Land of corruption

It has been a staggering month already, with multitudinous events, sprawling the vast geography of our country. Down south, the people have went down searching only to reach the top, not just the top of the headlines, but the top of the world’s riches list by digging the God’s own land; literally & figuratively. By people, I mean the elite few who will be benefited of this exercise, which includes everyone except the common man. But then, I hear the unearthing is going to be videotaped & the items excavated will be kept in museum, unlike expected of our elite few to export it in a raw deal; am I being pungent here? I believe, if that is eventually executed with honesty, it would be the best way to deal with the treasure. It heartens to hear people say, ‘let’s share the money’, ‘let us use it for the nation’, let’s sell it’. Firstly, it is not our money, it was basically the then kingdom's fund donated/buried in the temple, rightfully belonging to the bearer. The least we can ask for is to pay the required tax for acquiring wealth through gifts. Coming to the point that the money should be used for the public (provided the owner, in this case the trust, accepts to it), I seriously hope we Indians get a crash course on wealth at the earliest. These are not liquid funds lying in the coffers. Yes, idle money is of no use but as an artifact. Yet, can’t you think of any other option? What about loan on asset? Why can’t you take loan on a portion of the asset to cultivate a profitable business whose return can be used to pay for the loan? If that still sounds risky, proven the poor business track record of our government, why not let RBI have it in exchange for cash. At least it will lie within India. Remember these assets don’t just have monetary value; they speak a lot about our still unknown history; isn’t that our duty to protect our wealth rather than splurging it.  Hope the most literate state doesn’t become educated fools.

Going a little above, to a state which is known for spicing up everything from food to films, the land scams that had shaken the political throne have been shown the door for the war of ownership of land. Telengana sure is boiling because of underdevelopment. But what has the 100 MLAs done for that, apart from burning the state now and then, coupled with few fast unto death threats. Stripping off all the complexities, the issue is mainly about poor state of affairs in some parts of AP. Let’s say we give power to the people who are asking for a separate state; the power to rule AP, wont that shut their mouth? If that power wouldn’t pave way for a better development in those regions, they are not fit to rule a state even though it will be a minuscule one.

While the state of affairs & that of a state in itself is hanging, a lone figure, draped in white to invite violence, is prowling the muddy soil brazing the heat wave, thanks to the lemonades & three course meals offered by poor farmers who are fighting for their next meal. Rahul Gandhi might think he has proven his caliber as a politician by showing that he too can play the game. But what has he gained other than the name ‘politician’? Does it solve the real problem? A state which wants to industrialize had made some hasty decision, agreed. But by standing up for the farmers & nothing else, the future PM has been propagating that industrial revolution is not called for. Why not follow our northern neighbours’ policy by compensating as well as relocating people to a developed environment. By doing so, we can have planned villages which would eventually grow into planned cities. 


When all these issues would be done to death for the week, the coming week will start off swell thanks to the coal scam. This is what we call in tamil as ‘mughathila kariya posarathu’ (which will lose its meaning if I translate it).