Before we go ahead in this post, I would like to make it clear that I had actually written a very elaborate, serious post on what I "really" think of our political options in the current scenario. The result was that none of my views could be substantiated without an absurd amount of research, to which I was not enthusiastically inclined. I also realized that it would be literally impossible for me to hold my ground against any "tard" (Please add political party as required) because I had written about all our political parties. Which made me prime fodder for social media annihilation.
Also Arm Chair Activism Rocks.
Sensing the tenseness around the internet, I attempted a little research. And as I did, I remember a constant feeling as I browsed and read through bytes of data on all the scams and riots and policies - Confusion. And that's what this post is going to be all about. With all this confusion, who do you vote for?
In April - May 2014, the world will watch carefully the largest democracy go through its longest election phase. The kind of watching will perhaps out shine the watching of other newly discovered Indians like Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai or even older Indians like Sunny Leone.
Seriously, I guess there's a group of nerdy guys huddled in a dark room in an unmarked building in Electronic City Bangalore, that just finds links to India when any person having a name that is remotely Indian pops up.
Gone are the days when it was all about ousting the British. Today it has turned into a threesome of political activism, mud slinging and nastiness, all enabled by marketing savvy henchmen that have used social media so effectively to attack, downplay and confuse the hell out of anyone.
Let's start with the incumbent.
The C company has been hit by a tidal wave of scams, scams and more scams, so much so that it had to call out its hibernating prince to the fore front of the battle. While the hibernating prince was a charming personality known from far, the moment he started to speak it became clear that not all parts of him had recovered from hibernation. Add to this a silent head of Government, a maybe / maybe not Indian as head of the C Company and the loss in the Capital, you have the writing on the proverbial country wall "Yahaan Pishaap karna mana hai."
Its not that C company had done something that was new. The country has been corrupt since ages. There was resentment. There was misery. Perhaps a little bit of knowledge on the scams but not the scale. What they didn't have was a voice that brought it all out. A voice that brought chills down spines and made microphones tremble with fear - Mr. Arnab Goswami
Arnab Goswami has managed to single handedly (or single voicedly, if thats even a word) brought to light in 6 camera split screen positioning a vast majority of all thats wrong with the nation. Truly, if it hadn't been for the one and half hour dose of politically arousing news and gossip, I don't know what the nation would even want to know.
(Sorry to degress. Arnab is a key word that brings more visitors to my site. SEO 101.)
It was quite clear that the C company has been handed it's ass on a platter. However they refused to see it coming. Their prime opponent had by now sharpened their knives, and clearly taken the time to build "leadership" credentials and taken over the inter webs with positive commentary.
The B Brigade has been at the forefront of issues since their first government. The issues have been consistent, all around, largely communal. The so called Beverage vendor (and I don't know why people think Chai wala is derogatory) who is now their key nominee for this round of the elections has a very mixed setting. At one end he is seen as a someone who has a hand in the biggest communal riots this country has seen, even though a SIT has given him a clean chit (contestable, SC has yet to hear the case). On the other hand he has managed to retain his leadership in his home state and present amazing stories of growth. He has been a brilliant marketeer and political strategist, orchestrating the entire drama perfectly. There is no doubt that his image of a strong leader is unmatched.
However, googling his name will throw up shocking news, videos and "proof" of his misdoings. There is word that specialist cells exist, who systematically attack and alienate anti views. The other fact is that B Brigade has been backed by a considerable number of Right wing parties. However, at a National level BV cannot afford such associations. Will they be dropped? Which seems to be what most moderate supporters believe.
Unfortunately the Voice of reason is often drowned in pro and anti propaganda and counter theories, any of which could be be lies.The question is, are we ready to compound power in the hands of a single Individual? An Individual who clearly has a lot to answer from his past. A Brigade that is seeing the moderate members being systematical sidelined. A Brigade that is accused of corrupting the information sources and creating confusion. Today it is "them" who is to stop them if it is "us" tomorrow? Confusion.
