[cet-compsciz-2005] Fwd: " India on the streets " by Chetan Bhagat

From: "Jyothi Krishna.V.S" <jkrishnavs@xxxxxxxxx>
To: jaikrishna_s@xxxxxxxxxxx, thematrixdecimator@xxxxxxxxx, cet-compsciz-2005@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jaikrishna V.S" <jaikrishna.vs@xxxxxxxxx>, jyvs@xxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:06:49 +0530
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mahesh Kopp <mbkoppa@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 9:30 AM
Subject: Fwd: " India on the streets " by Chetan Bhagat
To: iitm-cse-mtech-2011@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Prashant Shankhinamath <
naturedotcom@xxxxxxxxx>, Shivakumar M G <shivakumar.mg@xxxxxxxxx>,
vijaysmathad@xxxxxxxxx, Vilas Magadum <vilasbmagadum@xxxxxxxxx>, Vilas D <
vilas.dorale@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: India Against Corruption <no-reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 11:14 AM
Subject: " India on the streets " by Chetan Bhagat
To: mbkoppa@xxxxxxxxx


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Posted By: Gitesh Devhane  To: Members in India Against Corruption  " India
on the streets " by Chetan Bhagat

We have all had that one uncle who keeps on reminding you how India is
terrible. He tells you about how every government authority takes bribes -
from the RTO to the ration shop to the municipality. He will tell you how no
government department does its job well - the potholed roads, abysmal
conditions at government schools and poor healthcare all being examples to
support your uncle's theory. It is hard to argue with him, for he is right.
Things don't work. There is no justice. Power talks. Equality doesn't exist.
All of this, even though uncomfortable to hear, rings somewhat true.

However, the uncle goes on to say this: "Nothing will ever change." He is
convinced that our society is damaged irreparably, and India is destined to
live in misery. Uncle Cynic goes on to doubt almost everyone, assumes the
worst in people, and anyone who is trying to improve the country is branded
as someone with a hidden agenda.

This is where i think the uncle gets it wrong, horribly wrong. For it is one
thing to point out the problems, it is quite another to give up trying to
fix them. Cynicism is not a counter-argument, it is an attitude. For the
fact is we still have good people in the country: in society and even in
government departments. It is just that they are crushed.

I don't want to give you the reasons why you must support Anna Hazare. It is
almost beneath Anna's dignity that he actually has to beg or make a case for
support when he is fighting for you, against an abusive, corrupt regime.
Still, let me do a quick recap of the facts.

Anna did a fast in April, which became the nation's movement and spread
virally. Concerned, the government agreed to make a good Lokpal Bill, shook
hands with the activists and in principle agreed to Anna's version, designed
to truly check corruption. Since then, the government has insulted Anna's
team, thrown away their draft, and come up with its own almost pointless
draft of the Lokpal Bill.

The draft the government is presenting to Parliament will not check
corruption. Only 0.5%, or one in 200 government officials are under its
purview. Your corrupt ration shop, RTO, passport office, panchayats or
municipal authority will not be covered. State scams will not be covered -
yes, the Adarsh society scam or the Jharkhand scams are all out of its
purview. The prime minister is excluded as well. Ever heard of a corruption
law in a democracy that only applies to a certain section of people?

The government is throwing magic dust in your eyes - and counting on India's
illiterate and ignorant to not know the difference. However, you reading
this are educated. You know when wrong is being committed. You know that
while you have lived your life with corruption, you do not want your
children to do the same. A bad Lokpal Bill may not affect you today - but
tomorrow it will hit you when your child does not get a college seat, when
your hospital gives shoddy treatment, when your government work doesn't get
done. We live in a poor country - poor not because we don't have what it
takes to be rich, but because our leaders have let us down. We have given
them too much power, and they consider our vote as a mandate to steal and be
incompetent. They hate accountability. However, without accountability, our
progress will stall. There are countries where the average income per person
is 50 times more than in India. Don't we deserve the same?

Thus, whatever your personal view on Anna, it is not him but his cause that
needs support. The government can crush a few activists. However, it cannot
crush India on the streets. A peaceful, firm, decisive protest is every
Indian's birthright, and must be exercised in times of need. Come Monday,
and we Indians have a job to do. We have to save our country's future.

A word for the government too. Just what exactly are you thinking when you
are trying to shove an impotent law down people's throats? And what makes
you feel that threatening, crushing or insulting Anna will take away
people's need to rid India of corruption? Anna did not create an
anti-corruption sentiment, he merely tapped into it. Crushing Anna will not
take away that sentiment. It will just make it fester more. Right now, the
movement is still controlled. By going back on your word, displaying
arrogance and not listening to the people, you are risking the country's
descent into chaos. Be careful. Accountability is much easier to deal with
than anarchy. Fix the Lokpal Bill now, please.

Finally, for the people of India, it is time to prove Uncle Cynic wrong.
There is a bigger truth than his 'nothing ever changes in India'. That truth
comes from the Gita, which states "Nothing is permanent". The Gita also
says, "When the pot of sin overflows, something happens to restore order."
Now, it is up to you to determine if the pot of sin has overflowed. It is
for you to say what it means for Indians to act out their dharma. And you,
and only you, will decide if it is time to come on the streets.

(The writer is a best-selling novelist)

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Jyothi Krishna V.S.
[cet-compsciz-2005] Fwd: " India on the streets " by Chetan Bhagat

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