The Ignoble Nobel- Vol 2

President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to decrease the world's nuclear arsenal. The Committee also noted Obama's efforts to solve the world's complex problems. Now I'm as big a fan of Barack Obama as the next guy, but I'm not sure which I find more ludicrous, the fact Obama won the prize or the reasons for giving it to him.
President Obama came to power on a wave of hope and jubilation the likes of which has not been seen in world history. But the truth is that less than one year into his term some of that halo is beginning to fade away. Mind you, most of it is not his fault. He's an extremely talented and sincere man doing a near impossible job. And he's not been doing it for long enough for any of his much debated and criticized efforts to bear any real fruit. So the committee that praises his efforts to solve the world's complex problems needs to take a good look at the world again. I'm not sure which of those problems has become any less problematic than it was last November when Obama won.
As for the citation regarding his efforts to reduce the world's nuclear arsenal, America still has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, still has not ratified the CTBT and has rewarded Pakistan's freeing of A Q Khan with more cash in aid. Yes, he initiated a debate on the subject, put non-military options with Iran back on the table and has not lashed out yet at North Korea. All very good, but Nobel prize good??!! Really!! It seems to me that someone on the Nobel Committee decided that they could use some of the rockstar like popularity that Obama brings to the table or they just decided to suck up to the USA. If it was rockstar appeal they were after, I submit Paul Hewson aka Bono as an alternative candidate. He's done some real good work, has been active for much longer than Obama has and here's the clincher, he's a real rockstar. If on the other hand they were just sucking up to the US Goverment, well then, all I have to say is, "Very good choice."
For us Indians, Obama's prize also brings back that never ending question about the Nobel peace prize. Why was The Mahatma never given the prize? To which we can now forevermore add, " Is Barack Obama greater even than Mahatma Gandhi?" Well the committee sure seems to think so.

An Indian Obama??!!

The recent events in Mumbai have completely exposed the total disconnect of our political class. Neta after neta has managed to infuriate an already enraged society. From Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s “lipstick” comment to R R Patil’s SRKesque punch line, politicians of every hue have been providing us with insight into how little they understand the pulse of the common man. Former Maharashtra CM Deshmukh’s tour of the Taj hotel with director Ram Gopal Verma can actually be explained away as silly and pales in comparison to Kerala CM Achuthananthan’s arrogance in dealing with Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s grieving family. Raj Thackeray strangely has not had any comments to make about the fact that it was “outsiders” who ended up sacrificing their lives protecting amchi Mumbai.

That our politicians are a corrupt self serving lot is not a new discovery. What is new this time though, is the blatant disregard these netas have shown to the common man’s distress and anger at the Mumbai terror attacks and its handling so far. So why are our netas so crass and arrogant? Why is it that they don’t really care how they are perceived by society? Why is it that they behave like they can get away with anything? 

Because they can. Or almost anything. Case in point, our former Home Minister, Shivraj Patil. This is a man who lost the election to the Lok Sabha from Latur.  That he somehow still became an MP and was further made cabinet minister with the all important Home portfolio is a slap in the face of democracy. Furthermore, his dumbfounding incompetence was repeatedly ignored, as were repeated calls for his removal from the Home ministry. All because he was considered a loyalist to the Gandhi family. And herein lies the answer to our question.

Our netas are so arrogant and conceited in their dealings with Joe public because they don’t owe their allegiance to us. They owe their position and power all to the Party. The Party decides who gets a ticket. The Party decides who gets to be Rajya Sabha MP. The Party decides who gets to be a minister. The Party decides who goes into what committee, who goes in this foreign fact finding mission, who gets the boot and who’s handed the keys to the safe. In our parliamentary system, we’ve ended up making the political party the masters of our politicians and as a result the masters of our nation’s future. Examples of how bad things have become are way too many to enlist and include every single political party in India. The Congress led riots in 1984, BJP in 1992 and 2002, the Communists giving outside support to the current UPA government, the SP or BSP whenever they came to power in UP, the JD(S) in Karnataka till their government fell; every single time these parties chose to interpret the public sentiment in a manner that suited their interests and gave two hoots to what people really wanted. And what we want is change. Dare we say it, CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN?

Barack Obama’s election to the White House has galvanized a whole generation worldwide. Young people everywhere are more willing to believe that YES WE CAN. But here in India, can we really believe? Even in the US, Obama’s election is nothing short of a miracle. Here with our entrenched party system and political dynasties any fresh faced kid seeking to change the system is more likely to bite the dust or even worse, get incorporated into the system. But there are things we as voters can try and do. We can make sure we get out and vote. Not doing so only empowers those who are already part of the system. When we do get out to vote, we should avoid voting for anyone who has a reputation as a party loyalist, because we can be sure they will be working not with our interests in mind, but to please their political masters. And we must vote for whoever we think is best for our country, not for whoever belongs to our caste or community. Ultimately we only have ourselves to blame for letting things become so bad. We have allowed ourselves to be easily swayed by narrow self serving rhetoric. To paraphrase Gandhiji, we must become the change we want to see in our political class. Maybe then we can start hoping for an Indian Obama.