Just what is the value of a human life in India? I seethe with silent helpless rage when I see on the news channels that a young newly born's life is snuffed out in Jallandhar. Why? Because the parents could not pay Rs. 200/- to the hospital to keep the baby on the incubator! The CM's reaction on TV? "Aise haadse toh hote rehte hain"! Incredible! Reminds one of R.R. Patil's famous line after 26/11 "Chhote mote banaav hote rehta hain".
A young under-aged spoilt brat slams at 80 kmph his father's Honda into an elderly Mr Maroo on his morning walk, hits a couple of policemen and rams into two taxies. What happens? He is out on bail - for Rs. 15,000/-. That's what Mr Maroo, an industrialist in Bombay, is worth.
And what about the families of our soldiers who died fighting the enemy - both within and on our borders? Has the government, or we, spared them a thought?
And the value of those who are victims of hit-and-run incidents, and those caught in the cross-fire of riots, and those who die of jaundice and dengue and malaria only because the municipalities cannot enforce cleanliness and hygiene? Ha ha, you guessed it. Rs. 0.00.
Are we living in a civilised society of Manoj Kumar's Mere Desh ki Dharti sona ugle ugle heere moti, or Naipaul's Area of Darkness?! I'd like to ask just one question to our freedom fighters? Can you honestly look into the mirror today, in 21st century India, and say "Our fight was worth it"?
Yes, friends, I am in a state of depression right now - but I know I will bounce back, because "Aise haadse toh hote rehte hain". In the meantime the words MERA BHARAT MAHAAN seem to be a very cruel joke.
A young under-aged spoilt brat slams at 80 kmph his father's Honda into an elderly Mr Maroo on his morning walk, hits a couple of policemen and rams into two taxies. What happens? He is out on bail - for Rs. 15,000/-. That's what Mr Maroo, an industrialist in Bombay, is worth.
And what about the families of our soldiers who died fighting the enemy - both within and on our borders? Has the government, or we, spared them a thought?
And the value of those who are victims of hit-and-run incidents, and those caught in the cross-fire of riots, and those who die of jaundice and dengue and malaria only because the municipalities cannot enforce cleanliness and hygiene? Ha ha, you guessed it. Rs. 0.00.
Are we living in a civilised society of Manoj Kumar's Mere Desh ki Dharti sona ugle ugle heere moti, or Naipaul's Area of Darkness?! I'd like to ask just one question to our freedom fighters? Can you honestly look into the mirror today, in 21st century India, and say "Our fight was worth it"?
Yes, friends, I am in a state of depression right now - but I know I will bounce back, because "Aise haadse toh hote rehte hain". In the meantime the words MERA BHARAT MAHAAN seem to be a very cruel joke.
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