The Ruin of Uttarahand

STAND UP FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE HILLS OF UTTARAKHAND

It’s an early morning here in Minneapolis and with the time zone difference of 11 ½ hours between here and India, it would be sometime in the evening there. We are in touch with the local news about happenings in Dehra Dun and Uttarakhand, in particular. The early arrival of the monsoons in North India and the fury with which it heralded its coming, lashing out with unmitigated ferocity in the five districts of the State, causing great loss to both life and property, is indeed unfortunate and a matter of serious concern for its people. The unpreparedness of the State Administration and the much talked about Disaster Management Organisation, to cope with the situation as and when it occurs, is appalling, to say the least. The government and its machinery is more than aware of the huge disarray rains cause to public life during the pilgrim season, which loosely speaking coincides with the onset of monsoons in North India. But, there is no dearth of excuses, which is belted out by the elected representatives, who are given a mandate to govern and administer as also to safeguard the interests of the masses. With more than 50,000 pilgrims stranded and caught up in traffic snarls and jams on the roads, which service the four centres of Hindu pilgrimage viz Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri located in the Garhwal Himalayas; is the worst publicity for the fledgling State, which has fallen woefully short of realising the purpose of its creation. And, this has more or less become a recurring feature of the State Government’s failure to plan, prepare and engage with the situation arising from a natural weather phenomenon. There seems to be no political will to address the foremost responsibility of its leaders, which for sure must and should be aligned to protect and promote the interests of its indigenous population, which resides in the hills and villages of Uttarakhand. The implosion which is round the corner in the few cities of the State, that have been bequeathed by the State Government to real estate prospectors and land sharks, is another testimony to the avarice of our politicians, cutting across party lines and political ideologies. There seems to be a huge mental deficit in the perception of the State’s Bureaucracy, to understand the manner and design in which to bring about development, that lends itself to the geography, ecology,  topography and culture of Garhwal and Kumaon. Things as they are today can only predict for itself a disaster, which is waiting to happen in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand, where the fundamental principle of symbiotic existence has been long discarded in the subterfuge and stupidity of development practices; which better serve regions as are distinct and different from what obtains and exists here.

The State of Minnesota and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, in which we presently are to be with our son and family is a verdant expanse that embraces both; concrete co located with gardens, parks, open spaces, state highways, city roads, commercial centres, numerous water bodies and well planned and laid out housing avenues, that enhance beauty and celebrate nature in its abundant glory. This is what memory helps me to recollect from within the deep recesses of my mind and draw a somewhat broad comparison with the once upon a time Dehra Dun, with its forest cover, orchards, streams and swathes of open spaces in which children played and gamboled towards adulthood. That has been ruined by those who wrested Statehood from Uttar Pradesh for its people with the conviction of “Meeting the Aspirations of the Hill Folks”. Fertile land with productive top soil has been sold out for profit, only to create jungles of concrete instead. The avarice of the political leadership in the State coupled with the crass hunger for money in the ethically and morally challenged colonizers and developers, who have eked out hugely profitable deals for themselves through the practice of crony capitalism; has transformed the city’s landscape into a visual monstrosity and a cesspool of corruption. The revenue officials, MDDA and Municipal authorities, middle and lower rung bureaucracy, real estate agents and all those who can manipulate and manoeuvre the system to accrue an advantage for themselves, are laughing all the way to their banks and caches of slush money at the expense of what is left of the natural beauty of Dehra Dun and other cities, towns and villages which are its distinguishing feature. One truly wonders where all this unabated construction activity, which is happening in the absence of any committed and honest regulatory mechanism to oversee the same and stall the plunder of nature and its many trappings, will lead the State in the very near and immediate future.

The anger and despondency of the people, at the state of affairs, which the State is besieged with, must come out with full force and measure in every aspect of public life and demand their right to a secure and dignified living. This is the time when the people of the economically vibrant and developed cities must come together on a common platform with the people of the hills, to give a voice which is in unison with that of the latter. When the interests of the burgeoning middle class, which makes a life and living in towns, cities and metropolises are affected, the streets, roads and plazas must witness an ocean of human agitation. But, the same should also happen when their own countrymen, women and children are marginalized by the callous hearted political leadership and the cringing bureaucracy, that only knows how to bulwark it’s own turf and interests. This should become an inclusive cause of all people of Uttarakhand and not just those who are afflicted by the indifference and misgovernance of the State Government. It is then and only then that, there will be a hope to prevent the situation from becoming a human tragedy of immense proportions, which will engulf all and without exceptions, in the years to come.