Just when the battle was getting all edgy with corrupt vs the communal, from the edge of the playing field we saw a dust storm. And we saw lot of people sweeping the floor, ridding it of dust and as the crowd parted (like the red sea) a Big Daper muffler fluttered about.
The A Andolan has taken the nation by storm and led by a IIT / IAS former bureaucrat . If there was an option to an alternate possibility that will change the status quo, that will work for the country, that will energize the society to step out of its lethargic “Yeh tho hotha rehtha hai” to a “Yeh nahin chalega”, then this Andolan embodied that change. Not only did they steal the capital from C Company and B Brigade , they have won the imagination of the masses, and seen a large scale sign up of people from all walks of life, educated civil society, who do not have rape cases against them, who do want to make crores of money so that they can wear Lungi's lined with real Gold, who do not want to meet local people wearing designer white Kurtas and Reebok Shoes, who do not want to check your religion before granting you an audience, who... You get the picture right?
Emergence of the parallel consciousness. (I have no clue what that means, but sounds nice no?)
The question is, the heart is in the right place but is the thought on how to go about it? And no doubt while they represent the national sentiment aptly, do they know what they are doing? It's not should we give them a chance, it's can we afford to give them a chance? Confusion.
- - -
Today the internet and media, our largest source of information is so corrupted by agencies that it is impossible to make out the truth. It is only with an open mind that one can process what really is happening. IF you take some time out to actually investigate these videos, pictures and links that are being shared, you will connect the dots.
It has now become a square three way fight. Its C Company vs. B Brigade vs. A Andolan
What matters to you? Is it to free the country of corruption? Is it leadership? Is it honesty and integrity? Who Should you vote for? Who should I vote for?
- - -
The though that comes to mind is from the recent Idea Cellular campaign
The best you can do now is to wake up, to stop being taken for a ride. When you sit and ignore, you are being part of the problem. Question yourselves, what you've believed and what you now know. Don't be in default mode. In short, #UlluMatBano
I'd like to end quoting these famous lines, as a suggestion.
"Kahike paan Banaras wala, Khul jaye band Akal ka thaala" - Shri Amitabh Bachchan in Don.
Also Arm Chair Activism Rocks.
Sensing the tenseness around the internet, I attempted a little research. And as I did, I remember a constant feeling as I browsed and read through bytes of data on all the scams and riots and policies - Confusion. And that's what this post is going to be all about. With all this confusion, who do you vote for?
In April - May 2014, the world will watch carefully the largest democracy go through its longest election phase. The kind of watching will perhaps out shine the watching of other newly discovered Indians like Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai or even older Indians like Sunny Leone.
Seriously, I guess there's a group of nerdy guys huddled in a dark room in an unmarked building in Electronic City Bangalore, that just finds links to India when any person having a name that is remotely Indian pops up.
Gone are the days when it was all about ousting the British. Today it has turned into a threesome of political activism, mud slinging and nastiness, all enabled by marketing savvy henchmen that have used social media so effectively to attack, downplay and confuse the hell out of anyone.
Let's start with the incumbent.
The C company has been hit by a tidal wave of scams, scams and more scams, so much so that it had to call out its hibernating prince to the fore front of the battle. While the hibernating prince was a charming personality known from far, the moment he started to speak it became clear that not all parts of him had recovered from hibernation. Add to this a silent head of Government, a maybe / maybe not Indian as head of the C Company and the loss in the Capital, you have the writing on the proverbial country wall "Yahaan Pishaap karna mana hai."
Its not that C company had done something that was new. The country has been corrupt since ages. There was resentment. There was misery. Perhaps a little bit of knowledge on the scams but not the scale. What they didn't have was a voice that brought it all out. A voice that brought chills down spines and made microphones tremble with fear - Mr. Arnab Goswami
Arnab Goswami has managed to single handedly (or single voicedly, if thats even a word) brought to light in 6 camera split screen positioning a vast majority of all thats wrong with the nation. Truly, if it hadn't been for the one and half hour dose of politically arousing news and gossip, I don't know what the nation would even want to know.
