The macabre dance and apaswaram song of democracy

[Vaagmi]

Share:

Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Share Link

The morning news papers have become so disturbing that I dread opening the newspaper with a cup of coffee in hand these days. The news items are very disturbing. Now let me explain.

Two section of people speaking the same language want to go separate and one group is making it a big issue. May be because it is politics the offended group is complaining loudly in order to extract a heavy pound of flesh from the Central Government before letting go the estranged brothers. But when one honourable MP suddenly tries to gas his fellow members with a canister of pressurised pepper essence inside the parliament house it becomes very disturbing. I wonder where this democracy is going. And we call it the dance of democracy because an election is round the corner. Some dance this!

Suddenly some busybody digs up an obscure office-note in which some Govt. functionary requested the British Govt.for advice on how to handle the Bhindranwale holed up inside the Golden Temple. This happened in the distant past and it is a chapter in the history of this country which I would like to forget. A political calculation which went bad and resulted in the genie getting out of the bottle and threatening the creator. The creator took the right administrative decisions to gas the holed up genie and gave her life in the bargain. A very pathetic story. What followed in the name of revenge killings of sikhs in Delhi was something which makes me hang my head in shame. But why bring it up again and again and keep wound festering for ever. Can India not get over its mistakes and look to the future? We have enough number of hotheads in our rank who have an interest in keeping the pot of hatred simmering for ever. And we feed them with information to do that. This is again said to be the dance of democracy as the election is round the corner. What a dance this!!

An unfortunate incident in which a young man from the north east of India gets lynched by rowdies in the metro called Delhi. There are such incidents happening elsewhere also to other people also. But this particular incident gets blown out of proportion and it becomes a racial issue. Are these stupid people aware that we are playing into the hands of our enemies who are harping on the racial identity of these north eastern state tribals with their own across the border (both are mongoloid). Why should an isolated, unfortunate, reprehensible case of a young man getting lynched be converted into a racial attack? Was he lynched just because he was from the north-east? This again is claimed to be the dance of democracy because the election is round the corner. Nonsense.

Today's news says about the death sentence getting commuted to a controversial life sentence in the case of a few Rajiv Gandhi Assassins. I do not know what kind of frenzied dance of democracy this is going to be. I wait with bated breath and trepidation to watch it unfold.

We have become a madhouse full of lunatics.

Cry the beloved country-that is India.

 

[krish44]

dear vaagmi ji
1.AP people are very emotional. they have mercurial tempers. telengana issue is fifty years old. I have seen violent anti andhra mulki agitation in late sixties/early seventies in hyderabad.it was put down with a heavy hand and some sops were doled out. it again surfaces in late seventies. chenna reddy ,a politician from telengana was made CM to appease telengana. the root cause is fight between haves and have nots. Maxm. naxalites are from this region. if poor are consistently ignored it is bound to backfire. even strong arm methods are OK if it can give justice to telengana.hence blacking out broadcasts and pushing thru the bill for statehood is fine ,let pepper spray politicians be damned.
2. what happened in 2002 in gujarat or 1984 in delhi or in muzzafarnagar recently was definitely shameful. it can hardly be put behind by those who were unjustly killed. I agree politicians are responsible and are behind this but we elect them . who is to blame.only us. when we get clean guys with no criminal records .we can opt for them .some are contesting -mostly social activists and a few civil servants . let us vote for them
3 A north east boy getting hurt in a street fight is projected as racist and blown out of proportion. Dozens get assaulted in delhi everyday. this one got killed. it is a violent society as law and order is not maintained properly due to staff shortage and wrong priorities[read vip protection]
4. IMHO rajiv killers have been sufficiently punished as they have served over 20 years in prison. justice should be humane and not barbarous. it is time to think of abolition of death penalty for all

there is no need to be despondent. youth of this country will usher in a better governance model based on good values. let us support them and pray for a better life

 

[auh]

...

We have become a madhouse full of lunatics.