Brigadier S D Dangwal

5339, 64^th W Street, Ridgeview Drive

Edina, Minneapolis

Minnesota, 55439

USA

Telephone No 001 612-747-5738

A TRIBUTE TO HABIBULLAH AND DARSHAN

THE NDA HEIST AND DARSHAN SINGH

During my tenure as an instructor in the NDA, I chanced upon some archival albums of this institution displayed in the office of the Squadron Commander of Charlie Squadron; Major Anil Talwar a cavalry man from the Hodson’s Horse. Therein is a quote from the fourth commandant, Maj Gen E Habibullah who was at its helm from 07 Jan 53 to 26 Dec 58, which must surely epitomise the objective and purpose of cadet’s training; in this cradle of military leadership. According to him the laudable aim of the NDA is to produce “such future leaders and officers in the armed forces of the country, who are imbued with a sense of righteousness, which is inevitably combined with the daring do of a street fighter, who has evolved from a rich harvest of naughtiness and mischief; quite contrary to those who are wary of some healthy horseplay, lest it detracts from their being acknowledged as an officer and a gentleman”. It could not have been worded better, to expound what reams of written words are unable to convey. I was then with my 20 years of service behind me, so taken up by the perspicuity of thought of Maj Gen Habibullah, who knew the essence of cultivating the mainspring of character driven leadership in the alumni of NDA.

The ‘Mausambi’ and ‘Ganna’ raids by cadets in Pirangut and Kondwa villages, climbing atop the Sudan Block Dome and placing a pith hat on the lightning conductor, sneaking into camps Green-  horn and Rover by doing a bunk from the Academy and running cross country to reach there under the cover of darkness; just to get a share of the scrumptious ‘Tipsy Pudding’, raiding the NDA cafe when it was run on contract, staying in Hotel Taj in Mumbai for a night by conning the staff, dancing and drinking in the discotheque ‘Crystal Room’ and walking out from there without making any payment, walking into a fashion show in Colaba without tickets by hoodwinking the security, drinking and dining at the pleasure of the organizers  and clandestinely sneaking women of easy virtue into cadet cabins for a night of amorous pleasure; were some of the things which cadets did on their own, quite in keeping with the spirit of what has been stated afore. While the structured and un-structured training provided us with the physical, mental and moral wherewithal to become fit and robust, it was these shenanigans which we cadets indulged in of our own volition,that provided us an opportunity to experiment with and validate our learning in a real time scenario. The cost we had to pay, if discovered, was calibrated in keeping with the discretion of the disciplinary authorities and could be anything from ‘Restrictions’, ‘Sinhgarh Hikes’, ‘Relegation’ and ‘Withdrawal’. But yet we took the risk of going ahead with our intent, only because it challenged our youth to write its own story.

It was when Darshan Singh was the PTO, that a heist was successfully attempted in the impregnable precincts of the Gymnasium, which was the other sanctum sanctorum of training, in tandem with the Drill Square in the NDA. The PT and Sports store, which abuts the Gymnasium, is stocked with kit, equipment and sundry items valued at some good cost.  The store has a wooded door and many windows and ventilators, secured by iron grill. At the end of the day, the door is bolted and secured by a huge lock, which is further sealed in a cloth bag with a wax seal. Then CHM MV Kannan, a wiry and curly haired balding madrasi, was the NCO I/c Store. It was on a Monday morning, when CHM Kannan opened the lock of the store and pushed ajar the door, that his intuitive sense told him that all was not well. A running glimpse of the shelves revealed that things had gone missing. Burdened with the onerous responsibility of being the store keeper and with the fear of repercussions, which he would invite upon himself from the gigantic looking Darshan Singh, Kannan broke into a cold sweat. He meticulously inspected the shelves and its accompanying Bin Cards, to tally what was existing and what was not. The list of missing items started swelling and very soon the nomenclature and quantity of things which had been picked up was ready for the perusal of the PTO. Kannan then made his report to Darshan Singh, but was unable to establish the point of entry and exit of the person(s) who had made good with the stolen items, as there was nothing apparently visible to the naked eye. It was in these situations that the investigative mind and brilliance of Darshan Singh came to the fore and he went about his investigation in a clinical manner, till he chanced upon an iron grill in the ventilator, which was missing. The opening provided just about enough space for someone to slip in and out from the gap. QED. This had to be the ingress and egress route of the thief (s). The list of things gone missing from the store included such items as golf balls, golf clubs, cricket, tennis, squash and hockey balls, tennis and squash rackets, cricket bats, anklets, football goalkeeper gloves, stop watches etc. The job had been brilliantly executed with no tell tale signs left to take leads from. This was Darshan’s greatest challenge; to catch the thief (s) who had dared to invade his bastion and commit robbery from his store. How could Darshan Singh be cocked a snook at? A FIR was lodged by the Security Officer of the NDA with the Uttamnagar Police Station. In the interim Darshan had sent a word to all the sports dealers who did business with NDA, to keep a look out for any sports goods finding its way to their shops for resale, and should it so happen then to inform him immediately about the same. The matter went into a bit of a stalemate, with nothing either coming up as any evidence or else an alarm from any of the many sports dealers.

