An Open letter to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam from the Common Man of India
An Open letter to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam from the Common Man of India
June 17, 2012
Dear Dr. Kalam,
Greetings from me, the common man, trying to live a simple life of dignity, across the length and breadth of this country, despite the heaviest of odds stacked against me! It is my guess that as I write this, you are watching with some amusement the twists and turns of the race to the Rashtrapati Bh
June 17, 2012
Dear Dr. Kalam,
Greetings from me, the common man, trying to live a simple life of dignity, across the length and breadth of this country, despite the heaviest of odds stacked against me! It is my guess that as I write this, you are watching with some amusement the twists and turns of the race to the Rashtrapati Bh
avan. I am
amused too, but in a cynical, sickly kind of way. Not that I expected
any better from the people who populate this country’s Parliament and
political party offices (after all, I am the reason they are there in
the first place), but I was hoping against hope that there might be some
dignity left at the bottom of the barrel. Alas, I was wrong! And so the
amusement has quickly turned to nausea. And though I am a diehard
optimist, who tries to detect a silver lining in any cloud, I am fast
wearing of the situation our politicians are plunging this country into.
And so let me come to the point of this letter. It is my humble request that you must contest the Presidential election this time. Whether you win or lose the election, victory will be yours. You are a man who lent some dignity and spine to the office the last time around. You are a man who has spent the years after demitting office in worthwhile pursuits, with not a whiff of scandal pursuing you in these scandal-infested times. You have travelled around the country, meeting young students, teachers and professionals, and motivated and urged them to do the right thing by the country. I do not recall any one of our so called leaders, from any political party, who has done that in recent times. Their fingers have either been busy pointing accusations at their rivals, or their palms have been wallowing in grease, or their heels are being cooled in various jails. What a bunch we have been blessed with, if I may be allowed some warped humour while using the verb! Some ministers go strutting about even while there are umpteen criminal cases filed against them, their moral fibre worn thin by years of rubbing against lucre, power and pelf. Some go about flaunting their youthful looks, designer clothes, powerful SUVs and foreign accents, but when one looks for any signs of brain or spine in them, either or both are MII (Missing In Inaction). Their behavior in Parliament and the Assemblies is hardly parliamentary, and their fragile egos crack the moment someone makes fun of their infirmities or asks them uncomfortable questions.
But why am I flogging a dead horse here? On the issue of the Presidential race, we have had enough of political maneuvering around various names, and the shameless way in which some leaders have “offered”, “suggested”, “withdrawn”, “reoffered” their support as a quid pro quo, and the quite brazen way in which the “anointed” beneficiary of that support has gloated through the process, tell me that these elected representatives are too far gone to even care for decorum or dignity. They care two hoots, if that, about who goes to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the next 5 years, as long as their own vested interests are taken care of. Well, I do care, and I care a lot, and the only vested interest I have is this deep love for my country. Among all the people who could do fair justice to the office of the President of India (and there are quite a few in my humble opinion, but the politicians want to make sure only one of their impure ilk gets in there), I think you stand the best chance of bringing back our pride as Indians. At least we would be sure that the next President of India did not get his seat because of political jockeying, or because he was being kicked upstairs for ruining the fairy-tale story that was India.
I know the system we have is such that the parties in power, and their fair-weather friends can laugh their way to victory (and the bank), but maybe we should not underestimate the power of the common man. If we use all the means under our power, get the media to line up for a good cause, exert direct influence on the MPs and MLAs under threat of an anti-incumbency wave the next time around, maybe some of them will vote with their conscience. Maybe the other contestant(s) might be shamed into withdrawing from the race (I told you I am an eternal optimist, right?). May be the youth of this nation will take it upon itself to come out of its Facebook induced torpor and use that very medium to spread the message loud and clear – We want a clean, simple, inspirational, dedicated and patriotic President of India now! And maybe our legislators will see the fist of fury and read the writing on the wall, and defy their party whip. Maybe we will see you in Rashtrapati Bhavan as the first President who served two non-contiguous terms.
