Did we really get a better Deal?

The recent general elections back in India were a watershed moment in Indian history. It was the first time in 30 years that a single political party was able to get a simple majority in parliament all by itself. The people's mandate was clear, we want the BJP and we want Narendra Modi as our Prime Minister.

But is it really that simple, were the outgoing Congress and its allies really that bad in comparison to the incoming BJP? True- the number of corruption/graft cases that the Congress and its allies were involved had crossed all levels of tolerance. This in a society where corruption is seen quite frequently on a day to day basis.The outgoing PM, a very qualified and dignified person was seen as too silent and lacked authority to push through his own reforms or even reign in on party members. The real power, it seemed lay, as it has been for most of India's independence with the Gandhi family.

Going with all that, the anti-incumbency feelings were at an  all time high.Where the Congress was seen as weak, indecisive and bereft of ideas, Modi was seen as strong, decisive and more than capable. All that the Congress lacked, Modi and the BJP had(or rather projected). His rags to riches story and strong man image during the Gujarat riots certainly endeared him to a lot of people.This is the part where it gets a little concerning.It does seem that people voted based on personality . Maybe Modi is a capable leader, but to vote in more than 300 MP's  to power based on a single person is a bit  antithetical to democracy. In a future post I'd like to tackle the credentials of the current PM , but for now I'll stick to just the general assembly of MP's from the BJP.

I came across an interesting article in which an independent watchdog agency found that the number of MP's with criminal charges actually increased  in this election. 34 % (or 186) MP's can technically face jail time. What was also disturbing was that a staggering 82 % of MP's were millionaires. A government of the people, for the people and by the people. It appears not.

Reference - http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/every-third-mp-in-16th-lok-sabha-has-criminal-charges-adr-114051800683_1.html

The BJP and the Shiv Sena fared the worst , with 35% and 83% of its MP's facing criminal charges.Are these the people we'd really want to represent us? Why such blind devotion to one party and person.

I'm of the opinion that a strong vibrant democracy is directly proportional to the how accountable the people hold it's own government. If we were just to assume that one person would fix everything, that would be disastrous. It would indicate one of two things- we assume that the PM should be a dictator or that we feel that being an engaged  electorate is a once in a five year thing.

Another concerning thing has been the complete lack of criticism of the BJP and Modi. Surely no one is perfect. There have been many insults against the Congress or the Gandhi family, but very very few if at all against the BJP. Has there been some sort of suppression in the opposition?  It is articles like the one below that concern me- Will opposition to the BJP or Modi be seen as anti-national ?

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/goan-youth-likely-to-face-arrest-for-anti-modi-facebook-comments/

I've never seen this , when anyone criticized the Congress or its allies.

For the benefit of the country i hope Modi and the BJP take India to new heights, but the signs don't look good. I'm all for a good and capable leader  after the Government we just had, but we must always tread with caution.

In a future post I'd like to explore the much touted 'Gujarat Development'. Was there suppression of individual rights even in the face of development?

                                            A Near Death Experience


Did it happen to me? Yes- But not in the way you would think. A little over dramatic blog post, but let me explain and share the details.

Recently,a couple of friends and myself recently decided to go hiking. A typical Arizona weekend activity. Drive up north from Phoenix for a couple of hours and choose one of the many trails that are nestled between stunning pine forests and streams and cool mountain winds. A landscape that can be at times the polar opposite of what Phoenix is- dry, almost barren and hot.

I'm not the one for short intense hikes. Ideally i'd prefer a longer, gentler hike up a mountain with time to take in the scenery around. The place we decided to go was the latter. Having done the hike before (about 8 miles) i knew i was in for a long day.However, the trail was closed by the time we reached there. The park rangers told us that there were too many people on the trail(too many people is not a phrase I've heard a lot in Arizona- there is abundant space here!) and with the conditions conducive for a wildfire, the decided to limit the number of people there. Disappointing, after having driven for almost 2 hours!

However, we were able to find another trail close by that a bit off the beaten path. I did not want to go back all the way without having done at least some hiking. We had to drive off the highway for about 30 minutes on a very dusty  unpaved road. This was truly off the beaten path. It did take a while to reach and i kept wondering if it was worth it. However, we pushed on and finally made it to the base of trail. We then waited for a friend, who never made it because he got lost!

Talking to a few hikers who just got back from the trail we learned that the descent down the mountain was very steep and very rocky. The uphill climb as you can imagine would be even worse.They all sounded pretty exhausted. These were, as we could see experienced hikers.

Anyway, we soldiered on. I was getting pretty apprehensive looking at the climb while going down. I'm not used to such hikes, where it is very steep and no place to rest or keep your foot upright. My friend was nonchalant about it and was doing much better. I moved on, down the mountain, boulder/rock/log one foot at a time. I was perspiring a lot. Given the cool mountain air, it was a real indicator of how i was faring(Jude you should have been exercising more these past couple of weeks and laying off the food!!).

I managed to avoid slipping and tumbling off of the mountain altogether. And then finally i saw a clearing through the trees and at the bottom was a small creek passing through the base of the mountain. With trees all around and sunlight hitting all the right spots it was quite beautiful. As we rested on the rocks taking in the scenery we tried to come up for the perfect metaphor for this. I'd recently watched a NDE movie and joked that this is what it was. The journey down was synonymous with the earthly journey. And so too would going back. However , being there was inspiring and worth doing all over again.And so it stuck!

The  hike back up was much easier than what i thought it would be, we did it in almost half the time going down. I guess i was truly energized. All in all a great end to a day that began with so much uncertainty.

Sometimes though the way is unpaved and unclear and difficult keep moving on for there are places that give you a glimpse of heaven and the energy to move on. The same path then becomes easier.

Take it easy..