Monday, July 05, 2010

Strike and Out!

Very rarely do I have any opinion on indian politics or for that matter I am quite ignorant about the entire indian political machinery.
Yes - I do keep track of whats happening in india on a day to day basis.
No - I don’t think I can comment on how the politicians do their jobs.

Obviously, it is indeed very easy to sit miles away from India and pick up the news paper or flick through various news channels, grimace and say " hmmphh!! Politicians", but that is something I would not do unless I myself am willing to change something in the system itself. Atleast they try.
None the less, I must say I was quite perplexed, it also got me wondering when I read about the proposed bandh or nationwide strike that has struck India on the 5th of July 2010.

Cause: Price Rise
Accused: UPA
Complainant: NDA
Victim: every single indian citizen.

Well, I did notice in my last visit home, to Goa, that prices have been going through the roof. Inflation is working over time and refuses to stop. But is a nationwide strike really the best the opposition could come up with to fix the issue? So, we have all the political big-wigs sitting in their a/c cabins - starched kurtas and crisply ironed, hair well oiled and combed, nails clipped demanding for a bandh because apparently that’s what the aam admi wants, in the mean time the aam admi is not allowed to go to work by rioting bandh activists resulting in a loss of days pay and those who try risk injury thanks to stone pelting opposition ground workers.
Was every single billion citizen in india asked whether they prefer a bandh or not?
You can not call a bandh a success just because 10000 indians were on the street protesting while the remaining millions chose to stay away from it and not get involved.
Really makes me wonder how burning buses, stopping business from functioning, shutting down the second fastest growing economy in the world, causing public property damage, loss of life etc etc is going to actually bring down the inflation and reduce costs. As of now there has already apparently been a loss of 2000 crores (and counting) to the purse of central govt.
You probably by now think I am an anti NDA voter and a pro Congress. No I am not. I am just pro Progress.
All sides (the Left, the Right and the Center) have some big stalwarts, who know how to get the job done and infact how to get it done just perfectly right but for some reason they prefer a Bandh rather than a Bandhobast.