Reservation, Politics, DESTRUCTION!!!

The violence and destruction that we are seeing in Haryana caused by the agitating Jat's seems to be timed to perfection. The horrific violence that was unleashed has even taken the current government by surprise. And they use this as an explanation for such inept handling of the situation.

Jat's have been demanding reservation from quite a long time, but why are they violently agitating now? I kept pondering over the question when I came across this:

                                 

Further to this, the article also mentions how shops owned by Jat's have been spared and those of non-Jat's been looted and demolished. How they spared the CM's residence and attacked those of BJP minister's.

The overall damage that this agitation has caused is estimated to be around Rs. 34,000 crores. This figure seems right as along with the destruction of tangible (public property, shops, houses, etc), we should also estimate the intangible (loss in business due to curfew).

The ruling party in the state, BJP, could have shown a little more urgency in clamping this agitation down before it turned into a huge mess. Of course they had Jat reservation in their manifesto and now are finding themselves in a tight spot. Its an altogether different matter that the Supreme Court has already rejected the same when the previous government tried to include Jat's in the 27% OBC quota.

Another thing that the BJP government failed to do is to take this opportunity and nail congress party as chief instigator of violence in this country. People should know of this in some way as currently the media seems oblivious to this and are busy blaming our PM Modi.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

PM Modi's initiative "Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan" has got the whole of India talking about cleanliness. Its not like we did not know about cleanliness, however, we collectively have conditioned ourselves to turn a blind eye to filth that's filling this country up. Every major city has the problem of garbage collection and disposal. We feel that we are not responsible for this problem, its governments job to clean it up. This attitude is the sole reason for the pathetic condition that we are finding ourselves in.

When the initiative was launched, many celebrities including our PM where seen with a broom in hand cleaning a small area. Many people watching it on TV were smugly smiling and saying "Bah, this is just for publicity, our country will never change". And I absolutely agree with this sentiment. With this attitude, there will never be a change in this country. Cleaning behind us is not governments job. Its our responsibility to not throw garbage anywhere but in the dustbin.

Let me tell you a story that happened recently. I was coming back from office and was waiting for my train. A guy comes forward and throws that semi-empty water bottle on the tracks. Nobody says anything, so I muster up courage and ask him "Why are you throwing it on the tracks?" and he replies, "There's no dustbin around.". I show him the dustbin that's right behind him and he sheepishly smiles and says, "Aadat hai"  (Its habitual).

Now there are many more incidents that happen in a local train. People eating fruits and throwing waste under the seat or outside the train. Spitting at each and every halt that the train makes. I try to stop people from doing this, few agree with me, few ignore me and then there are few who say "Whats the problem with you, if you want it clean, you clean".

Even when there's a dustbin in sight, people cant even walk to it. Are we that lazy. Do we want dustbins every 10 meters or so? If somehow the arduous journey is made, we will not go near it but try to throw the garbage from a distance which more often than not ends up falling outside the bin. "Close enough". Well not exactly. Just walk a few more steps and throw it right inside the bin.


Its easy to blame the government for all things that are wrong with the country. And its our right too. However, first we need to do our duty as a citizen of this country. I am not saying that we go out there and start cleaning. There are a bunch of people who do that and if you would like to contribute, that would be great. I know of one such group which is active in Delhi area. In case of more information, you can follow their twitter handle @_WeMeanToClean

Let us pledge that we will throw garbage in dustbins. Even when we don't see one in sight, we will collect it in a plastic bag and throw it later. Educate someone who you see not doing the same. Yes, you might get some angry response, but still the seed would be sown in his mind and he might start thinking over it.

Its not a big thing to do. However, if we all do it collectively, it will have a huge impact on the society. Lets start a revolution and make this country clean.

Frustrated, Angry and Sad

The title sums up how I am feeling for the past couple of days. The JNU incident has really rattled me. But what is more saddening is the way politics was played over it.

What happened was not right. Freedom of speech does not give anyone rights to raise anti-national slogans. That is sedition and should be dealt accordingly. Protesting against hanging of Afzal Guru or Yakub Menon  is tolerable as it is the right of an individual to express ones opinion. However, abusing the same rights given by the Indian constitution and shouting against the nation is intolerable.

From where do these guys gather this much hatred? These students  are the future of this country. They are well read and highly educated, then why are they behaving like this? Are the professors of JNU inciting these young minds? Do these educated minds just sway to the left based on hearsay or do they have solid proof? These questions should be answered first before taking any decision on their future.


I feel instead of arresting them, we should talk to them, understand what is causing this hatred. Counseling them would be a better option. However, after all this is done, they should still be monitored. If they are caught again on similar charges, they should be tried in a court of law.

Now coming to the title, what happened in JNU did not make me frustrated or angry or sad, but what happened after that made me. Politicians of different parties who don't like the current government have started playing their appeasement game. Not a single one of them criticized the hate-spewing students but started abusing the government and the local police. Instead of strongly condemning, they started supporting the students (and not in a constructive way).

I know the current government is not flawless. But that does not mean the opposition will side with anybody that this government is opposing. Opposition should work with the government for betterment of this country and its people. Stop vote-bank politics and lets start winning elections based on good governance and inclusive growth. Stop spreading hatred and start spreading love.