It all Started With Ram. . .

The recent protests against worst crimes on women is a sign showing that the society is getting together to fight and repeal these evil crimes-which have been occurring since ages. This is a result of India’s younger generation’s courage to fight the system and their will power to bring justice into the society. The increase in awareness via growth in communication amongst the citizen via Internet is also helping everybody to get together and fight. This should give a strong warning to those crooked minds who think they can get away or even think of committing crimes against women.  Indeed there should be strict laws to protect women, but we all know that laws alone cannot solve the problem. The minds of these pathetic perverts should change.  It is the responsibility of parents, teachers and elders to teach children of today to respect women so that these crimes can come to a complete end in another ten years.

In the midst of these protests, it was disheartening and shameful to see politicians and spiritual leaders those preaching religion projecting women, yet again, to be the wrong doers.  They also put the blame on the influence of western culture instead of blaming the actual wrong doers- the perverted people. This made me think as to what could possibly have lead the so called sage-wise men, occupying highest positions in the society, to think so narrowly-going against those women who have suffered the brutality. I was sure that it takes a much more brutal and narrow mind to think on those low lines. These acts and comments were at the heights of stupidity. It put a thought to me that there should be a foundational flaw which shapes the mentality of these sadists who sexually attack women or project women to be on the wrong side after they were attacked.

It struck to me that these crimes against women happening now are a result of cascade of events. They are in a way the result of the Indian culture that teaches men to be the dominant gender and their actions, no matter what, as justified/appropriate if they feel they are right. Men seek their lessons from the stories they learn and lay strong impression in them from the mythology.

It all started with Ram. . .

There was a king who was considered to be ideal. He obeyed his elders and did everything right. One day, his wife got abducted by the wrong guy of the story when he left her in forest and went to hunt for an animal. He later kills the wrong guy but abandons his wife after his laundry guy puts a hint of a doubt over her integrity while she was hostage of the kidnapper. This came even after she passed the test of fire- as asked by her loving husband- the ideal man. This is one of the first incidents about Indian mythology that children in India learn but it is obviously sugar coated with the moral of the story being that the ideal man sacrificed his love life for the society, not for its well-being but being a king his stature will take a blow if his wife is suspected in the society he rules. This is one of the first atrocities against women that were carved into the culture of India.

Then there is a famous story in which a woman was married to five men who put her on gambling and lose her to the opposition who later molest her. Of course she was heroically saved by her super star brother lord but even after this discriminating act, the five men are praised in Indian culture as the best and their eldest brother is considered the symbol of Dharma and his action of gambling on  his wife is portrayed as a duty to protect this Dharma. Then there are numerous other incidents to follow in the culture like, to name a few, the practice of Sati, where the widow is burnt on the pyre of her husband, alive. The practice of Kanyasulkam, where young girls were sold to old widowed men for money. These two practices are now outdated and are almost nonexistent. The practice of Deva dasi, the prostitutes of Temples is another horrifying example another example of atrocities against women via religion and culture.  The practice of accepting dowry is still prevalent all over the country.

I feel that what we are seeing today in the society is a result of practices that have been followed in the country since ages.  These are few of the countless incidents written and celebrated as dominance of one sex over the other all through Indian culture and our children- from all communities and creeds are exposed to it. The India traditional culture has always been on the side of displaying the dominance of male over the female. It is no doubt that the two great epics of India are the most wonderful stories ever written or told in India but the way they are taught should be changed. There are those hidden subtle imbalances inherently casted into the system. This is true with most of the religions and cultures across the world. These need to be cleared out before any change could substantially take place. If an incident is a wrong doing, they should be taught as one and everyone should be advised not to do so.

Education is the only weapon to end all evil in the system.

Sleep Early to Stay Safe "Kolkata"

 

After the recent news reports, that showcased the various incidents of torture, assault, rape and murder of women on the streets of Kolkata in the past few weeks, the chief minister of west Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, issued a notice to all night clubs to shut down businesses in town by midnight -as an immediate measure to curb the horrific incidents happened against women. 

