Graveyard Tourism by Politicians of incredible India
There is one crude saying in Telugu denoting the depraved mentality, by comparing them with those ‘who picks up the coins thrown over dead bodies’. Of late, it appears that this phrase was governing national politics in India.
Graveyard Tourism in Dadri:
Possibly the most scintillating examples of Graveyard Tourism in recent times. Wails of the family members of Akhlaq, killed in Dadri were subdued in the shrilled campaign on ‘growing intolerance’. Every politician who wanted to wash his hands in the flowing Ganges had visited the village and long forgotten writers had returned their awards. Actors famously earning billions had threatened to leave the country. Was it really a killing over beef or a result of family feud where the word ‘beef’ was conveniently used? It may be another decade or so before we learn the exact motive behind the killing. Meanwhile, everybody tried to settle political scores by visiting Dadri, supported by intellectuals suffering from intellectual amnesia returning their awards that were presented to them certainly not for their secular credentials.
The hypocrisy of the depraved minds reached when wife of the brand ambassador of India wanted to leave India, fearing for the safety of her children. India is really incredible, for the fact that many a deaths of malnourished children go unnoticed and those who were in power for six decades worry about the safety of mall-nourished children whose parents receive handsome paycheques.
Graveyard Tourism in Hyderabad:
Graveyard Tourism is in its full glory, currently in the City of Hyderabad where another unfortunate death happened. A loss of life is unfortunate, for whatever reason. Here, the life belongs to a student of Central University, Hyderabad. He was accused of being part of the gang that attacked one ABVP leader last year, and that victim was hospitalized. As almost all student wings are extensions of political parties and are aligned with their ideologies, including those of Congress and Communists, as the BJP was in power, local MP, who happened to be a minister in the union government had written to the minister of Human Resources with a request to “change the campus for better”, which had “become a den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics”.
What the minister of Human Resources should do when she receives this letter? Her job was to follow the regular procedures of “Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure”. She simply followed the laid down the procedure.
And her ministry was following up with the authorities of the University – given the fact that the university is under the administrative control of HRD ministry shows the systemic degradation that happened in the educational institutions. Why there should be the need for follow-up? Can’t the university reply within a week or so?
Five months after the Mr Dattatreya took up the case, one of the accused in the attack on student leader had committed suicide. As action was taken against him and others who were involved in the attack, suspending him from the hostel and using any facilities, except attending classes.
Given the way institutions of higher learning function in India, and especially in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, polarization of students based on Castes was always there. And students of all universities in both Telugu speaking states were politically active. Given the fact that a charismatic leader like NT Rama Rao was forced to withdraw his act increasing reservations, way back in ’86 shows the power of students. Many student leaders have mutated to become leaders of political parties and ministers. Even Congress boasts of such leaders in the form of Manish Tewari and Ramesh Chennitala. Lalu and Nitish are products of student movements during Emergency era.
Who cares about the politics? Does the mother of the deceased care for the party represented by any of the leaders – when her son was dead? For students coming from normal families, the utmost important thing in the campus is – EDUCATION. Despite the fact that some of them become politically active, their primary goal, for which they are there in the very first place remain same. They are answerable to their parents, who hope their children complete the education with flying colors and get a job so that they can sustain the parents in future. And a student may fight other students, lecturers, political parties and administration of the college – but he can never answer to his mother and father who ask him a simple question – whether his ideology feeds them in future? Not all families are rich to sustain on themselves. Not all families are affluent to afford no education to their kids. Not all families are OPTIMISTIC to hope their son would grow in political circles and becomes a minister and earn – lots of money.
And we are living in such times when people react with alarming response. And the poor student and son – despite his political convictions, whether he was a nationalist or anti-national – he was a student and son, who was yet to experience the harshness of outer world, had committed suicide.
How any civilized society should react? By ensuring campus politics are controlled to be quiet and meaningful, by ensuring there are systems that prevent such drastic steps by young men and women of this country, by ensuring another mother is not orphaned by her son or daughter.
And what is happening? Graveyard tourism by politicians, who chose to look other way when they were in power. Despite all the training he received, Rahul Gandhi is yet to give an answer, why his government failed to curb suicides by farmers and deaths of malnourished children. Did he visit when students killed themselves during UPA rule? Nay! He was sleeping in the comforts of power inherited from his father who justified the killings of Sikhs.
Of course, what one can expect from Rahul Gandhi, who’s IQ happens to be in negative. He was born with a purpose – to liberate India from the clutches of Congress, by decimating the party. And he was doing a good job.
Now, the man who always questions but never answers – the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal is the next one who embarked on the graveyard tourism. I am amazed at his guts, given the fact that he could continue his speech when one farmer – Gajendra Singh was committing suicide in the presence of him, his leaders and his followers. And, he went to Dadri and is visiting Hyderabad. But, given the way he hijacked the movement from the old Anna and kicked his friends from the party, what better is expected of him.
Then comes Derek O’Brien – the quiz master and trustworthy foot soldier of Mamta Banerjee, who looked other way when Kaliachak’s police station was burnt by few “misguided youth and old men” who were otherwise saints and preach peace by cutting humans into pieces. I wonder, how Derek would shout, if he was stopped and asked to go back the way his government had stopped the team of BJP and prevented them from visiting Kaliachak.
These three are only symbolic, but they represent the spectrum of politicians in India exposing them in true colors. Yeah, when the ultimate aim is only to get money, why not pick up the coins thrown over dead bodies? After all, money is money. Men and women born and die. Money remains. Probably that is the new philosophy taking shape and represented by these politicians. As mothers of dead students wail in silence, Graveyard tourism goes on. Really India is Incredible. Amen!