Corrupt Superpower..??

A Swedish student group visited India some time ago. Their agenda was to study about MK Gandhi.This incident was recorded by one of the professors who is an expert in Gandhian studies.The prof asked the visiting lot why they wanted to know about Bapu. They gave him three reasons. i) India is the only country in the history of mankind to gain independence through non violence. ii) Even though India fought with UK for nearly 200 years,when they left India, British were friends of India.(Mountbatten was first governor general of Independent India). iii) When Gandhi was shot dead the United Nations flag was lowered as a mark of respect to Bapu.This was a unique gesture because when a person who holds a high office in any country is dead UN will will lower the respective countries flag. Not the UN flag.First Bapu did not hold any position of power.(He was not even an ordinary congress member). And second, never again has UN lowered its own flag for any deceased person. So, they wanted to know more about a man with such a tremendous influence.

If all the remarkable qualities Bapu had has to be listed on a priority,then honesty and gut wrenching workmanship would top the list. Probably Bapu was everything which today's India is not. He was willing to go to the root of any problem. Today's India is blighted by Tokenism. He was outright honest. We are outright corrupt. He would find a solution. We find a victim.October 2nd is the great mans birthday.(Although our political class has reduced it to a stage managed event.). The filthiest and brazenly shameless CWG games are beginning on 3rd of October. At one end we have Bapu who is all about human and human values. And at the other we have CWG organized and run by the most corrupt,filthiest and greediest individuals for whom money is above country and life of fellow humans. A tragic irony ? Or a delibrate coincidence ?

Did we loose our way somewhere ? It is somehow ingrained in our genes that petty mistakes are never the mistakes to worry about. In turn we tend to forget the bigger crimes over a period of time. An Azzharuddin can become an MP in a mere 10 years after selling many cricket matches to bookies. A Lalu Yadav can become a minister for umpteenth time despite gobbling up crores of rupees. A murder committed by Shibu Soren is not a crime as long as he can come back to power. A hand chopped professor will loose his job because he had different views on a religion.An Afzhal Guru can spend years in jail on tax payers money on the pretext of procedure. Every crime from chain snatching to money laundering to murder can go unpunished.As long as the concerned authorities are "taken care of".

In a way the collapsing CWG stadiums and the faltering authorities are a perfect indication of India's mindset as a country. In a country where human life lost to crime is just a count for official records,how serious can be a issue of collapsed false ceiling or an over-bridge ? No we are not ashamed of anything. From day one we knew this was going to be the plight of CWG. Shabby constructions, bloated up expenditures, downright frauds, mud slinging in the nth hour.We knew this was exactly what was going to happen. Anything otherwise would have been a huge surprise.We also know that everything will be forgiven. Few individuals would have made fortunes of lifetime . Few families would be mourning the loss of loved ones. There would be new inquiry commissions. More tax payers money spent on that.And then very soon everything will be forgotten.Life moves on...

Welcome to India. A Future Superpower..!!