While matters continued to be routine in the NDA for some time since this heist, the ring of Darshan’s residential phone one afternoon brought him up from his bed and shook him awake from his sweet stupor. It was the call; he was most impatiently waiting for. Mr Grover of Rovers Sports on Main Street, Pune was very excited to tell him that some of his cadets had come over to the shop about ten minutes back and were making very discreet enquiries about the sale of some premium branded sports items. They had left a list of certain items with him to demand a price quote from him and walked out with the promise to get back after an hour. The items were by and large what had been stolen from the sports store some time back. Darshan, directed his friend and dealer to ask the cadets to come to his shop on the following Sunday, with all the items they were desirous to sell. The price could be agreed upon and negotiated once the items were in the shop. The trap had been laid by the wily old fox Darshan, who was to us cadets a colossus beyond belief.

On the fixed day and time, the three cadets walked into Rovers with two kit bags full of sports goods, with the intent to strike a deal and make good with the money paid as compensation. The bags were opened and the balls, clubs, rackets, stopwatches etc were laid out on the counter for the deal to be sealed. The cadets were absolutely ignorant about the fact that they had been sold out to Darshan by Mr Grover; who was all folded up and crouching behind the very same counter on which the wares were displayed. Darshan, who was quite updated on the nuances of law, waited for his chance to spring upon the ill fated trio to catch them red handed with the stolen property. Darshan, uncoiled himself from his perch behind the counter and sprung a surprise on the cadets by grabbing the wrists of two and staring down the third with his sardonic looks. The cadets were stunned by this surprise but were men enough to take their apprehension with due dignity and elan. They were down but not out. This was their learning curve to evolve into men from adolescents, who are characterised by their delinquencies.

It is no surprise then that these cadets lived a full career in the army and superannuated on retirement in the ranks of Lt Gen, Maj Gen and Colonel.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

The Writing Is On The Wall

INDIA IS POISED FOR A POLITICAL CHANGE – MAKE IT HAPPEN

Where have we moved as a nation in these 65 years since independence? That the country has been shamed beyond words in the tragedy which befell a young girl, whose modesty was outraged and she murdered by some of its very own men, who are nurtured on the freedom of democracy. The question which begs an answer from the people of India is, are we worthy of democracy and its accompanied freedom; as we have adopted for ourselves in our Constitution. And the answer, which is forthcoming from an honest attempt in response to this, is an emphatic NO. This was the apprehension of most social thinkers, world leaders and political scientists, who had wagered their bottom dollar on genuine and meaningful democracy, not prospering in India in the long run, because its people were not as yet prepared to understand its implications, in its entirety. The economic, social and class imbalance, which then existed in our society, did not suitably lend itself to the ennobling and empowering concept of adult political suffrage. That, it happened was a colossal contradiction that engulfed our political thought. However, the political leadership, which was then in the forefront of  society that emerged from the shackles of British Rule, was charged with and inspired by national idealism, steeped in rectitude and probity. This, initially, and to a large extent compensated for any lack of ability among the Indian people, to comprehend and imbibe the essence of their role and active participation in this form of a governmental dispensation. India, adopted the British system of parliamentary democracy, which today has been subverted by the political class; who short-changed its people by manipulating the provisions of our Constitution by unleashing a virtual democracy, which was propped up on the divisive calculation of religion, caste, creed, class, parochialism, language etc intrinsic in a multi ethnic and multi cultural populace. India was kept largely illiterate and disempowered,  by design, rather than the existence of any insurmountable problem, which was an impediment towards the social empowerment of its people. The second generation of the country’s political leadership was happy with the thought of appealing to the emotive instincts and ephemeral survival needs of the people. Politics got criminalised and corruption was institutionalised. The three pillars of our parliamentary democracy were whittled down to become selectively effective, depending upon the desire of our political masters who subverted these to their advantage and interpretations. This is where we stand as a Nation, today.

