I am vehemently anti-quota having suffered because of such systemic ills myself. And I am all for this who-blinks-first between the students and the spent force-with-nothing-to-lose, Arjun Singh. In fact, I am puzzled at the way everybody is behaving as if it's only the students' nightmare. We have decided to stay mute outsiders. Each one of us gets directly affected by this nonsense. You will have more students with a substandard education-- he will pick only what he can understand-- treating us in hospitals.
The production quality all round -- whether it is a building, a newspaper, or a handbag, will suffer. And then, we'll all put a hand to our heavy heads to complain that we, as a nation, are never going to make it.
There must be something seriously wrong with this democratic system that allows everybody to prey on the aam aadmi. Doesn't he too have any fundamental rights? we pay for the so-called sins of our ancestors -- and for how long? Will someone please tell me what kind of payment/retribution is this that lets someone who didn't make the grade to get into a college leaving behind someone who did. Isn't it far better to let that someone be funded for his education but that he try for the seat on merit?
what message are we sending out to all, as my father says? That the backward classes, SCs, STs, Vimukta Jatis, Nomadic Tribes, OBCs are all no good with their brains? That they need a concession in marks rather than money? What exactly are they weak in-- brains?
Let's all spare a thought for the future and take our lives in our hands!!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
At last I have hit pay dirt!
My last post earned me lots of wrath from people who defy branding. One asked me why `I' had pegged the number of Bangladeshis in the city at 1 million. ``why not two or three?'' demanded an activist. A friend queried sarcastically if I didn't want Bangladeshis in my backyard, who did I want? More clones of myself? Well!
Didn't know the choice was soooo limited.
Another one suspected I was a BJP supporter. If the BJP indeed is raising this point, -- I don't remember the last time they spoke on the subject -- could it possibly be because Bangladeshis are NOT Indians? IF the BJP is indeed vocal about it, surely it is not as if the presence of Bangladeshis hurts only Hindus? Give it a thought. At least there is merit in THIS logic of theirs, presuming it's theirs. (More on how it hurts each one of us later.)
Conversely, are the Congress and its clones quiet because Bangladeshis are Muslims and by virtue of that fact, should be allowed to settle down into OUR country? Shouldn't you recognise an illegal immigrant as an illegal immigrant irrespective of his religion or nationality?
Yes, we did have a policy to resettle Hindu refugees from Bangladesh for a while but that owed to the terrible political climate of that country which persecuted them, leaving them with no option but to flee.
The casual mention of Bangladeshis has indeed been very revealing.
Of course, there were several -- many, many more than the hate mailers -- who enjoyed or agreed with what I had written. But the problem is they are a silent majority. It's absurd that a wrong view prevails simply because the people with these views are forceful, and those with a perspective prefer to sigh and resign themselves to their fate. Lest they be tainted as BJP supporters!
Now, let me explain to my friends and foes why every issue need not be viewed with coloured glasses. For decades now, everyone has been complaining about Mumbai bursting at the seams. The city has been short of power, roads and water. Check out the slums where many of these Bangladeshis -- I talk about them because all my respondents are now talking about them. I would ideally include all encroachers into the picture -- are squatting. They consume water from punctured pipes or illegal supply; they get illegal power, and of course they hog our roads.
Someone will promptly argue they consume less water than families living in buildings. True, but then, they shouldnt be consuming any water at all.
While cribbing about load-shedding, we automatically point accusing fingers at the utilities for not planning for the future. But the encroachers-- the illegal immigrants-- are a co-accused in this case. They are responsible for snatching away portions of infrastructure that was built for us-- the legimitate citizens of the city who pay for everything we use. or at least are supposed to.
Yes, there are those obnoxious developers preying on every inch of legitimate space building legitimate towers that draw more people into the city and that consequently also legitimately poaches our resources. I would be the first to agree that their activities have caused our resources to shrink much more than the illegal immigrants. But since these guys are a matter of policy-- we have no vision in place to cope with such an influx into the city or means to deny them their right to living here -- unlike the illegal immigrants who are necessarily not wanted.
So, the next time you have an issue with the city's crumbling infrastructure, look out of your balcony. Part of the problem probably rests close to it. And think. Are you large-hearted enough to permit all countries to settle down in your city as if it were their birthright? I am not sure if there is any political philosophy that allows this.
But do give me all that headbanging. Go on. Makes the blog a better place to be in.
My last post earned me lots of wrath from people who defy branding. One asked me why `I' had pegged the number of Bangladeshis in the city at 1 million. ``why not two or three?'' demanded an activist. A friend queried sarcastically if I didn't want Bangladeshis in my backyard, who did I want? More clones of myself? Well!
Didn't know the choice was soooo limited.
Another one suspected I was a BJP supporter. If the BJP indeed is raising this point, -- I don't remember the last time they spoke on the subject -- could it possibly be because Bangladeshis are NOT Indians? IF the BJP is indeed vocal about it, surely it is not as if the presence of Bangladeshis hurts only Hindus? Give it a thought. At least there is merit in THIS logic of theirs, presuming it's theirs. (More on how it hurts each one of us later.)