 According to me, this is not the right move. The act of not attacking the problem directly and instead playing around it-is showcasing her lack of responsibility towards citizens and is not something expected by someone who is bestowed upon the trust and responsibility by the people of the state in belief of a colorful future.

Restricting a certain population from hanging around the streets of the city after a certain time doesn't solve the actual problem- the social evil.The problem should be solved from the roots. The problem is not the night clubs or the people going to them but the problems  are the anti-social – frustrated –mentally sick– minds that take opportunity of helpless women.  Instead of just closing down night clubs, which is also restricting the freedom of the people of a democracy, there could be measures taken in terms of setting up safety measures. Like more surveillance cameras, more police personnel, many more measures for protecting the suppressed that need to be thought of by the government by keeping in mind various factors that limit/guide them in making the decisions.

According to me, more than this, there should be awareness about these acts should spread across all communities. There should be awareness made to children .Thoughts should spread amongst children-of today- as to- not to commit these social crimes. A permanent change can be anticipated by these acts. 

The major problem with these incidents is that, those committing these crimes are definitely not first timers, as most of these incidents go unreported. There should be awareness made to make women and children who are subjected to sexual harassments or domestic violence, in or near their community or college or work place or anywhere to come out and express the horror so that action can be taken against those committing them. There should be enough confidence built by the system regarding confidentiality of the reporters or assurance of action against the committers, so that people come forward and report the incidents. The government and NGO’s should work together in bringing about awareness and courage to face the incidents. Then there will be many persons brought under the law and the punishment for those committing these crimes should me made the highest and culprits should be made accounted for their crimes. 

The system and the law should be changed in such a manner that people who even imagine committing the crime should fear of being reported and also the gravity of punishment after. His sheer thoughts of pleasure via greedy evil crimes should be suppressed, quenched and impounded by the fear of mammoth suffering via punishment for the crime. 

Here are a few highlights about current law that generally prevents women from reporting the incidents and definitely separate them from justice. They need to be addressed to chop the wings of those uncivilized infected birds of the society. 

    a)    Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines rape “Rape (from Latin rapio, to carry off, to overcome) means an unlawful intercourse done by a man with a woman without her valid consent” Here the “Consent” is defined in six situations and is definitely a tricky term where most cases in the court are ruled against the victims and lets free the accused. 
    b)   According to Section 376 of IPC, the minimum imprisonment for a rape accused in 7-10 years but they are NOT NON-BAILABLE. A crime doer can escape with influence or other means at any time of the punishment tenure. 
   c)    The biased nature of the Indian law, Section 155 of Indian evidence act “When a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be shown that the victim was of generally immoral character." Section 54 of Indian Evidence Act says, "In criminal proceedings (including rape) the fact that the accused person has a bad character is irrelevant, unless evidence has been given (by him) that he has a good character, in which case it becomes relevant."  This is sheer injustice to the women 
section of the society. This is clearly not what we claim “equal before the court of law”

Likewise, there are many more loopholes in the law that prevents the prosecution of the guilt. The proceedings in the court should be made very rapid for these cases so that all cases can be addressed quickly and efficiently and so there should be fear of punishment rooted into these rotten minds. Hence, there is certainly room for improvement in the Law for better society.

But, as we all know power and fear can never change the minds and thoughts of humans. The change should come from the minds. Within these Trojan infected minds a medicine- realization should rise to permanently end these social crimes. Then these persons will learn to behave like humans and not like- animals. They will realize the importance of feelings and try to understand the horror the victims face due to the tragedy. 

I am not quite sure how to end this article but I am going to end it by quoting the panacea, “awareness is the key to all social problems” 

An appeal to all the Protesters: "India Against Corruption"

This blog entry is an appeal to all the protesters on the roads of India who are fighting for a change.