In the aftermath of the liberalisation of the country’s economy and an end to the license permit raj, we are poised at the intersection of hope and gloom, of individual aspiration and frustrating institutional failure. The successes are weighed down by the failings, which stem from the failings of the political class and the bureaucracy that is supposed to complement the former. The political class lacks the vision to make course corrections for the larger good of the country and its people, as also courage to face the crisis which confronts society and the Nation. For democracy to survive and for India to prosper, the political leadership must be driven by the public good than private dividend. Corruption, national and individual security, water, energy, poverty, hygiene and sanitation, federalism, casteism and many more critical concerns will become chronic impediments in the commensurate progress and development of an India, which is on the threshold of becoming a world player in the comity of nations. Even at the cost of being seen and read as a Cassandra, it is my firm belief that should the country not be jolted from this state of political quagmire, which exists presently in our polity; we are living and sitting on a disaster waiting to happen. It will be too late then for much to be done to arrest the fallout of the disaster, we as a people will have invited upon ourselves. All will be equal stakeholders for the tragedy that is most likely to befall the country in the coming decade or so. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and hence the present stares each one of us to come out of our comfort zones and degenerate our despair with the political system that obtains in India, with a purposeful alternative, which could even be anarchy, followed by an authoritarian dispensation.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

No Armies Can Resist The Idea Whose Time Has Come

CAN THIS BECOME  INDIA’S TAHRIR SQUARE?

The prophecy of the English bulldog, Winston Churchill, is working itself out in the sovereign state which emerged from the bastion of colonial power of the British Empire, on the stroke of midnight on 14^th Aug 1947. That the country would get ruled by rascals, freeloaders, lumpen, coots and inept leaders is nearer the truth in these times, than ever before in the political history of the country. India was unprepared for political suffrage in the midst of social and economic inequality, which was the reality then. We as a country had entered into a life of contradictions, wherein the principle of one person one vote did not subscribe to one value. This was the democracy we had assured to ourselves, in which the state ruled but did not serve. The situation which prevails in the country today is an abject manifestation of this contradiction, in which the political class has discredited and disparaged the Constitution, which upholds our democracy. For long the wrath and anger of the people was swelling up in their being, but was unable to express itself in  social activism or else an uprising against the government of the day. It took a Gandhian and a veteran soldier, Anna Hazare, who publicly demonstrated and protested against the unwillingness of the politicians to pass the Lok Pal Bill in the parliament and thereby evince to the people of India his courage to lead from the front on a matter of a people’s issue.  It was during this time that the youth of the country were galvanized like never before to make a social statement, which adversely impacted and affected the mundane life of citizens. They came from all across the country and congregated under the protesting umbrella of Anna Hazare. The water had come to the mouth and was on the verge of asphyxiating the common man. The youth had savored the power of agitating against the arrogance of the politicians and the government in equal measure and enjoyed the leverage which it provided them, to make a point to their elected representatives who otherwise remained deaf and apathetic to their daily woes. Then Baba Ramdev and Arvind Kejriwal further bulwarked and fanned this belief in the third generation of our people since we got independence, which were willing to come out of their comfort zones to join the battle for their cause with the politicians and the government, by ensuring a crescendo to the demands of the social activists. The demographic dividend, which Nandan Nilekani talks about in his book, has finally arrived and is infused with the thought to shape the country’s future, “not by chance but by choice”. The cultural fatalism of India got buried in the surge of its youth power.

The already angry and fuming masses that were fed on a disgusting and pathetic diet of one scam after another, involving the political leadership in the United Progressive Alliance (II) coalition government, which is adept at only practicing motion that does not degenerate into action; was shocked by the gruesome and brutal rape of a 23 year old girl in the National Capital Region of Delhi. This was like the proverbial last straw which broke the back of the camel. The Nation was in outrage against the apathy and inefficiency of the Delhi and Central Government, on a matter of women and people issue. The police was targeted as the face of the administration, which is mandated to ensure and provide for the security of the citizens. When the masses converged upon Lutyen’s Delhi in protest against the callous response of the political leadership, to a sensitive issue which enjoys public empathy, the government went into a tizzy and unleashed its might on innocent protesters in an attempt to shatter their resolve and conviction. This was not the kind of people who had earlier assembled in Ramlila Maidan under the banner of Baba Ramdev, and were chased out from there under the midnight assault of the Rapid Action Force. But, this is the youth of India who have done proud to the spirit of a people’s movement, with their indefatigable energy and a non negotiable outlook demanding ACTION.

