By M Hussain Azad
“Fear
not the threats of rich, but the tears of the poor.”
Dear
politicians,
I,
realize the deep and sincere feelings on the very difficult, complicated,
important issues concerning our country, which I wish to state with great
moderation and hope that you will give a fair hearing.
I
would like to make few points---First I
think that We all are the children
of Our motherland and that as the citizens, we are entitled to full protection
of law, and that anyone who stirs up racial or communal hatred should be
punished to the uttermost by the law of the day.
Secondly,
I believe that all members would agree that everything possible should be done
to integrate them into our society and to help the citizens to adjust
themselves to their own way of life.
Thirdly,
the more the “Hatred ness” among the citizens, I admit the greater will be the
damage and difficulty in integrating them. It is easy to win trophies but
difficult to retain them, there are many dangers, potential and real—the
political power—even when in power man remains a man – a bundle of frailties
and an embodiment of weakness. So while doing out favors—which is essential for
retaining power—personal limitations may not allow him to bless all—this breeds
frustration as realities fall short of expectations, in particularly indicative
campaign to undermine power—structure and assert one’s importance is started.
Some more arrogant and amounting to much on themselves, may form new parties
whereas more subtle and diplomatic affect a crack from within.
Thus
there are dangers from within, hidden and obvious, so men in power have to be
cautious unlike Cesar’s wife; above suspicious ready to renounce friendship,
capable of realignment with others. They will have to be, more or less,
opportunist to get the best out of the opportunities and doing best to get
opportunities. Like Shelly’s “West wind” they are destroyers and
preservers—that supports them. Thus politics has now become a craft of
retaining power. If you think that coming to power is meteoric, downfall may be
drastic—you finding a gap between theory and practice, fall short of the
promises, expectations and even obligations—popular resentment gathers momentum
and may come a head in the form of a revolution—a change for the better or
worst. People have to be calmed down---this need the craft of propaganda—tell
two lies before coming to one truth and it also presuppose the craft of
liquidating the cause of resentment.
Silence
must be secured either by making an outward show of observing either
principles—in this unethical game or by fulfilling the promises made to the
people—all efforts, nevertheless, are to hoodwink the people. Such parties
profess to possess the magic wand, the power of working miracles of which is
unknown to others—but why condemn those like Solomon’s mysterious spirit at
their command. After all, all is fair in love and war and so in elections.
“Why
call them dishonest, till they by action, prove to be so? Say some. so why doubt the integrity of political
leaders who make glitter promises to minorities, the B.C’s, ST, SC etc and
others? Why not wait and watch?
This might bring development in agricultural,
industrial advancement, and will be able to provide better facilities and land
to landless & homeless sufferers, paying attention to agriculture, power
& education sectors in our planning programs. Nevertheless, a little ill
must be suffered for a great pain, as election promises may befool some for one
term, some for all terms, but not all for all terms—and as this truth dawns on
the political careerist, their election promises will ease to the hyperbolic
and certain high—siren will determinate their campaigns.
If
election promises today are a prelude to the flippant politicians lies in the
times to come, there is little need for running down the noblest concept of
government which leaves ample room for the exposure of promise matters
sincerity through their performance in the years following their return to the
assemblies or parliament. Willy fox might have flattered the crow with cheese
in its beak to sing and deprive it of that—but though some politicians might be
foxy, all voters are not so innocent as the crow of the fable—and it is this
fact that gives the opportunity to be delighted by wanton noisy vacant. It is
the bites who are ultimately bitten, thanks to the paneer invested voters, who
cannot resist being lured by colorful election promises.
But when they fail they exposed because
political rivalries sink down to personal animosity—the opposition tries to
tarnish the public image of the people in power—some adventure may fail and
other politicians exploit the situation. The role of opposition in India
is—They opposes the government merely for the sake of opposition” and when they
get the upper hand, the people in power meets their fate—sometimes misdeeds of
the politicians in power are brought to light. In fact eternal vigilance is the
price of liberty and vigilance brings darker spots to light.
Today
I proclaim that every ill—Social, political, economic—from which Our country
suffers is not merely due to unsocial, unethical & unjust instigators in
the grab of leadership---but is the deliberate and self-motivated creation of
people with inflamed heads.
Solomon
has quoted in the book of Elesiaster that, “To everything there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under the Sun.” there could not have been another
“reason” nor another “time” till now for repairing the damage done and the
trepidations caused by communal frenzy which has rocked the country since 1947.
Imagination
falters when we picture a lot teeming millions of half famished peasants of our
country who grow old before their age, whose children have pot bellies and
whose eyes bulge ut of their sockets with little death starving into their
eyes---but Alas! No Pearl S Buck can make us think of redeeming their lot. We
dole out slogans to them who live on the uneatable bread and curse the land the
land they extol and pledge to die for its honor.
It
is painful that no people have either cared to learn from either the French
revolution or the Russian revolution---bullets might silent some of the
desperate hungry folks for some time but not for all time,--they may not
understand the language of their hungry stomachs. It is to interpret in a style
which shocks us to tell the next moment what an ill regard they have for empty
sermons. They may hate to commit theft or murder, but what else can they do
when their children weep and cry for bread---Rana Pratap might have lived on
grass---but our hungry folks are o “Rana”s” they are the folks who live by
bread alone.
Our
city dwellers sentimentally hung pictures of half famished beggars in their
drawing rooms—they may condemn, for immoral way of life and write articles to
see the metropolis be cleared of beggars—but they forget that the remedy does
not lie in some beggar women sitting as a model for their artist or in a
condemnation of the immoral women, or is having beggary be banned.
You
re to change your outlook and raise a voice to vindicate the right of the
hungry or poor to bread for life—“Change the world before it changes you. Will
you think before it is too late? Or will you wait for a pied-piper come and
disappear with the hungry folks children, for not being realistic and
practical?
Let
Us wait and see how, you honor the words of Gandhi—Ambedkar—Nehru---Moulana Azad who dreamed about a republic
and longed for bettering the conditions of those who were born in poverty lived
in crime, & poverty and died like a mad dog in the streets.
M.Hussain_Azad
Journalist