Dr. Kalam, I hope you will agree to this humble request from a humble man (quite like you, actually). As I said, if you win, we all win. If you lose, we will further expose the foul underbelly of Indian politics and the power of the common man that just might overturn the tables on it one day. That would not be a bad thing either, right?
Thanks for the patient audience. If you are not keen to contest, I shall understand. In that case, I have another letter on the drawing board. It has the name of the Metro Man, Mr. E. Sreedharan on it.
Warmest regards and unconditional love!
The Indian Common Man.
And so let me come to the point of this letter. It is my humble request that you must contest the Presidential election this time. Whether you win or lose the election, victory will be yours. You are a man who lent some dignity and spine to the office the last time around. You are a man who has spent the years after demitting office in worthwhile pursuits, with not a whiff of scandal pursuing you in these scandal-infested times. You have travelled around the country, meeting young students, teachers and professionals, and motivated and urged them to do the right thing by the country. I do not recall any one of our so called leaders, from any political party, who has done that in recent times. Their fingers have either been busy pointing accusations at their rivals, or their palms have been wallowing in grease, or their heels are being cooled in various jails. What a bunch we have been blessed with, if I may be allowed some warped humour while using the verb! Some ministers go strutting about even while there are umpteen criminal cases filed against them, their moral fibre worn thin by years of rubbing against lucre, power and pelf. Some go about flaunting their youthful looks, designer clothes, powerful SUVs and foreign accents, but when one looks for any signs of brain or spine in them, either or both are MII (Missing In Inaction). Their behavior in Parliament and the Assemblies is hardly parliamentary, and their fragile egos crack the moment someone makes fun of their infirmities or asks them uncomfortable questions.
But why am I flogging a dead horse here? On the issue of the Presidential race, we have had enough of political maneuvering around various names, and the shameless way in which some leaders have “offered”, “suggested”, “withdrawn”, “reoffered” their support as a quid pro quo, and the quite brazen way in which the “anointed” beneficiary of that support has gloated through the process, tell me that these elected representatives are too far gone to even care for decorum or dignity. They care two hoots, if that, about who goes to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the next 5 years, as long as their own vested interests are taken care of. Well, I do care, and I care a lot, and the only vested interest I have is this deep love for my country. Among all the people who could do fair justice to the office of the President of India (and there are quite a few in my humble opinion, but the politicians want to make sure only one of their impure ilk gets in there), I think you stand the best chance of bringing back our pride as Indians. At least we would be sure that the next President of India did not get his seat because of political jockeying, or because he was being kicked upstairs for ruining the fairy-tale story that was India.
I know the system we have is such that the parties in power, and their fair-weather friends can laugh their way to victory (and the bank), but maybe we should not underestimate the power of the common man. If we use all the means under our power, get the media to line up for a good cause, exert direct influence on the MPs and MLAs under threat of an anti-incumbency wave the next time around, maybe some of them will vote with their conscience. Maybe the other contestant(s) might be shamed into withdrawing from the race (I told you I am an eternal optimist, right?). May be the youth of this nation will take it upon itself to come out of its Facebook induced torpor and use that very medium to spread the message loud and clear – We want a clean, simple, inspirational, dedicated and patriotic President of India now! And maybe our legislators will see the fist of fury and read the writing on the wall, and defy their party whip. Maybe we will see you in Rashtrapati Bhavan as the first President who served two non-contiguous terms.
Dr. Kalam, I hope you will agree to this humble request from a humble man (quite like you, actually). As I said, if you win, we all win. If you lose, we will further expose the foul underbelly of Indian politics and the power of the common man that just might overturn the tables on it one day. That would not be a bad thing either, right?
Thanks for the patient audience. If you are not keen to contest, I shall understand. In that case, I have another letter on the drawing board. It has the name of the Metro Man, Mr. E. Sreedharan on it.
Warmest regards and unconditional love!
The Indian Common Man.
nice
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