone accepted the ruling and were amazed by the sharpness of the kid. An inquisitive few went near the banyan tree and started investigating the elevated ground closely, to their surprise it concealed a throne and on further examination it turned out to be the "Throne of Vikramadiyta"- which had the magical quality of turning anyone who sat on it into someone who gave impartial and flawless judgments. Now coming to the current scenario prevailing in our country- I keep wondering isn't the seat/position of the "Member of Parliament" sanctimonious enough that it too evokes similar responses and behavior from our legislators?? I just hope it does inherit the magical qualities of "Vikramadiyta's throne" one fine day.....

Irom's fast of more than 10 years - has to end .....

Why cant we all stand up for Irom Sharmila ,I think the following are the reasons for her protracted fast:-
1. Manipur has only 2 lok Sabha seats so till the time we (rest of India) stand up, this is not going to be resolved anytime soon as political parties are concerned only about the numbers. {This makes me shudder at the thought of creation of small states, will it mean that they are created for better governance and regional aspirations, but in the long run due to the small size- government becomes apathetic to their plight.}
2. The media in my opinion is the biggest culprit - the hosts (though not everyone is same) who sit there and lecture everyone about morals cannot escape their responsibility - you cannot say this my bread and butter and escape the guilt ( remember how critical we are about doctors who turn into money churning machines the same is true for every  professional- but the responsibility of a doctor, teacher and journalist is always more than others in the society due to the very nature of their job).As many may argue my boss doesn't allow focus on Irom as it is financially not rewarding - well I know people who were once journalist are now
owners of News Channels so now you can act, cant you?
3. Apathy of the rest of India towards north-east. That's the very reason I see people in black and white - Indian/ Not Indian / Socially disadvantaged Indian. Lets not ignore others' plight - as who knows we may find ourselves in similar situations some day - lets always be sensitized to others plight, at least at the mental level - becoz I have seen people showng indifference when you narrate any incident of this nature to them as they feel it doesnt effect them or as if they are immune from such happenings - fact remains these things are responsibility of every Indian not to be left to the mercy of some NGO or Human Rights Body.
4. Also people of Manipur shouldn't have let the fast to continue for such a long time. In case of Anna 13 days were very painful though we supported Anna's cause we wanted Anna to give up the fast in case no breakthrough was achieved - so it is the responsibility of people of Manipur also, to ask her to give up the fast as we cannot risk a person's life for a cause. There is no denying that it is a pure case of improper handling and government apathy but one has to see to it that situations dont precipitate to such an extent. What prompted Irom's fast was a very unfortunate occurance - On November 2, 2000, in Malom, a town in the Imphal Valley of Manipur, ten civilians were allegedly shot and killed by the Assam Rifles, one of the Indian Paramilitary forces operating in the state, while waiting at a bus stop.The incident later came to be known to activists as the "Malom Massacre". The next day's local newspapers published graphic pictures of the dead bodies, including one of a 62-year old woman, Leisangbam Ibetomi, and 18-year old Sinam Chandramani, a 1988 National Child Bravery Award winner. Her brother Irom Singhajit Singh recalled, "The killings took place on 2 November, 2000. It was a Thursday. Sharmila used to fast on Thursdays since she was a child. That day she was fasting too. She has just continued with her fast".  She demands that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA)
I came to know about Irom Sharmila only when twiteerati became very vociferours about Anna , and as a result some people from the journalist fraternity (Anubha Bhosle, Sumon K Chakrabarti, Kishalay Bhattacharya)highlighted that - if you people are so concerned about Anna what about Irom who is fasting for 10 years, I couldn't believe when I first heard it. How could one survive, was my initial reaction.. Then I googled about her and came to know that she was being force-fed by "Nasogastric Intubation".
Lets see to it that she breaks her fast in our lifetime .... no let see to it that she breaks her fast before next "Republic Day" at all cost....
Also here is a link about Irom Sharmila by Anubha Bhosle -http://ibnlive.in.com/news/anna-becomes-an-icon-irom-sharmila-forgotten/179427-3.html do read it.

Anna Laughter Beans

 

Fury of the mighty unleashed

Just look at the swiftness with which MPs are bringing "privilege motion" (the 1 by Ram Gopal Yadav) - isn't it an indicator that they are on "teaching a lesson time" - by the MPs to those who took them to task or questioned their credentials or credibility. Well the media itself has shown how enlightened our MPs are when asked to recite impromptu the "National Anthem". Showing the mirror is always risky.

The various facets of the Anna/Janlokpal Andolan

What has the Janlokpal Movement achieved? Well a lot , not an iota of doubt on that:-

1. The most important achievement of the movement was thet it was firmly conveyed to the political class (which should be called the Paisewala class) that the "Pakistan - brand " -{Blame and bait India for all its ills and woes} of polity  will not work in India. It has shown the likes of Laloo, Sharad and Maya - divisive polity is not very much appreciated by 21st century India (at least the 1st signs are there), which is the reason for their irritation and blaming of the "dabba" (idiotbox)

2. Exposed the politicians effectively - now one has to be a smart voter see through their designs and vote for a better set  of people for that if you have to bribe to get your voter ID cards in place do it - remember 2014 is the D Date.

3. Has shown the government what are issues which concern the masses , as I am not ready to accept that it was a middle class movement , most of the middle class stayed at home but were backing Anna

4. There is a Rahul specific message too - if he can decipher it - one need not be young (though at 40 some people may object to that, but I will grant the concession) to be a youth icon - you have to just inspire the youth. Inspiring comes from honesty of intent - tears of Bhattaparsul are not different from woes of farmers in Ullahawas village (near Gurgaon ) - if one doesn't show fairness in one's cause one is bound to have a fall. Rahul is expected to show more sagacity - trash your advisers start acting on your own.

5. On the Janlokpal bill front it has achieved nothing substantial as what Anna got was "sense of the house" which is not binding on the Standing Committee which is drafting the law - also being optimistic lets assume they implement it - just watch out for the loopholes they leave to escape.

There are many more facets but will sign off here ...... Hence I did not and will not rejoice till I see change on the ground, I will do my bit but within my limits (accepting one's limitation honestly is the first step to solving a problem). It is a nervous beginning for me , fully aware that the path ahead is full of deceit , but through constant vigil one has to ensure that we the masses are not taken for a ride. Remember how the government implemented -"The lnformation Technology (Electronic Service Delivery) Rules, 2011." - perhaps the media didnot  raise a hue and cry about it. Here a link do read it - if rigorously implement we will be china in no time, also dont forget since its a law govt. can implement whenever it wants to:-
http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/RNUS_CyberLaw_15411.pdf . A write-up which brings out the inherent dangers of these rules :-  https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/06/new-indian-internet-intermediary-regulations-pose