New Delhi, October 20 (ANI): 'Vande Mataram,' 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai,' 'Inqualab Zindabad': the strident screams of yesteryears that are shattering eardrums these days, are threatening to make our ears deaf to the simple joys of life like the mellifluous strains of Mozart, or the soul stirring magnetism of raag bhairavi.
Whether it's TV, or any other form of media, all that one is held hostage to these days, are street-fights and slugfests, unleashed by the 'purane-paapi' politicians and the newly born so called 'saviours of society.'
So ludicrous has the public platform become, it is impossible to look through the clutter to find any sense to where the world's largest democracy is headed.
What then is happening, and why?
What is happening is simple 'old fashioned' mud-slinging between politicians and civil society in its latest political avatar, with an eye on the spoils of power offered by the sleeping giant called India, and the golden eggs on offer.
To understand the real scenario, we need to go back a bit in India's recent history.
About a decade ago, bold economic reforms that were previously unthinkable in a 'socialist society' consisting of 'aam aadmis', were introduced, leading to the emergence of India as an innate 'global power', increasingly being wooed by nations to piggy-back on its success for their own economic salvation.
What then happened to the golden run?
The world slowed down following unprecedented 'scams' in the US financial sector, triggering a domino effect worldwide, effects of which are still being felt by global economies, including India.
Now, switch back to the present-day India.
While a united India needs to confront the serious challenge of achieving its dream of being a global superpower, the last couple of years have seen a charade unveil, the likes of which has never been witnessed before.
A complete paralysis of Parliament's functioning by opposition parties has delayed the passage of many critical legislations, absolutely necessary to pull the stagnating nation out of the quagmire it finds itself in.
The reason being offered is the newly found zest to fight against corruption, even though most of those donning this fashionable garb are steeped in filth themselves.
Corruption has always been a problem in India since independence, and has grown to such an extent, that today it has permeated every aspect of life.
This prompted a motely crew of so-called social activists to try and make their public debuts in politics riding on the back of popular sentiment raging across the country.
But what should have been a catharsis, has today turned into a carnage, with the frightening prospect on anarchy being unleashed on the streets of the nation.
Shocking calls for breaking the law, crude Hitler-styled adventurism, and calling for an end to the structure of governance, are threatening the very edifice of the architecture of the country.
What is being lost, is the need to move on with the business of making India prosper, that ultimately will be the panacea for all ills bedeviling the country.
And a lot of blame for this lies with the fourth pillar of society, the media.
In the rush for TRP's, every semblance of a sense of balance seems to have been lost, with channel after channel and paper after paper spewing out utter garbage of punches and counter punches between disgraced politicians and not so holy social activist saviours.
It is therefore time to stop and introspect.
We can lose everything just as fast as we have gained, unless a stop is put to this madness.
Corruption is one ailment that has to be tackled by one and all; unfortunately there are many other more serious maladies, which if left festering for the present, will lead to the galloping cancer that will kill the nation.
What is needed at this critical juncture of the country's history in cool-headed pragmatism and sound policy implementation, and not blood-baying demagoguery or anarchic rabble-rousing. By Sanjay Mehra (ANI)
