New Year Day Musings!

New Year 2012 has been ushered in with a lot of funfair and celebrations across the globe. From the early birds of New Zealand to the die hard revelers of Goa inspired and charged up scenes were witnessed everywhere. In Mumbai too people of all age groups stayed awake late into the night to welcome 2012. Deafening fireworks erupted just when the clock struck 12. Waiting for 12 to welcome 12! Good vibes around!

The celebrating spirit was nearly crushed with the news of a 7 point magnitude earthquake thathit Japan just hours after 2012 arrived. But fortunately, there have been no reports of loss of lives and danger of tsunami was also dismissed. With the March 2011disaster still fresh in mind Japan definitely did not want another tragedy particularly on a New Year Day. In India spurious liquor killed 18 persons in the state of Andhra Pradesh today. People celebrate subject to what they can afford. Poor ones celebrate with cheap country liquor poisoned by the death merchants. This is India’s truth, New Year or not. Our solace is that major tragedies did not mar this great day.

Anna Hazare, the crusader against corruption in India, could not spend this great day in his hometown Ralegan Siddhi. He was taken ill last night and had to be rushed to the nearby major city Pune. He was hospitalized immediately and doctors attending on him said he was stable, but needed at least 4/5 days rest and could not fast for one month. The core committed meeting of Team Anna had to be deferred too. Righteous citizens are saying that God does not help you when you no longer have strength of conviction and morale. After the historic achievements in April and August of last year Anna turned political and had been uncharacteristically inconsistent. When fast was not the right decision he sat on fast and had to call if off midway, now he cannot fast at all for one month at least. And, for the first time Anna had been avoiding the media on his illness and hospitalization.

This does not mean that fight against corruption is losing its conviction. In Shillong, a beautiful city in North East India, a group of people took a dip in the icy-cold water of a lake at the midnight hour to reaffirm their continued fight against the evil.

Let 2012 bring joy to all and offer solutions for betterment of the global citizens.

Who Was The Choreographer!

There has been a huge controversy going on in India now regarding the midnight drama enacted in the upper house of the Indian Parliament on December 29, 2011. People belonging to different professional groups have been alleging that the drama was ‘choreographed’ by someone. There is no agreement though on who that someone could be. The main opposition party accuses the government of being the ‘choreographer’ while the government throws the same charge back at them. Besides, one Indian news channel reportedly predicted the ‘choreography’ right in the afternoon of that eventful day.

Now, choreography literally means ‘dance-writing’ and it has everything to do with motion and beauty. This cannot directly relate to what happened in Parliament, because there is no predetermined element here and ‘beauty’ cries to be treated with respect. In Wikipedia we come across one more description of Planned Choreography, ‘in which a choreographer dictates motion and form in detail, leaving little or no opportunity for the dancer to exercise personal interpretation’. This could fit the bill (the anti-corruption Bill?) if we describe the members as ‘dancers’ who ‘went on dancing’ totally controlled and maneuvered by someone.

But aesthetically, we find it most difficult to associate this with the midnight drama since ‘beauty’ and ‘dancing’ refer basically to artistes and definitely not to howlers. Even if we agree in principle it does not at all become clear who was dancing to whose tune! Considering the horrific nature of the spectacle some fertile brains have suggested other suitable terms like ‘Orchestration’ or ‘Match fixing’. Much better! 

Problems persist though. We have replaced ‘choreographer’ with other more appropriate terms okay, but we still have no clue about that ‘someone’ who choreographed or orchestrated or match-fixed. Maybe like in cricket we will have to wait for days or months or years for that piece of ‘breaking news’. Another confounding issue, if that news channel could predict hours in advance about the ‘fixing’ how come it still was looking for the elusive ‘fixer’! The celebrated anchor of that channel had been putting ‘My simple question tonight’ to almost everybody available and yet the answers were far from being simple.

Maybe the hired ‘someone’ was ruthlessly professional. With this we can conclude too. Professional choreographers would always give you the best and most experienced service. Why to bother about identities and names? Make it a New Year resolve! 

                                    Happy New Year 2012! 

The Other Side of Midnight!

Article first published as The Other Side of Midnight on Technorati.

War cries suddenly pierced the still and freezing midnight hour of December 29, 2011 in New Delhi—capital of India. The elected representatives of the upper house of Indian Parliament came out of the house shouting ‘Murder of democracy’ or ‘A black day’ or ‘The biggest fraud of the government’. Why? Not because the anti-corruption Bill could not get passed even after nearly 13 hours of debate, but because the Bill was not allowed to be defeated.

Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament, passed the Lokpal Bill (anti-corruption Ombudsmen Bill) just before 11 in the night of December 27 after nearly 12 hours of debate. The coalition government had a working majority in the house and with a few gives and takes in terms of amendments suggested by opposition parties the Bill could be passed finally. But it had to be passed in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, too to become law.

The scenario was very clear. Everybody knew the coalition government was a minority in terms of numbers in the upper house. Relishing this fact the opposition political parties who supported the same Bill in the lower house decided to tear into it just to gear up for the most excite prospect of a number game. The parties were also gifted a day in-between, because the formalities could not be completed and so the Bill could not be presented on December 28 as planned. One or two allies of the coalition government too could not fend off the temptation of indulging themselves in the number game.

As the debate progressed as many as 187 amendments were submitted by the opposition parties. There was so much enthusiasm that they cited one clause and suggested amendment to another in a few illustrative cases. They also announced their willingness to sit out the full night to finish off with the Bill. The winter session was extended by three days for this debate and so technically the session was valid till 12 midnight of December 29 and not beyond that.

To its consternation, the coalition government realized that with its minority status it could hardly prevent the 187 amendments from getting passed and in that eventuality the final shape of the Bill would not be the one already passed in the lower house. So the government finally took resort to the technicality factor of the session not being possible to be extended beyond the zero hour and the house was adjourned sine die. Crying murder the disappointed opposition parties condemned the government that ‘ran away from the debate’ and demanded its resignation.

Team Anna had been demanding a strong Bill all the while and it was not at all clear at midnight that the 187 amendments would indeed ensure that. In a country where corruption has taken deep roots the ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ forms of the Bill will entirely depend on how ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ the vested interest groups are. It is no secret that every political party in India serves and protects at least one vested interest group.

The government had reiterated that the debate was not over and it would be taken up again in the budget session in about two months paving way for the passing of an effective and strong Lokpal Bill. At the moment this particular result seemed to have benefited all except, of course, the eagerly waiting right-minded citizens of India. The government has got more time to think about it; the opposition has got more time to ponder and to take the issue for forthcoming assembly elections campaign and Team Anna has got another boost to start the movement anew.

As far as India is concerned it’s the numbers that always count and matter.