So I was having a nice morning, enjoying the morning weather while havin my cuppa then I did something really stupid. I picked up the Times of India to see what's up with the world. Needless to say this was a very bad decision. I was blatantly reminded of the reason I do not read that paper.
The front page article was dedicated to Sonia Gandhi ten years as head of the congress party. The tone of the article was overflowing with idol worship and sycophancy. I thought the duty of the press was to present the facts, not distort the truth to bow down to the government of the day. However, even though our country claims to have freedom of speech and claims to be a democracy, the guardians of our freedom (i.e. the press) keeps surprising me with the sycophancy and irrelevance of their reporting.
Instead of starting a debate on certain national issue the newspapers and TV channels pedal one agenda or the other. And the weekly magazines are no better either. I was a subscriber of Outlook and was really angered the way the editor furthered the Congress agenda. Now, I am not dissing outlook, I think their editor is a good journalist and at least discloses in every alternate issue that he is a die-hard congressman. I am also not implying that people shouldn't have a personal political view. My problem is that when an organization which is supposed to be the watchdog of freedom blatantly bows down to one agenda or the other, democracy is in trouble. However, I feel that we never actually had democracy in India. The elected officials are not a representation of the people, rather they are a representation of might. The more thugs they have, the more seats they have. However, that is another topic for another post.
My problem with the Congress party is the extreme level of sycophancy present in that party. I don't beleive that anybody born with the name Gandhi has a right to rule the country. I have no problem with Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. She could be from Timbuktu for all I care. My problem is just because she married into the Gandhi family, does not give her a right to run the country.
If being the wife of a former prime minister qualifies her for the post, then a brain surgeon's wife can operate on your brain. And please, don't compare this situation to Hillary because (a) Hillary is a politician in her own right (b) She actually is qualified.
She might have rejected the PM's post but that was a political masterstroke. We all know that she is the one actually running the government. Manmohan Singh is keeping the seat warm for Rahul. And if someone says that Manmohan Singh is a PM in his own right well then I have to say, put down the crystal meth. Mr PM has to send memo's to his own ministers to keep him in the loop whilst taking important policy decisions.
It is time that the people of our country learnt that just having a famous last name does not automatically give one the birthright to run the country. There are more qualified and capable people than Rahul Gandhi. There maybe some in the Congress too. I don't endorse any party, I think all parties are scum. However, there are some bright spots. The sad thing is that they would never get an opportunity to run the country because they were not born as a Gandhi. At least in bollywood your surname can only guarantee a good launch. After that you are on your own.
Maybe, someday, when a Gandhi dumber than George Bush comes along, we might elect someone else. Or maybe not. India still might vote for a Gandhi. They aren't' the first family for nothing, are they?
1 comment:
Wow. So true, so true! And a big applause at the "brain surgeon's wife" bit. Striking analogy.
Sadly, the whole of India (or most of it) is gung-ho over that Gandhi woman. As if learning the national language and wearing a saree is enough to make someone one of the most powerful politicians of our times. But sadly, it seems to be the case here.
As they say, it happens only in India!
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