The spin doctors of the Central Government, who urge the Party leadership, which de facto controls the strings of decision making; were probably guided by their past experience of dealing with similar eventualities and wearing out the protesters by a doctrine of attrition. But this is not to be, as is emerging in the continuous upsurge among civil society to draw an actionable commitment from the Government, in the instant matter as also for the future security of its people. Situations such as this is bound to throw up scapegoats, who are made the sacrificial lambs to camouflage and brush under the carpet, failure on the part of those who are mandated to constructively deliver and are de jure accountable. The Lt Governor of Delhi, the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Home Minister, the Home Secretary, the Police Commissioner and others are some of those who are directly in the line of fire for the eventuality. And the best these authorities can do is to close down eight metro stations, not allow buses carrying supporters for the cause and coming from outside into Delhi, the police discarding the principle of using minimum force against those  present, using water cannons and tear gas shells against non violent protesters etc . What a shame! Not only this. The blame game has already started with Mrs Sheila Dixit, the Chief Minister of Delhi passing the buck for the lapses on to the lap of the Lt Governor, Delhi.

The people of the country and especially its youth will be well advised to continue with their agitation under a well defined and articulated strategy that, becomes a stepping stone for an all encompassing revolution against the political system within the country. People like Arvind Kejriwal, General (retd) VK Singh, Kiran Bedi, Shiv Khera, Sisodia, Shobha De, Anupam Kher and a host of respected citizens who distinguish themselves by their thought and vision and the youth identifies with and respects, must chalk out the blueprint for the long haul of public resentment against the political class. It will be a long winter and we must prepare ourselves for this opportunity to cleanse national politics of its muck and human garbage. Not only should the people vote against incumbency in Delhi and the Centre, but also apply themselves to a change of the political system in the impending future. We as a Nation must boycott the farce of participating in and celebrating the Republic and Independence Days and cock a snook at the political leadership of the country by ostracizing it completely from our hearts and minds. Let the RAJPATH become a piece of artefact, which does not reverberate with the applause and cheers of the people who assemble there to witness the grandeur of India. Let the ramparts of the Red Fort look down upon empty and vacant lawns that are otherwise stacked by children, who wait upon their Prime Minister to splutter a bagful of rhetoric put together by his advisers and ghost writers. This is the sentiment that must get endorsed and validated in a show of the people’s despondency with their political leadership, which has incessantly raped MOTHER INDIA.  