As I decided to write this appeal to all the people protesting on the roads of India at this moment, I began to think about how to start my appeal letter. Whether it is supposed to be addressed as “to all Anna Hazare supporters” or “to all Anti corruption movement volunteers” or “to all supporters of Jan lok pal bill”. The Anti corruption protest volunteers  is very apt right now for a reason that the people of India have become frustrated and are desperate for a change and wish to see a corruption free India for which they have taken to the roads demanding a change and not exactly for the bill. they assume "the bill" is a path to their destination,A panacea.As I look at the news about the things happening around India, The Team Anna Hazare has support of the public who want corruption to end but these supporters are not exactly for the bill they are putting forth. It is indeed a misconception if anyone feels that the people on the roads are actually protesting for the bill, instead they are out there for a corruption free India. And the Team Anna Hazare has to be applauded for being successfully able to channelize the anger and patriotism of the public into a form of support for their bill.  I am confident enough to quote that not more than 10 % of people protesting on the roads even know the broad sense of the bill they are marching for , leave alone being aware about the minute details that could have a deep affect on their daily lives. They just want corruption to end. That is their motto and that is their ultimate goal, to have a better life in India. But, one must understand that, mere forming of a bill doesn’t end the age long culture of corruption. Let’s consider for example the problems of Traffic or problems relating to society which should have ceased long ago, had mere forming of rules and bills had profound effect on the way of thinking of people. It’s more about traffic sense and social responsibilities when it comes to curbing the problems I mentioned above, and Courage and willingness to take our country forward as an entire nation is what is required to fight corruption. I strongly believe in our country's democracy and have faith in our parliament. I know we have faced charges of corruption but parliament is something that is sacred to our nation. For, it is the place where decisions regarding our nation’s development are taken and the people whom we elect participate in with our hopes and goals. I agree that in a democracy, a citizen has a right to give his opinions about the proceedings in the country and has a right to express his views but to compel parliament to pass a bill formulated by Anna Hazare with in a stipulated amount of time is senseless when there are in fact various versions of lokpal prepared by other social anti corruption activists. Well at the end of the day, it is the parliament whom we will end up blaming, if anything goes wrong to us and our nation through this bill after it is passed in haste, as demanded right now, as they are responsible and answerable to us.

Hence, here goes my letter.

My fellow Indians and Anti corruption protest volunteers,

For now, we the people should first realize the difference between supporting Anti corruption movement and Supporting Jan Lokpal bill & Team Anna Hazare . Understand the direction in which we are moving by these protests , insist the government to consider the bills prepared by Anna Hazare’s team, Aruna Roy’s team and formulate a bill that is suitable for our nation and that which will not put our constitutionally guaranteed rights at stake.  

We don’t need a second Independence, India is already an independent country. We want independence from social problems and poverty in our country. We want democracy to sustain in our nation. We don’t want or need Anarchy.

Kindly “Save Democracy”  

Thank you & Have a safe & Peaceful protest.

"HANDS OF LAW" :: GREASE RIDDEN ? ? ?

I feel happy and secure when I learn through media about the arrests and alleged raids over personnel who commit crimes or may have been indulged in one, but I am equally outraged when I see the state- failing to bring to justice the obvious perpetrators of crime against prosperity India.

Few thoughts struck me and compelled me to express them in this article when I read about the arrest of human rights activist,Binayak Sen, recipient of two international awards for his service (to humanity) since 1978 to the tribes and poor, as a doctor in the area of Chhattisgarh, India.

Sen is convicted under sedition.

(Sedition: any action, esp. in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion.) //According to web dictionary//

Sen is accused of helping (colluding with) the Maoists in the area he was actively doing community service.

Maoism in India is to be condemned for their actions of violence but the reasons behind their birth and continued success amongst the tribal areas is something to be taken note of. The support of local tribes to the rebel groups is a reflection of the government’s inaction towards the upliftment of the backwards. The government has to work upon the problems instead of fighting against their own subjects.

According to the recent reports, under Indian penal code, Sen was found to be guilty and hence arrested.

According to the right to equality before law, “The state shall not deny any person equality before law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India” and this statement according to my understanding states, everyone is equally treated in front of law, be it for awarding or punishing.