(Sorry to degress. Arnab is a key word that brings more visitors to my site. SEO 101.)
It was quite clear that the C company has been handed it's ass on a platter. However they refused to see it coming. Their prime opponent had by now sharpened their knives, and clearly taken the time to build "leadership" credentials and taken over the inter webs with positive commentary.
The B Brigade has been at the forefront of issues since their first government. The issues have been consistent, all around, largely communal. The so called Beverage vendor (and I don't know why people think Chai wala is derogatory) who is now their key nominee for this round of the elections has a very mixed setting. At one end he is seen as a someone who has a hand in the biggest communal riots this country has seen, even though a SIT has given him a clean chit (contestable, SC has yet to hear the case). On the other hand he has managed to retain his leadership in his home state and present amazing stories of growth. He has been a brilliant marketeer and political strategist, orchestrating the entire drama perfectly. There is no doubt that his image of a strong leader is unmatched.
However, googling his name will throw up shocking news, videos and "proof" of his misdoings. There is word that specialist cells exist, who systematically attack and alienate anti views. The other fact is that B Brigade has been backed by a considerable number of Right wing parties. However, at a National level BV cannot afford such associations. Will they be dropped? Which seems to be what most moderate supporters believe.
Unfortunately the Voice of reason is often drowned in pro and anti propaganda and counter theories, any of which could be be lies.The question is, are we ready to compound power in the hands of a single Individual? An Individual who clearly has a lot to answer from his past. A Brigade that is seeing the moderate members being systematical sidelined. A Brigade that is accused of corrupting the information sources and creating confusion. Today it is "them" who is to stop them if it is "us" tomorrow? Confusion.
Just when the battle was getting all edgy with corrupt vs the communal, from the edge of the playing field we saw a dust storm. And we saw lot of people sweeping the floor, ridding it of dust and as the crowd parted (like the red sea) a Big Daper muffler fluttered about.
The A Andolan has taken the nation by storm and led by a IIT / IAS former bureaucrat . If there was an option to an alternate possibility that will change the status quo, that will work for the country, that will energize the society to step out of its lethargic “Yeh tho hotha rehtha hai” to a “Yeh nahin chalega”, then this Andolan embodied that change. Not only did they steal the capital from C Company and B Brigade , they have won the imagination of the masses, and seen a large scale sign up of people from all walks of life, educated civil society, who do not have rape cases against them, who do want to make crores of money so that they can wear Lungi's lined with real Gold, who do not want to meet local people wearing designer white Kurtas and Reebok Shoes, who do not want to check your religion before granting you an audience, who... You get the picture right?
Emergence of the parallel consciousness. (I have no clue what that means, but sounds nice no?)
The question is, the heart is in the right place but is the thought on how to go about it? And no doubt while they represent the national sentiment aptly, do they know what they are doing? It's not should we give them a chance, it's can we afford to give them a chance? Confusion.
- - -
Today the internet and media, our largest source of information is so corrupted by agencies that it is impossible to make out the truth. It is only with an open mind that one can process what really is happening. IF you take some time out to actually investigate these videos, pictures and links that are being shared, you will connect the dots.
It has now become a square three way fight. Its C Company vs. B Brigade vs. A Andolan
What matters to you? Is it to free the country of corruption? Is it leadership? Is it honesty and integrity? Who Should you vote for? Who should I vote for?
- - -
The though that comes to mind is from the recent Idea Cellular campaign
The best you can do now is to wake up, to stop being taken for a ride. When you sit and ignore, you are being part of the problem. Question yourselves, what you've believed and what you now know. Don't be in default mode. In short, #UlluMatBano
I'd like to end quoting these famous lines, as a suggestion.
"Kahike paan Banaras wala, Khul jaye band Akal ka thaala" - Shri Amitabh Bachchan in Don.
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