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

Start Punishing the Politicians and All Else Will Follow

THE COUNTRY AWAITS THE TRIAL  OF THE CWG SCAMSTERS – WHO SHAMED SPORTS AND INDIA

The news about the framing of charges against a clutch of officials of the Organizing Committee for the 2010 Common Wealth Games (CWG) viz Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and nine others,who are guilty of corruption, criminal conspiracy, forgery, intimidation etc under various sections of the IPC and Corruption Act of India; is an emotional escape from the disgusting act of six men who physically and emotionally brutalised a 23 year old girl in Delhi. For those of us who are suitably informed about the happenings in the sports management and administration organizations which run, nurture and promote sports in the country, through the offices of various sports federations/ associations; the names of Kalmadi and Bhanot are known for all the wrong reasons than anything worthy. These two men had made the IOA and the Athletics Federation of India, as their private concerns and were destined to continue doing so in perpetuity, had the Government’s sports code and the CBI not spoilt their party. Kalmadi, when he was the president of the Athletics Federation, had Bhanot as his Secretary and it is from there that their nexus flourished and prospered, to favour him with a plum assignment in the Organizing Committee (OC) of the CWG, that of the Secretary General. It was here that these two and their other cohort, of the now charge sheeted accomplices, who were party to various misdeeds of financial nature in similar dealings earlier too, made merry with the tax payers money by lining their pockets. Anil Madan of Gem Enterprises, a manufacturing and trading firm in Faridabad and his partner, are vendors and suppliers for brand ‘Omega’ and have been in business in India for quite some time. They have thus been in close and commercial touch with the likes of Kalmadi, Bhanot, Verma, Prasad and others in the course of their business dealings. Any major international or else national level sports event, which is scheduled and conducted in the country, is an opportunity for those dealing in the sports industry to make a financial kill by selling and providing related hardware. And it was during such times that Madan could become passively aggressive in his attempt to somehow or the other win the bid and get the order. I have personally dealt with Madan and his company Gem Enterprises in my official capacity in the Army HQ, during the course of the Army’s surge to win medals in the Olympics and launch its ‘Mission Olympics’. I remember him as a portly, well heeled, affable, polite and courteous man who was correct to a fault in his behaviour and conduct. His persuasive skills and research into the equipment/ material that he had on offer to supply and provide were exceptional, convincing and saleable. It was difficult to say no to him. Moreover, the fact that he was the sole supplier representing an internationally reputed company ‘Omega’ in India, settled the indecision to purchase what was required in his Company’s favour, because of its indisputable quality. While the quality was a given, the prices too were high in comparison to similar products available in the market, from other vendors/manufacturers. The armed forces, for the conduct of the Military World Games in 2007, held at Hyderabad and Mumbai, bought much electronic equipment from his Company, Gem Enterprises. We, in the Technical Conduct Committee of the Games were hosted to two or three dinners in Delhi and Secunderabad by Madan and his business partner Purshottam, as an expression of their gratitude for enabling the purchase order to come through, in favour of their Company. The pleasure was entirely ours and we enjoyed the company of these two gentlemen, only because of their ability to have some social compatibility with us. Thereafter, retirement from service followed in a year’s time and we moved to Pune, which was preparing to host the Common Wealth Youth Games in 2008. Madan and his Company had made bids for the supply of equipment here too and this brought him to Pune often, during the build up to the Games. I tried to get in touch with him while he was there, to invite him over to our home to exchange pleasantries and reciprocate the courtesy he had shown us by having us for dinner with him, earlier. It was disappointing to say the least that, he neither received my call nor made any attempt to respond to my earnest courtesy. That was the end of the matter with me and I moved along, albeit with some questions in my mind about the nature of human relationships.

Thereafter, the Common Wealth Games scam bubble burst and Madan’s Gem Enterprise featured in the dubious story related to the purchase of the Timing, Scoring and Result (TSR) system purchased for the event at a prohibitive cost of about Rs 165 crores, which was at least costlier by Rs 90 crores to what was on offer by a Spanish Company. That, the decision to purchase the TSR system from Gem Enterprise was taken even before the tendering process had been initiated, raises some serious doubts about and exemplifies the selling skills of Madan and his partner Purshottam. It puts a big question mark on the deliberate disregard of propriety of the procedure, existing for the purpose of procurement, involving the tax payer’s money from government coffers.  While Gem was able to clinch the deal and make a profit for the Company and ‘Omega’, Kalmadi, Bhanot, Verma, Prasad etc too were smiling all the way to their bank accounts, whether here in India or else abroad in any one of the banks, which have been in public gaze for parking slush money.  Madan and Purshottam were done in, because their Company accounts showed the payment in excess of what was actually priced by ‘Omega’ and to have been transferred to the account of an unknown and specious organization in Singapore, headed by Kalmadi. And it was from there that the money trail probably leads to the accounts of the other disgraced accomplices of Kalmadi, who were with him in the OC of the CWG. It is this very same Kalmadi, who moved about as an imperious sports aficionado, inspecting and surveying the various venues of the CWG and threatened to sue a TV news channel for making unsubstantiated and not established charges of corruption against him, in the use of funds for the Queen’s Baton Relay held in London, as a precursor to the Delhi Games. His equally moronic and supercilious Secretary General in the OC of the CWG, Bhanot, prospered under the shadow of his mentor and lived on Dutch courage, injected by the political stature of his Chairman. This became only too obvious when the tainted Bhanot was presented a bouquet and congratulated by Kalmadi, when the former was elected uncontested as the Secretary General of the Indian Olympic Assocation (IOA), which has since been de recognized by the parent body International Olympic Committee (IOC). This much to say for the stalwarts, sports administrators, managers and leaders of sports bodies, which are mandated to promote and nurture sports and sportspersons. They mirror the political class in the country, which cocks a snook at the people of the country who are not forthcoming to show them out of the door, for want of courage and underlying fear.