But in India, when it comes to the execution of laws, the big players always have a safe escape but the little ones get the big punishment.

Well for now, let’s consider, the open-daylight- loot of public funds by the crooked public servants like A.RAAJA in the spectrum 2G scam. The fraud of 1.76 Lakh crore rupees of public money and in result leading to disturbance of parliament which in result blocked various bills from being framed and in result caused chaos in the country.

I call this sedition or a bigger crime.

And ask you to tell me how big or small this crime is when compared to the (accused) sedition by a ‘human right activist serving poor since more than 30 yrs’???

Or let me ask you, how punishable is Sen’s sedition when compared to the shame caused to India in front of entire world due to the mishandling of work and looting of public money in the CWG games by Mr. Kalmadi?

Well I can continue with many more instances of power prone crooks of government and ruling class going wild and getting loose. (Like for example in recent times, the Adarsh society scam. The land scams of Karnataka chief minister and etc etc.)

I call these, open sedition or even a bigger crime term if such a thing exists.

I fail to understand how such open culprits could go free in the society after committing such bizarre shameless crimes? And whereas, instances where government inaction is the root cause for problems, the Innocent people get punished so frequently??

I always believed that the hands of the law were big enough to bring any crime doers under justice but never realized until recent happenings that the grease of power & money glued to these individuals make the hands of law slip over them and fail to bring them to justice.

My sincere request is, I want these big shots to be prosecuted for their crimes just as these smalls fishes are being trapped for their share of wrongdoings in the society.

People should be punished for crimes. So everyone who commits crime should be punished. “Equally” And especially those who feel they can get rid of the law using their power –influence and wealth should be punished in such a way that no one else would dare to play with public money or sentiments.

Government should work to make its subjects happy. Riots and Extremism are the results of indiscriminate behavior towards the common man. Government should keep the Subjects happy and grow together-for PEACE.

**Life imprisonment of Human Rights activist Dr. Binayak sen , Similar charges on Authors/Artists for expressing views and various other similar incidents happening these days lead us to question : Is India slowly transforming into a dictator/Fascist governments of the likes of "some countries" around us for whose people we feel pity about ? ? ?

I hope not !!! **

References: 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binayak_Sen

2) http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chhattisgarh/Binayak-Sen-2-others-get-life-term-for-sedition/Article1-642218.aspx

3) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sedition

Right to freedom of speech ? ? ?

“The Booker prize-winning novelist and human rights campaigner Arundhati Roy is facing the threat of arrest after claiming that the disputed territory of Kashmir was not an integral part of India”, as quoted by British national daily news paper The Guardian, last month over the controversy raised by Roy’s remarks on Kashmir.

According to news reports, recently, Roy was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 505(false statement, rumor circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offense against public peace).

The current proceedings compel me to raise two questions about the current situation in India.

The first is, how feasible is the constitution’s Right to expression of speech? The constitution provides rights to every Indian, to express his/her views but with certain clauses tagged to it. The main clause is that the expression should not be a hate speech or it shouldn’t initiate riots. Now how do we define a hate speech? Roy’s comment about Kashmir is the voice of over thousands in the Kashmir, who either due to dissatisfaction or some other unknown cause call for independence. The action of the government should be to check in the problems and controversies over Kashmir and bring the turbulent situation in Kashmir under control and satiate the people there and make them realize the importance of united growth, instead of calling for action against those who voice over the current situation in Kashmir.

I am in no position to comment the over Roy’s statements because I am not fully-completely aware of the situations in Kashmir, as I personally haven’t been to Kashmir or in those situations the people are currently facing there, except to read about them in daily newspapers.

Yes, I agree that right to expression should not be misused to the extent of propagating hate over communities or religions but expressing views on the state of the nation is legitimate. The statement (speech) by Roy has not caused any good or bad to the current situation in Kashmir, where there have been regular day to day protests since long time.

The second question that comes to my mind, which is in fact a ’fear’ more than a question regarding how the world would view our state of democracy from hence.