Cry the beloved country-that is India.

There is politics at many levels now. It is well-nigh impossible for an ordinary citizen to fathom the murky waters that happen to swirl around people's life in the name of democracy.

There is the delusioned, pompous, and arrogant media that now takes on a larger than required image, and which probably could be a direct or indirect influence of the thing called "TRP rating".

And there is the politician, who cares for nothing else but his "TRP rating", and would reach, or rather stoop to any level to get "rated". Even those who abet in killings can hope to get released if the dice of politics turns up the number in their favour.

The list goes on, but how are these people different from the person next to us? What is it that drives such "lunacy"? Is there no Dharma now?

 

[ashwin_ash]

dear vaagmi ji
1.AP people are very emotional. they have mercurial tempers. telengana issue is fifty years old. I have seen violent anti andhra mulki agitation in late sixties/early seventies in hyderabad.it was put down with a heavy hand and some sops were doled out. it again surfaces in late seventies. chenna reddy ,a politician from telengana was made CM to appease telengana. the root cause is fight between haves and have nots. Maxm. naxalites are from this region. if poor are consistently ignored it is bound to backfire. even strong arm methods are OK if it can give justice to telengana.hence blacking out broadcasts and pushing thru the bill for statehood is fine ,let pepper spray politicians be damned.
2. what happened in 2002 in gujarat or 1984 in delhi or in muzzafarnagar recently was definitely shameful. it can hardly be put behind by those who were unjustly killed. I agree politicians are responsible and are behind this but we elect them . who is to blame.only us. when we get clean guys with no criminal records .we can opt for them .some are contesting -mostly social activists and a few civil servants . let us vote for them
3 A north east boy getting hurt in a street fight is projected as racist and blown out of proportion. Dozens get assaulted in delhi everyday. this one got killed. it is a violent society as law and order is not maintained properly due to staff shortage and wrong priorities[read vip protection]
4. IMHO rajiv killers have been sufficiently punished as they have served over 20 years in prison. justice should be humane and not barbarous. it is time to think of abolition of death penalty for all

there is no need to be despondent. youth of this country will usher in a better governance model based on good values. let us support them and pray for a better life

For the first time, Vaagmi has said something very sensible, and you are contradicting it. I've worked in Singapore, Taiwan, China, the Gulf and so on where the death penalty is rigorously enforced. I was able to grab a bite even at 1 or 2 am without fear owing to the strict interpretation of laws. I live in a place where laws are strictly enforced and I am able to lead my life in relative peace.

India is already labeled a rogue nation and banana republic. Diluting the already diluted laws will only bring more disrepute to the patchwork which has been made into an artificial nation-state called 'India'. Pakistan is a failed state acc. Indian media but Islam will ensure it stays intact (never mind Shias are getting massacred in their hundreds everyday). Or Indonesia, an even more complicated state bound by language. China, where all religionists speak only Chinese. Too many forces are tearing India apart, the nation is too diverse for its own good. This (dis)unity in diversity has led to criminal elements taking full advantage to break the law at will. Take just the case of Uttar Pradesh, everyone knows it's sorry plight.


Jayalalitha has gone farther than most and called for the release of the criminals who eliminated Rajiv Gandhi. Why is the law different for a certain M K Gandhi (the Brahmin who liquidated him was hanged), and for Rajiv Gandhi (if his killers had been Brahmins?)? Killing a life is wrong, and the death penalty prevents killers roaming the streets.

India is not sufficiently mature enough to move from punishment to rehabilitation. The country simply lacks financial clout to try and emulate the richer countries. Too many poor people roaming the streets who think killing is an easy way to make money (murdering an elderly spinster or widow), or scoring political points by murdering even the Prime Minister.

 

[renuka]

it is time to think of abolition of death penalty for all

At times when we look at the extent of certain acts of crime..you actually wonder if death penalty is too lenient.