We, do hope that in keeping with the hopes of the people and in accordance with the canons of law as enshrined in our system of jurisprudence, these black-guards who pollute and discredit our society are punished in an exemplary manner, so as to set an example for others who are on the fringes of skulduggery in our society and its political class. It is then and only then that, there is some hope of democracy being prevented from getting derailed in India and becoming a glorious sham, which it presently is.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

Change the Political System in the Country

THE CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY IN INDIA

The recent incident of a gang rape, battery and attempt to murder of a 23 year old girl, in the country’s capital, Delhi is not just a shameless and brazen act of criminality, indulged in by a clutch of hideous scum who disgrace and embarrass men as a species, but is also an all encompassing metaphor for the larger rape, loot and plunder of the country; symbolized and enacted on a near regular basis on the floor of the Indian parliament, without prejudice to either gender. The unfortunate girl has become a sacrificial lamb to arouse and engender the anger and wrath of the people of the country, to come out in such large numbers on the roads of Delhi, as can rattle both the Houses of the parliament, only to make a statement about the growing apathy of the government towards people’s issues. Women, of course, who continue to remain the physically weaker sex and not sufficiently empowered to take their rightful place in the social mainstream of India, are the worse off, only because they suffer the indignities hurled upon them because of their gender by both , the people and the institutions of the government. Every time an eventuality takes place in the social canvas of a city, town and village, it is then and only then that the government of the day or else the public institutions or administration gear up to prepare for another similar such happening. Whether, it is the series of incidents involving children falling into bore holes left uncovered and thus dying, or incidents of recurring impropriety indulged in by the very guardians of civil society against women, or the macabre hegemony of the Khap panchayats against boys and girls who develop friendly liaisons and fall in love, or rapes of innocent children, young girls and women by perverts among us or road rage resulting in acts of violence and even murder; the government and public institutions invested with the responsibility to preclude these from occurring or else happening are woefully unprepared or under prepared to either regulate or prevent these. In most such cases as come to public notice, thanks to the ever alert and vigilant media, which is thoughtlessly accused of sensationalizing matters for catching eyeballs, the police and the lower government functionaries are to be held accountable for dereliction of their duties and being insensitive to the woes of the people, for whom these are meant. This does not in any way exonerate the respective apex hierarchies and the people’s representatives, who are charged with the constructive onus of ensuring the security of the masses and the taxpaying public at large.

Today, the country stands at a historical crossroads, which undermines the credibility of the political system which we have adopted for ourselves and as enshrined in our constitution. Irrespective of the merit of the binding document which defines our System and its Constitutional ramifications, it cannot work for us. Only, because, we as a society and people are not worthy of it. We get the type of leaders and government within our political framework, which we deserve. Should we as a people want to bring about a much needed and welcome change into our political thinking, then it has got to be something which is not hackneyed and adaptive, but instead radical and out of the box. The choices therefore get limited and insinuate something as radical as a revolution in the country, which examines the possibility of considering an autocratic dispensation for a stated and predetermined period of time. Even though I am a votary to support the likes of the Aam Admi Party and civil society movements, which can keep a tight leash on our government and its institutions, but the manner and speed with which we repudiated our idealism and cultural values that, we swore by when we became independent from colonial rule, prognosticates a similar fate for the embryonic political party headed by Arvind Kejriwal. Therefore, it boils down to the postulate of being honest, upright, righteous, correct and competent only till such time, as one has not been sucked into the power game of Indian Politics. Then it is all the same, and it reduces itself into a comparative equation. Even though I may be read as tilting at the windmills, by making such a radical suggestion to replace the most evolved and progressive form of government, which is Democracy; yet it is probably the better of the two choices which we are headed for, the other being a blood bath supported by vested foreign interests.

It is heartening to see the crowds that, have spilled onto the roads and avenues of most cities and metropolises in the country, in anger and rage over the scurrilous act of five or more men who disgrace and mortify Indian society today; because it is this very sentiment and feeling against the ineptitude and hypocrisy of the political class and the government that, must get tweaked into a more enduring and all encompassing uprising against the POLITICAL SYSTEM obtaining within the country that has let down the NATION. The presence of the youth in this mass upsurge of disgust against the government of the day in Delhi and the Centre augurs well for the future of the country and it is this emotion which can shake the foundations of our polity for our collective good. An honest audit of the achievements of the political class in the recent past will bring India to shame like never before. Corruption, more corruption and yet more corruption. The political class has mastered the art of subterfuge and hypocrisy by which it confounds and inveigles the voter who elects its representatives, driven by hope for a better and dignified future, which articulates and embraces the promises as enshrined in the preamble to our Constitution.  This joke has been going on for too long and I only hope that the people are able to sustain their resentment against the entire political class and come out in a referendum in support of a change of the form of government. This is the state to which this scurrilous and self interest driven class of people, who represent us in the temples of democracy, have brought us to. We must think lateral and out of the box, to stymie the politicians from continuing to RAPE, PLUNDER AND LOOT THE COUNTRY.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