Conversely, are the Congress and its clones quiet because Bangladeshis are Muslims and by virtue of that fact, should be allowed to settle down into OUR country? Shouldn't you recognise an illegal immigrant as an illegal immigrant irrespective of his religion or nationality?
Yes, we did have a policy to resettle Hindu refugees from Bangladesh for a while but that owed to the terrible political climate of that country which persecuted them, leaving them with no option but to flee.
The casual mention of Bangladeshis has indeed been very revealing.
Of course, there were several -- many, many more than the hate mailers -- who enjoyed or agreed with what I had written. But the problem is they are a silent majority. It's absurd that a wrong view prevails simply because the people with these views are forceful, and those with a perspective prefer to sigh and resign themselves to their fate. Lest they be tainted as BJP supporters!
Now, let me explain to my friends and foes why every issue need not be viewed with coloured glasses. For decades now, everyone has been complaining about Mumbai bursting at the seams. The city has been short of power, roads and water. Check out the slums where many of these Bangladeshis -- I talk about them because all my respondents are now talking about them. I would ideally include all encroachers into the picture -- are squatting. They consume water from punctured pipes or illegal supply; they get illegal power, and of course they hog our roads.
Someone will promptly argue they consume less water than families living in buildings. True, but then, they shouldnt be consuming any water at all.
While cribbing about load-shedding, we automatically point accusing fingers at the utilities for not planning for the future. But the encroachers-- the illegal immigrants-- are a co-accused in this case. They are responsible for snatching away portions of infrastructure that was built for us-- the legimitate citizens of the city who pay for everything we use. or at least are supposed to.
Yes, there are those obnoxious developers preying on every inch of legitimate space building legitimate towers that draw more people into the city and that consequently also legitimately poaches our resources. I would be the first to agree that their activities have caused our resources to shrink much more than the illegal immigrants. But since these guys are a matter of policy-- we have no vision in place to cope with such an influx into the city or means to deny them their right to living here -- unlike the illegal immigrants who are necessarily not wanted.
So, the next time you have an issue with the city's crumbling infrastructure, look out of your balcony. Part of the problem probably rests close to it. And think. Are you large-hearted enough to permit all countries to settle down in your city as if it were their birthright? I am not sure if there is any political philosophy that allows this.
But do give me all that headbanging. Go on. Makes the blog a better place to be in.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Ok, this is extremely loose talk...if you hang on too long, you may find yourself suspended from your senses! Don't say you weren't warned. You're of course welcome to crib your heart out later!
The first rains of the season pulverised Mumbai, reduced the sprawling megapolis to a crumbling, stumbling sea of people stuck at the predictable bottlenecks dotting the city.
And, typically, the media came down heavily on the usual suspects: the municipal commissioner -- whose own office had to go without power, the traffic police, and of course the `State Government', that unwieldy monolith conjured up by voters to bear their share of responsibilities as well.
Suddenly, we found ourselves back to square one. After all those endless trips to Mithi river-- you got the feeling that the river by itself would cure the city of its flooding woes -- by everyone who was any kind of authority, we had been comforted into believing 26/7 was the climax of our waterlogging history. And that this time, we would all be singing, rim jhim gire saawan....all four months.
But alas, nature had other plans. So, we are back to doing what we do best. We throw garbage out of our window-- check out the railway tracks ALL ALONG the harbour line and piles of debris on EVERY road we walk on ---and curse the BMC for not clearing it up.
Where else would you find citizen apathy of this level? The city is like a vacuum cleaner that never gets cleaned. It keeps sucking in people in thousands every day. Where they live and what they do cannot be important because this is after all a democratic country and we all have the right to live where we please. Even if we are not Indian.
The last time I wrote on the subject, intelligence agencies pegged the number of Bangladeshis alone at one million. Do you know how many people this means? The city has a census population of 12 million.
And this is the official count. There are any number lurking in places like Navi Mumbai-- there has been a surfeit of beards, sherwanis and fez caps in places like Sanpada in the past ten years and Thane, not to speak of the rest of the country.
They invent a ration card and become citizens of the country. Have you noticed of late how many crimes and accidents seem to involve people with strangely un-Indian names. That bit also gives you an idea about the kind of occupation that earns them their rozi roti.
But mention the B- word to some of our dyed-in-the-wool `socialist' (which kind, I wonder) friends and they see red: look, they argue, these Bangladeshis provide cheap labour in the construction industry, powerlooms, etc. So in effect, they are subsidising you and your economy. what's your problem if they earn some poor pennies and live on the roads in the bargain.
What indeed is my problem? My problem is that these construction labour types, who make up less than half of THEIR population, are eating into my fellow countryment's rights. Because they come cheap, some needy Indian has been deprived of his right to occupation.
Next, they are extremely unclean-- litter and shit all over, come in a package deal-- two-three wives, countless children follow in the fortnight they arrive -- and are susceptible to violence.
The most important question of them all: why should i have to put up with these illegal immigrants on my land, even if they are angels from Paradise?