We already have negative remarks about artists leaving India to take asylum at another country fearing their right to expressions and few other instances of banning works of other writers and artists. Now there has already been news in and around the world quoted similar to above about author Roy.I now fear, about our country and its largest democracy, which boasts for its freedom of expression , doesn’t end up being quoted in the same lines of ” Burma jailing Aung San Suu” or“China jailing Liu Xiaobo” by the world. The unnecessary hype that got attached to the issue in India around Roy’s statement, which should have been worked upon or ignored like any other political-view, might actually demean India’s stature as a country that prides over its democracy and freedom of speech.

Finally,I end the article condemning the arrest and raising questions about the government’s ability to tackle criticism over the state of the nation. In general, views on both sides of the political-situation should be welcomed so there will be awareness about the great range of views and sentiments of the people of the nation.The check on speeches might get even heavier after this which is not good for democracy. The response answers by the government to the statements made by people of the country should come in terms of positive action on the situations but not on the people themselves.

Its only when the nation and is ’united’, we can take our country forward towards progress.

References : 1) http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/Arundhati-Roy-Syed-Ali-Shah-Geelani-charged-with-sedition/Article1-632402.aspx

2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/26/arundhati-roy-kashmir-india

Culture Corruption

A nation's stature is determined more from its people & cultures than its treasures . The people are the measure of its greatness and in a democracy the elected leaders are the definitions of the country.

India, a nation with, great personalities, great virtues like its culture , the fact of being the world’s largest democracy ,Its heritage , the abode of thousands of languages and various religions makes everybody spellbound by its wide spectrum of people and culture and also the fact that it is a country where every individual is free to practice his own religion, and to express his views, define India as one of the best places to live around the world.

But one more string that’s tagged to India is Corruption.

The very infection of Corruption has spread like an everlasting pandemic to the roots of our nation. At, every place-stage of the proceedings-every level-every angle ,money plays the driving force for getting works done and corruption phenomenon is one the leading cause for the downfall of all of us as a nation.

There is corruption in Political arena, in public services, in taxes and licenses and literally everywhere in India.

It has become a known secret to all and is most commonly spoken topic in every random conversation, that one can get any work done (quick-without delays-even though illegal) in a government office through payment of money to any concerned officer .This is shockingly true but a very bizarre act and even though we know that we don’t have to pay them for doing their duty, we end up paying the minimum sum with respect to the nature of work, saying, This is India, This is how it works ?

So is this how it all works in India ?

where has the infection sparked up? How on earth a country known for its honesty and sincerity of the people ended up being known for their corrupt works? And also managed to earn itself a proud 84^th place out of 180 listed countries in Corruption Perceptions Index ?

Lets first see some general day2day cases of India,

Everyone who gets their passport from Government of India, pays a sum of Rs. 200 to 500 to the officer who comes home as a part of police verification process.

But, why should we do that? We need not actually pay any money to the verification officer for doing his duty, but we do end up paying.

And in illegal terms, any who gets caught for parking at wrong place or for speeding on the roads or for triple riding, gets away from punishment by paying some money to the on duty police officer.

And if I mention various other locations and situations we the people pay money to the concerned people, the list amounts to more than a thousand or more instances.

Here in above instances, people often pay even though their work is legitimate and for other cases, people pay for escaping legal punishments. Paying money for over coming punishments for illegal acts is a very incorrect practice.

This not only takes our nation in a wrong direction but also becomes a breeding grounds for the corrupt officials. This allows everyone a freedom to commit mistakes and there by making our country corrupt and a true unsafe place.

According to India law, Not only those who take money/gifts as part of corruption are entitled for punishment but also those who pay the money are also entitled for same extent of punishment.

So Are we , the people are the ones to blamed for making our country so corrupt ? I say, Yes, we are equally responsible for the condition of our nation but who is to be blamed in this vicious circle ? If it were solved, our nation would have been corruption free

Somewhere, the tradition has begun and is continuing till date . So according to me, It is high time that we put an end to this practice everyone together should march towards a corruption free India.