My 100 th Blog - Makes Me Happy

CAN YOU BECOME A GAME CHANGER IN INDIA’S POLITICS? YES

India is passing through a phase of churning in its democratic evolution. The process, in the 65^th year of its independence, is driven by social activism and a cultural resurgence, which threatens to make ingress into the polity of the country, for the larger good of its people. After the political movement of Jaiprakash Narain, in the aftermath of the dark period of emergency which stifled democracy and consequently put a break to the rule of the Congress party in the government; the rumblings of social activism from Jantar Mantar and Red Fort, which were orchestrated by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Baba Ramdev and others respectively, has the potential to blossom into a welcome reality providing a political alternative to the people of the country. The rampant corruption in public life by politicians of all hues and colours, has galvanised the middle class and youth, like never before to come out of their comfort zones and participate in anti government rallies, aimed to cleanse the political system of pseudo leaders who personify criminality, venality and dishonesty in their dealings. The sense of the country is one of disgust against governance in the Centre and most States, where rectitude and probity in the conduct and behaviour of the people’s representatives has been thrown out of the window, for personal and Party interests. Money power undergirds political expediency, which ensures political power. The electorate is constantly cheated of its trust and faith in the politicians of the country, who brazenly practice subterfuge by misusing money to buy off the majority voters through material inducements.  The institutions of the country have been so derailed as to lose all legitimacy, with its people demoralised and confused and having lost faith in the system as a whole, including those who are a part of it. The common man is in despair and dejection at the prospect of what the present and the future hold for this country and its federalism. We are veering towards a cul de sac of instability and security, wherein both the people and the nation are doomed to an existence of moral and righteous penury, unleashed by both the government and the opposition. The choice is difficult to make between one and the other. In fact it is a Hobson’s choice between the UPA and the NDA at the Centre and a string of regional parties who entice the masses on the calculus of religion, caste, sub caste, class, language and all else, which divides the voters on emotive and petty issues of parochialism. The regional parties, which matter in a coalition in the Centre with either of the alliances, literally arm twist and blackmail the government to accede to their political agendas, suiting their regional constituencies. A game of quid pro quo is played out in the parliament, which insults and assails the essence of democracy.

It is in this environment of pathetic and murky politics, which is being played out in the parliament on a periodic and regular basis, that the requirement to support the social activists, who have shown the gall to pick up the gauntlet and participate in the process of democracy, was never more. A burgeoning middle class and a sizeable demographic dividend comprising the youth, must seize this opportunity, which is now being provided by the Aam Admi Party, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev to come together in the political and social mainstream respectively and pose a real challenge to the career politicians, who have brought the character of this country to a state of near ruin and moral decay. The corrupt and arrogant politicians, who sully the corridors of Parliament and State Assemblies with their maleficience, draw their comfort from the confidence of ill gotten wealth, acquired from the loot and plunder of National and State resources and the tax payer’s money; to neutralise any threat to their political stature and position from those who are driven by a desire to serve the people and the country. This is a make or break period in the political history of the country. Wherein, any digression or else lack of enthusiasm on the part of those who want good governance; from the chosen course to strengthen the hands of all those who confront criminalisation of politics and are willing to join in the electoral battle, will drive the last nail into the coffin of Indian Democracy. The politicians and their cronies will laugh all the way to power and more arrogance and then only a bloody revolution like the Maoists want against the state will probably redeem the situation. To pre-empt this from happening, it will be in the interest of all stakeholders of good governance, which includes those politicians who are clean and selfless, to come together in forums of solidarity that are steeped in their organizational roots viz armed forces, bureaucracy, para military forces, central police services, civil society, corporate workers, academicians, service class et al to fight and defeat venal politicians, irrespective of party, religion, caste, sub caste, class, language and parochial considerations. The sole consideration should be merit and integrity, to vote and elect the people’s representative into power. It is then and only then, that the collective dream of the people of India, to have a comparatively corruption free government at all levels of governance, which impact the lives of the majority, may as well become a reality in the next decade or so. Otherwise, the country is doomed to an unfortunate future.

All concerned will therefore be well advised to move beyond being the chattering class, epitomised by the growing middle class and its cynicism; to come out and become a ‘Game Changer’ in India’s politics.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051