The Indian Democracy

Recently i was going through an article which stated that The Indian Democracy is the largest in the world.

The Indian Democracy is said to be the largest one in the world, certainly due to the largest number of voters in the general elections, and this is due to the large number of population we have. But can it be said to be one of the best democracy?

If we look at the word Democracy across any book we can define it as - Democracy is a system of government in which the people have full participation in every sphere of it. Democratic governments are created by the people to work for their welfare and all round development.

Now look at the Indian democracy on these grounds, can we call it a good democracy? The answer lies in the way we perceive a democratic system. If democracy means only a system where people elect their representatives to form the government, then ours is really a glowing example of such a democracy.

But is it the real meaning of democracy? How far are the governments in India concerned about the problems of common people and sincerely and honestly do something to resolve them? Do the people of India have any control over the governments and its officials except to certain extent only during the general elections? Are the other democracies in the western world functioning like ours? Can an ordinary person in India dare to ask any government official about his duties and responsibilities and that why he is abusing his public powers? Do the political leaders genuinely take interest in listening common man’s complaint against public authorities?

The nexus between the politicians and bureaucrats has made the situation worse and the people helpless.

Wide spread corruption Moral decay of the masses, Growing communal schism, Degeneration of National level political parties to insignificance, Proliferation of disintegrative forces of regional/ethnic/casty political parties and they gaining decisive prominence, Hung parliaments, Instabilities & inefficiencies of governments, Intermittent elections, and most impotently … the Character-crisis in socio-political leadership and Loss of faith in institutions – including the judiciary. All these are symptoms of a decaying society.

But who is responsible for this state of affair.Absolutely we the people who are unable to bring forward the clean imaged, hardworking and honest individuals to represent them in the governments. We for electing criminals, dishonest and bad characters as our representatives. Its we who have to learn, to wake up. Is this what we are going to give to our coming generation? What if they point a finger directly at us for this sorry state? Do we have our answers ready?

The Indian Women Hockey

If you have been following the Indian News channels a lot of noise was being made recently on the women hockey players seeking more money.

I have a profile of 7 international Indian hockey stars. The profile is based on 28th January 2010 report in the Times of India(Delhi).  These superstars have risen from grinding poverty to earn glory and laurels for India.

E Rajini | Andhra Pradesh
Father is a carpenter, now bed-ridden because of kidney failure. Mom doesn't work, siblings are in school. It's to help her out that the hockey players opened a bank account in Bhopal seeking donations. Rajini represents India, played in the 2009 series against NZ

T Anuradha Devi | Manipur
Dad was a rickshaw puller, died in Nov 2008. Anuradha keeps her family together with a salary of Rs 10,000 as employee of Railway Coach Factory, Kapurthala. She has been representing India since 2006

Mukta Barla | Orissa
Father is a labourer. She takes care of a family of mother and three brothers with her salary of Rs 17,000 as NE Railway employee. Mukta has been playing for India since 2007. She was part of the gold medal winning team at Champions Challenge-II tournament in 2009

Roselyn Dung Dung | Orissa
Father is a daily wage earner. She supports the family, including 2 younger siblings, with her Rs 10,000 salary as SE Railway employee. She was member of the India team that won the Champions Challenge-II

Sandeep Kaur | Haryana
Father is a mechanic, now down with a crippling lung disease. Mother doesn't work, brother in school. Played junior World Cup, matches in South Africa, Argentina

Sulochana Kishan | Orissa
When her father died in 2001, her brother quit studies to work as a daily wage earner. She has a job with Central Railway which gives her Rs 10,000. Sulochana has been representing India since 2008

Rani Rampal | Haryana
Her dad pulls a cart, mom doesn't work. One brother is a carpenter, the other a shop-hand. In the Olympic qualifiers, Rani (17) was adjudged young player of the tournament. Repeated feat at Champions Challenge-II where she was highest goal-getter and declared tournament’s Best Young Player. Playing for India since 2008

Now lets go to a little in flash back mode. When the Global Economy was in ruin the world over - our honorable ministers voted for a hike in their salary. The Indian bureaucracy is a rare species which command full control over money and power but the irony is that never ever did this power and money flowed to make the Motherland proud of its sons or to make the Tricolor flutter higher.

The Nation is proud of its young stars who has the mettle to fight against all odds to keep India Shinning. Hats off to you..

Marriages in India

A few months back i was going through a marriage invitation from one of my best friend and that invitation really made me feel does our civilization need a revamp particularly the Institution of Marriage.

MARRIAGE in India goes well beyond sanctifying the union of man and woman. Rather it serves as the steel-frame on which our society rests. In fact, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to suggest that to understand Indian society, one needs to be a keen observer of the institution of Indian marriage itself.

Marriages in India, far from reflecting societal norms, serve as its very source. It is a tool for preserving and propagating caste and class structures, a mechanism for dividing people along religious lines and a sorry excuse for laying out so-called gender responsibilities in society and subjugating women.

Unfortunately very little has changed in 21st century in India. Needless to say that women are at the receiving end of it all. Not only do they not have a say in who they get married to (that choice is reserved for her family only!), but as a married woman also, she is forced to abide by the dictates that are laid down by the society for her (something that Indian men don’t have to bother with!). For the Indian ‘bahu’ has to be a ‘sati-savitri’ whose wishes are secondary to her husband’s and in-laws’, she should be a good homemaker and she should be a virgin.

So ingrained is this institution and the mindset surrounding it that even though Indian society has witnessed significant economic and material development in the last two decades, it has simply not translated into reform in the old ways of thinking. Contrary to liberating people from old customs and traditions, wealth it seems has strengthened it.

Indian marriages, today, might have transformed at a superficial level but there is very little to suggest that things have changed otherwise. We might have matrimonial sites to assist us in finding Mr or Miss Right and we might get used to throwing lavish weddings in 5-star hotels, but yet the rules of the game remain the same. Marriage is still governed by the age-old dictates of caste, creed and religion and continues to be a tool for perpetuating the patriarchal order and subjugating women. Although there are encouraging trends like increasing court marriages, those are still at a nascent stage. For the time being, wealth and better standards of living have only strengthened this decadent institution that can only be uprooted through a revolution in the mindsets of the people.

Himalayan Glaciers Not Melting

Last week i was taken aback by the news of the Himalayan glaciers being wiped out by 2035. Probably for the first time, United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — a panel of 2,500 of the best climate scientists in the world — accepted that a huge goof-up happened in its assessment report on climate change and withdrew its assertion that the Himalayan glaciers ran the risk of being wiped out by 2035.

The body admitted that proper procedures were not followed while reaching the conclusion which created a massive scare , particularly in India. New Delhi was forced on to the back foot in climate debates right up to the Copenhagen summit.

If we dig a bit more into this, the report is said to have been borrowed from a 1996 Russian study by V M Kotlyakov on the glacier which predicted the deadline by 2350, while the IPCC made it 2035, perhaps due to a some typological error i suppose, but which in effect brought the deadline closer by over 300 years!

Now the topping on this cake came from the Indian government. The IPCC team, led by TERI chief R K Pachauri, brushed aside these objections and didn’t even care to double-check its facts, even though the conclusion meant the end of the Himalayan glaciers in the next 25 years.

There's a small question i would like to ask - Did we learn anything from it? What if the report was true. Do we have the might to take on Mother nature? There's Global Warming, Tsunami, Extreme Temperature variations.... just put your hand on your heart and ask one small question - Did i do my part?

This is our home, our planet and we have to save it, together.