But , let’s not worry too much about how it all started but let’s get down to the business of dealing with the problems that we face in facing the problem of corruption

From the Government point of view

The anti corruption bureau in India, is in charge of keeping a check on the corruption using Prevention of Corruption At, 1988 which falls under Central vigilance Commission and doesn’t fall into any ministry and is headed by the Central vigilance commissioner, the CVC is supposedly an autonomous independent body but with only powers to advice but not take action against any one which is indeed a backdrop of the system.

Various individuals and officers that are searched and investigated in a daily basis by the ACB of whom many are innocent and most of them are guilty, but I haven’t ever witnessed even a single politician getting prosecuted for their corruption.

Everyone is fully aware that politicians eat up all our tax money and they keep growing richer everyday but no one ever dared to investigate into their funds.

This implies that, somewhere in the independent functioning of CVC, there is a string attached with the politicians which prevents ACB from intruding into the corrupt practices of politicians and hence politicians fall safe all the time.

So this makes me think the prosecution and hype over innocents being nailed under corruption scam is just an affirmation to their inability to actually counter the real culprits.

This has to change. A real force or power has to awarded to the ACB which allows it to search or arrest any random politician at their own will and scan his properties and then take necessary action against them.

Also, earlier , gifts attained by anyone, no matter how expensive they were, were never checked upon and never had any taxes on them. This allowed corruption prone to receive money inform of gifs. Now the new law of levying heavy taxes on gifts that are not from close relatives should help in curbing corruption.

The legal actions taken on the guilty proven should be so heavy in nature that , it should be a warning to the others who even think of getting involved into corruption. And also the process of investigation should be made quick which in turn requires input money and man power which can be afforded for a dream that we all care about, after all, it’s all our tax money.

Now from the public point of view,

The first step that is to be taken is to avoid payment to any official or officers for getting your legitimate work done.

And then the most important part is , awareness.

Spreading of awareness about the harmful effects of corruption on the growth of our nation to one and all should be done in a huge manner.

Well, the most important part of the corruption fight is corruption is Education. Education for all helps people to know their rights and ways to counter the infection. It helps them know that they don’t have to pay for getting certain public service done.

Educating the children of this generation about the effects of corruption, will eventually erase corruption from the map of India in years to come.

We may not be seeing a change immediately, but certainly in some years time, I wish to see the change happening.

The topic of corruption is so huge and is spread in various direction that I could give only an overview of my opinions with minimum examples.

Always remember, It’s you and me together , who can bring a change.

Educate- to eradicate poverty.

References

http://www.cvc.nic.in/

http://apvc.ap.nic.in/js/vol1/c3t1s5.html

http://www.simpletaxindia.org/2010/03/gift-tax-tax-on-gift-budget-2010.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

http://www.u4.no/helpdesk/helpdesk/query.cfm?id=188

Bharat Bandh !!! :: Worth it ? ? ?

Wow BHARAT BANDH! ! !. . . . . @again? ? ?

Bandh: A boon or a bane for the common man?

This article is with reference to the recent ’’ bharat bandh’’ that took place on the 5th of July 2010 in protest to the hike of petrol and diesel fuel prices. The poster reasons for the bandh were obviously the poor and middle class citizens but let’s analyze how beneficial it actually was to them and how successful it was at the end of the day.

According to me, the so-called projected benefiters were the actual sufferers during the bandh day. This conclusion will also reflect to the numerous bandhs that have taken place and to those infinity bandhs that are on their way to the people.

Briefly, A bandh ,is supposedly ,an united protest by the people all over the country in which people them self cease all their works in order to raise voice and throw a say that they aren’t willingly liking the action taken by the government or that they intend a change for the easy progress of the nation.

