I hate to hate but what if there’s nothing else to do.
A scene from the Parliament House that I watched on TV yesterday, intrigued me to write this post. Of how the people who are representing us keep growing in number while we keep getting more and more defenseless in the bargain. An irony of sorts.
I walk with fear in my heart every time I step out of my house, whether some man will again walk brush passed me, will I return home in one piece, whether I will return home at all.
I enter the local with my heart beating heavily, looking around trusting no one. I enter a mall, a taxi, a theatre and even a temple with doubt in my mind. Will I be alive to narrate stories someday before a news hungry media or will my parents be greeted with the news of my body strewn in many parts?
I have wondered this for long now but of late something that baffles me is how our dear politicians won’t let go of their security personnel at the cost of our country’s safety resources.
I mean does Shivraj Patil need 200 men to protect him? Does Amar Singh need 120? And what is Varun Gandhi afraid of that he is moving around with 30 men to guard him? How come he spoke so unafraid at Pilibhit delivering a speech that was meant to divide people into communities, so he could secure a seat for himself in the parliament?
What is more appalling is that our politicians are willing to say so unabashedly that any one who tries to cut down on their security personnel will be sent to jail for doing so. Do we really need these guys to use our precious tax money to guard themselves and their families and their grand children and their nieces and nephews so lavishly while we are thrown at the mercy of a possible threat at any given point? Do we really need these guys to help us build a secure nation?
I hate to be scared. I hate to be so vulnerable. I hate to be at the mercy of mindless power hungry politicians. I hate to be a target like any other common man in this country. I hate it more when it is at the cost of someone eating into my tax money. I hate to be compromised on my security after being a law abiding citizen. I hate the fact that all this is decided by a few men who care a damn whether I live or not.
Within an inch of life 
Sweetheart,
The people who took up arms to fight oppressive forces – Guru Gobind, Rana Paratp,Shivai Mahraj, Bhagat Singh, have not gone down in history.
We Indians are masochists.
Keep writing.
Thank you. It’s my single most powerful weapon. I will not stop 🙂
@sunil: Shivaji maharj… not gone down in history? .. that’s fresh! 😛 .. you see there is a certain sect of ppl who are on a rampage to name every stone in mumbai (and possibly India too) after him.. 😐 … although i agree wid you.. we ARE masochists 😦
@suchitra: 200 may be a lot for amar singh.. but that is the case with any polity in the world.. we feel under-secured coz we have 1 security personnel for every 5000 indians where other countries may have 1 for evry 500! … there may be a good number of security personnel in india.. the problem is that we indians are just too many.. sigh
Fear Nothin. Keep Writin!! 😉
Well Nimit, tell me is a Shivraj Patil or a Amar Singh anywhere close to a Barack Obama? Do you know, a list of them do not even face any kind of threat and they are using NSG commandos to guard even their relatives which is absolutely unnecessary. If we are really that many in number, don’t you think we need to use our resources wisely? A Chidambaram has refused any kind of security for himself. And in the same house, Lalu has the audacity to scream out loud and say I will punish people who take away my security.
And yes, I do fear. I fear the faceless political parties representing me and a million others like me.
ok.. the security personnel deployed for relatives cannot be justified.. i accept…. all i am saying is that a politician, purely by his fiduciary duties and jurisdiction (not considering his moral or ethical standing) is justified in beefing up security for himself if threat is percieved! … If there was a genuine threat percieved or not is an entirely different issue…mebbe there wasn’t..
so such high security in fact become a must for politicians even when the maximum of the junta feels that politician is worthless… an attack on a top level poltician brings not only national shame but can also spiral the polity into an absolute chaos!
on a more specific note… you can well be absolutely right in saying that amar and shivraj have no percieved threat.. if that is something we aam junta can say with conviction that there isn’t!!
True. We indians are too many. And it is bigger challenge to govern a countr like ours.
Doesn’t help to have a couple of incompetant, selfish ministers up there.
But, i will alwasy be hopefull. Our country will get better.
“Security” is a newly-recognized need in India and they are yet to learn how to tackle it.
I thnk they need to recuit more security personell and the poor felows need to be well armed. not out-dated pistols. police force should be paid better etc…
Hopefully we will get there soon…
Meanwhile, we will just need to fight our fears…(sigh)
@Nimit: I agree they need security and all, but at the cost of what?… I fail to get why would you need cover for your entire khandaan!… I’m still baffled!
@Pooja: I’m hopeful as hell. That explains why I’m still living in this country in the first place. I have no complains in living a life as ordinary. But I have the right to complain if my security is at stake in the hands of irresponsible people like these. Your solutions are every Indian’s concern. I agree and I just hope the people up there get it. Until then, living on a hope and working on fighting my fears. Thanks! 🙂
You talking about our security…. the security of us INDIANS….sadly we have the police force for our security; yes with rusted; outdated weapons. We know how the police force were tackling the 26/11 massacre. Is this the kind of security we are talking about, any tom dick or harry comes with explosives in the country; every year practically theres a 26/11 happening and after all this also we are still on square one. They say a NSG base is to comeup in the city but when? are we waiting for another 26/11 to get that actioned.
All in the hands of these bloddy irresponsible politicians who are actually responsible for incidences like 26/11. they happlily roam around with Z security; NSGs; wat not.
I agree to what u say suchi completely. We the citizens are happy living an ordinary life but that ordinary life should be atleast “SAFE”?
You live, you slog, you earn and one day you die like a dog in this city. Cause you never know when history (26/11) will repeat itself.
thanks
Yes. Boils down to the same cause. Atleast work towards assuring our safety. Do we need to request them for it? Isn’t it the basic right of every citizen?… Waiting! Until then ‘hope’ is my best friend. Stay hopeful my friend. 🙂
I agree with you. I too think it is wrong that our money is being used to provide security to people who do not care about our safety one bit, but protect themselves from unknown (often nonexistent) threats, sometimes purely because high class security is a status symbol.
Ridiculous, isn’t it? The sorry state of a progressive country like this.
Nicely written.
Maywati, Laalloo, Mehbooba Mufati, they all rock altogether 😀
Include, Praveen Togadiya as well 🙂
Hello Tarun, welcome to my space! 🙂
Isn’t it odd why we deserve this?… well… sigh!