There are enough of my own countrymen bothering me anyway. Look at the daily influx into Mumbai: about 300 families - that is 300 x 4 = 1200. Consider a year's collection -- 1200 x 365 = 4,38,000. In 10 years, this would be an addition of 43.8 lakh people feeding off the same supply of power, roads and water, among other things. For a measure, Singapore, the city-state is 40 lakh.
I have lived in Sion all my life. It was a beautiful place with lots of trees, neat gardens, acres of clean pavements, and PEACE. Today, you have to watch your step if you set foot there. Chickens, yes actually, crow away on festering mounds of garbage; rowdy youths spit and storm past you along the sidewalks, and scrawny children in soiled clothes bawl their lungs out outside your door.
What other than a serious population explosion could have caused this nightmare to be heaped upon us in broad daylight? Yet, when someone proposes an entry restriction for the city, we oppose it immediately, partly because it comes from an autocratic saffron leader with whom we are loathe to share even the air we are breathing, let alone our views on the city.
The best way out then is to curse the BMC and its corrupt ways for letting the city go to the dogs. We have no involvement in our own future, other than fighting for the rights of all our global brethren to come and live here and live irresponsibly in the true spirit of Vasudaiv Kutumbhakam.
Next post on why things are sooo bad in our cities. (promise to keep it shorter!)
The first rains of the season pulverised Mumbai, reduced the sprawling megapolis to a crumbling, stumbling sea of people stuck at the predictable bottlenecks dotting the city.
And, typically, the media came down heavily on the usual suspects: the municipal commissioner -- whose own office had to go without power, the traffic police, and of course the `State Government', that unwieldy monolith conjured up by voters to bear their share of responsibilities as well.
Suddenly, we found ourselves back to square one. After all those endless trips to Mithi river-- you got the feeling that the river by itself would cure the city of its flooding woes -- by everyone who was any kind of authority, we had been comforted into believing 26/7 was the climax of our waterlogging history. And that this time, we would all be singing, rim jhim gire saawan....all four months.
But alas, nature had other plans. So, we are back to doing what we do best. We throw garbage out of our window-- check out the railway tracks ALL ALONG the harbour line and piles of debris on EVERY road we walk on ---and curse the BMC for not clearing it up.
Where else would you find citizen apathy of this level? The city is like a vacuum cleaner that never gets cleaned. It keeps sucking in people in thousands every day. Where they live and what they do cannot be important because this is after all a democratic country and we all have the right to live where we please. Even if we are not Indian.
The last time I wrote on the subject, intelligence agencies pegged the number of Bangladeshis alone at one million. Do you know how many people this means? The city has a census population of 12 million.
And this is the official count. There are any number lurking in places like Navi Mumbai-- there has been a surfeit of beards, sherwanis and fez caps in places like Sanpada in the past ten years and Thane, not to speak of the rest of the country.
They invent a ration card and become citizens of the country. Have you noticed of late how many crimes and accidents seem to involve people with strangely un-Indian names. That bit also gives you an idea about the kind of occupation that earns them their rozi roti.
But mention the B- word to some of our dyed-in-the-wool `socialist' (which kind, I wonder) friends and they see red: look, they argue, these Bangladeshis provide cheap labour in the construction industry, powerlooms, etc. So in effect, they are subsidising you and your economy. what's your problem if they earn some poor pennies and live on the roads in the bargain.
What indeed is my problem? My problem is that these construction labour types, who make up less than half of THEIR population, are eating into my fellow countryment's rights. Because they come cheap, some needy Indian has been deprived of his right to occupation.
Next, they are extremely unclean-- litter and shit all over, come in a package deal-- two-three wives, countless children follow in the fortnight they arrive -- and are susceptible to violence.
The most important question of them all: why should i have to put up with these illegal immigrants on my land, even if they are angels from Paradise?
There are enough of my own countrymen bothering me anyway. Look at the daily influx into Mumbai: about 300 families - that is 300 x 4 = 1200. Consider a year's collection -- 1200 x 365 = 4,38,000. In 10 years, this would be an addition of 43.8 lakh people feeding off the same supply of power, roads and water, among other things. For a measure, Singapore, the city-state is 40 lakh.
I have lived in Sion all my life. It was a beautiful place with lots of trees, neat gardens, acres of clean pavements, and PEACE. Today, you have to watch your step if you set foot there. Chickens, yes actually, crow away on festering mounds of garbage; rowdy youths spit and storm past you along the sidewalks, and scrawny children in soiled clothes bawl their lungs out outside your door.
What other than a serious population explosion could have caused this nightmare to be heaped upon us in broad daylight? Yet, when someone proposes an entry restriction for the city, we oppose it immediately, partly because it comes from an autocratic saffron leader with whom we are loathe to share even the air we are breathing, let alone our views on the city.
The best way out then is to curse the BMC and its corrupt ways for letting the city go to the dogs. We have no involvement in our own future, other than fighting for the rights of all our global brethren to come and live here and live irresponsibly in the true spirit of Vasudaiv Kutumbhakam.
Next post on why things are sooo bad in our cities. (promise to keep it shorter!)
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