To start with during the bandh day, 5th of July 2010, in Visakhapatnam, The rain was pouring all through the day and with the given conditions of the tempered roads, the mobility across the city was becoming all too difficult and added to it all the public transport was stranded and there weren't any auto rickshaws or even local buses that commute people from one place to any desired location as per bandh protocol. Also added to it were the The Activists : The so-called, pro people-pro-Bandh-Pro People well wishers and anti-price hike, dawned in their political party colours, were flourishing all over the city roads , waving their flags and shouting all their way-for reduction of the prices of petrol. Added to this, They were also forcing people and others, who were commuting between their destinations and running their own private business as per their own fundamental rights, to shut down their works and head back home, Which is against democracy and the fundamental rights provided by the constitution to the people and I am sure there isn’t any so called- bandh protocol-that can overcome these rights but everyone keeps succumbs to the bandh protocol which is very interesting to note.

As I was wandering across the city along with my friends Alex and Vamsi, in an attempt to fetch some cash from the ATM and convert it to a Demand Draft, so the later friend can acquire his long awaited admission into his dream B school. Thanks to his luck, He is currently pursuing his studies in the very B school to which we were supposed to post the Demand Draft the same day, though all the attempts went futile for that day, thanks to the activists who managed to sneak into the bank just as he was about to transform his cash into Demand draft and would have managed to get it done, had he been at the bank with the money fifteen minutes earlier but again, Thanks to our own activists, as they managed to get my friend along with few other public stuck in an ATM booth for quite some time while he was attempting to with draw money from there. We went around the city for not less than 5 hours –from one bank to-almost all the banks –all across the city, calling it a day only after we were assured that the activists have managed to shut down the city and country to a pause.

Indeed a great Job, Ain’t it? They almost got a well deserved-future-earning citizen of the country from losing his path towards his dream and at this point it insists me to wonder, How many other students all across India were put into trouble this way and how many have the activists managed to axe down in life quest and in turn turning them to frustrated anti social elements? Well this very thought assures great kudos to the great activists and their Bandh. Likewise, how many sick people must have been prevented from reaching hospitals and service centres due to stoppage of public transport and fears of vehicles being thrashed by the activists. How many lives must have the bandh taken toll of? All across the nation, the bandh could have successfully managed to cut down the population in some minute percentage at least.

As we move on from one department to another, I can only see more of harm caused to the average middle class rather than good that was actually intended to be done. We, while moving across banks, witnessed so many people standing-getting drenched-in rain, waiting for any damn transport to reach home and escape from the bandh chaos.

Needless to mention, the loss of crores of rupees that was caused to various departments like for example the state road transport services due to null operations and also infrastructure loss from the busses that got burnt to ashes-probably -as a style statement by the bandh activists, But these departments have their own ways to recover their losses, by levying extra charge on tickets which again mount on the pressures already on the average middle class families. And the heavy infrastructure loss that is gained by our activists by damaging whatever they see on the roads and again, who is going to pay for all these loses? The public taxes, i.e. we the common middle class people again. I wonder what motivates them to take violent paths causing trouble to common man-fighting for the common man, while quoting Gandhi as their role model for one and all purposes.

The common middle class man becomes a toy between the political parties, who is played and fiddled with by both ruling and opposition for their benefit and greed to acquire power. The activists, The tools they employ in these games , only few of them realise that they too fall in to the middle class family and at the end of the day, they are the ones who are doing extra work and payments to recover the loses they causes. The politicians forget that they are working for people-if they weren’t working for money-if only they aren’t-but I am sure as much as you are- they are all-except for a few they are working for that –only-only and only for money.

Now we see, after months had gone by after the protest, We see that the common man has moved ahead with the price hikes and the government is moving ahead in thinking of levying extra charges but the bandh hasn’t caused any good rather than only harm and harm from all over

I Wonder what the upper and lower houses of representatives if for-if the issues pertaining to public life are to be debated and decided by means of bandhs which are even more harmful than the cause of bandhs.
Only way out is to SAY NO TO USELESS BANDHS called on by political leaders - and instead follow powerful & peaceful protests if the issue is indeed demanding and needs to be fought for protecting our lives and our rights provided by the constitution of India.

Educate to Eradicate Poverty: it’s only when you and me are ‘together’ –we can bring a change