Death by hanging,lethal injection or the electric chair is at times too less painful compared to what victims would have suffered. Try seeing a body of a murder victim..we can see pain written all over it.

The best way I feel is keep the criminal in a small dark room..let him/her have no idea what time of the day it is or what day of the year it is.

Keep blaring loud music on and off till he/she cant take it anymore.

Then have no person talk to him or her.

This should go on for a few years and then execute the person with face uncovered by a firing squad.

Let the person see Death face to face.

 

[Vaagmi]

Today's news makes me write this.

The dancing frenzy has finally caught up with TN politicians too. Election is round the corner. So release the culprits as willy nilly recommended by Supreme Court. In one fell sweep you can get a chunk of Tamil Nationalists votes. The great Artist of all times who is the leader of the opposition has said he had strongly recommended this long back and so The current CM has nothing original there. He wants a share of the fame or notoriety and more importantly a share of the perceived votes. Every somebody of TN politics is out to shake a leg with a statement (includes PC also) and is shaking it in this massive dance of democracy. The dumb, poor, stupid, famished and long forgotten "COMMON MAN" asks these innocent questions. Will some knowledgeable person answer?

1. There was unconscionable delay in confirming/rejecting the mercy petition by President of India. That has put the prisoners to torture and so they deserve to be set free. So says the SC judgment. Will the GOI conduct an inquiry into who all are responsible for this unconscionable delay? This may include (apart from the police and Ministers) the army of secretaries, Joint Secretaries and Undersecretaries and Directors of Departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs and President's personal staff. Are they not culprits who deserve to be tried for a) High Treason (because there are foreign nationals involved in the case) b) Complicity in the assassination (vicarious and constructive share in the crime because of commissions and omissions) c)Dereliction of duty and causing grave damage to the honour and reputation of India as a modern nation in the eyes of the world community. If proved the punishment should include withdrawal of pension, arrest and imprisonment for rest of life, hanging after due trial. Will the GOI do this?

2. It is perfectly okay to argue that there need not be any capital punishment. Let the parliament discuss the matter properly and take away this inhuman punishment from the law of the country after a debate. But until that happens we have to start every case with the presumption that death is also an eminently fit punishment. In this case Courts have repeatedly confirmed the punishment and so the question to be decided is not whether the convicts are guilty or not. It is just to decide whether they deserve presidential pardon or not. So why all this drama about victory and "I said so long back"s and tear jerker like melodrama going with the decision? Do these vote-bank politicians not deserve a punishment after due trial?

3. It is true that the convicts suffered because of inordinate delay in getting hanged. They deserve a reduced sentence on that count alone. But if it is an offence committed by an Indian against an Indian either premeditated or in a fit of rage these conditions can be applied. But here it is a hatchet job executed with military precision by a terrorist outfit through its cats pah. The victim was an Indian but the convicts are not Indians. Should this fact not be taken into account while deciding on their plea that they have undergone torture?

I, the "the quintessential COMMON MAN" of India, a dumb, poor, famished, stupid and long forgotten sub-human human being, have these questions troubling me. Being stupid I do not know the answers. Will some one who is fortunate and bright care to answer in a language that I can understand? Thanks in advance. But please do not imagine that I am going to do anything with the answers. As usual I will move on for, I can not change any thing here. I just do not exist.

 

[indianassault]

Fortunate are those men who people do not think - This was something similar what Hitler said about democracy and parliamentarians. Personally i wouldnt hang them those who have been awarded capital punishment. I would ask them to do some humanitarian tasks and realise what life is. Daily when i go to office i see people sitting amidst trash and clearing it, the traffic police who stands in the dust whole day or those who sell balloons or those construction workers who do hard labour yet live life in a dignified manner without harming others.

And I also suspect the SC direction also would have come through political pressure. They have now gained considerable advantage through TN CM's miscalculated and quick move. No wonder we might hear that ruling party might request the SC to grand pardon and release them, so that they can garner sympathy votes. This is just my speculation.