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    The Shoe That Caught India Off-guard

    Admonish Muntadhar al-Zaidi who thought this just another affectionate way to let know the ecosphere how he was pissed off with one dogmatic leader and clinched it apposite to hurl his shoes at George W Bush Jr. When I have all freedom to postulate him for such act of vehemence, I should also congratulate him in all inviolability and mature sense of observation at the same time; for he just did the right thing when he decided to shame one and all gold medal winners of the shooting range. That said, I must also censure him for encouraging a large section of Indians to follow his foot steps and repeat the manifestation once in every fifteen days and hurl their footwear at our political class. Well not entirely political though as Yoga Gurus have their fair share of the treatment as well. 
     
    Over a period of last couple of years since the black leather just missed Bush by a hairsbreadth we saw from Advani to Omar Abdhulla; from Naveen Jindal to Sachin Pilot; From Suresh Kalmadi to Chidambaram; all were been at the receiving end of this All-India shoe hurling parishioners. While almost all political parties (OK I should have articulated colony of clowns. My apologies) are floundering in the dark for reasons to accredit such felony of extreme human expression, I see a trend in that. The trend is simple but self-explanatory – our so called middle class has concluded that they haven’t gained anything from the political class in the last 65 years of liberation and it is time that such vindicated repugnance is made public. Charlatan politicians who were always seen pander in looting one and all are finally getting their share of recompense in the form the general mass knows best to pay back and amazingly yet the wags fail to see the bold writings on the wall. If the message were not too clear yet to our political class, then the latest shoe hurled at Rahul Gandhi in Dehradun, just cassatas the underneath vehemence beyond any distrust.
     
    Not only the shoes which are drumming the headlines. There are instances of odd slaps been executed with some profanity. The notable among the many are the couple that landed on Sarad Pawar’s cheeks. While many (including me) could argue this latest attempt at public humiliation being just befitting and long due, it still can’t take away the underneath impatience that is plundering the middle class. In revolt, the Chelas of the world can go on a rampage on the roads all the while stoning few private vehicles or burning few state transport corporation buses and call for a Bandh or two; Sreesanth can sob his way to his hotel room but one can’t certainly write off the wrapped fact entirely – A Slap speaks louder than thousand words. 
     
    Now that plentiful shoes and slippers are squandered in the process, can we brush them aside as an act of a disturbed mind and move on? Well we can if we are too scared to look at the real reasons for such distasting acts. The resentment within all that they are time and again hoodwinked by our political class and time and again backstabbed for their innocence is the primary reason for such rejoinders. The amount of loot that is going around while half of the nation struggle to arrange a decent square meal per day are just examples of few of the many reasons which are getting stored as molten lava within everyone. That includes you and me, the so called educated and a little bit affluent class. While we seldom bother for the starving mass we certainly fume like a pregnant Cobra when we see our hard earned money being poached very tersely by a handful of scoundrels.
     
    Everything that been touched by the Government in the name of some developmental work, our money is siphoned more conveniently than Aussie bowling lineup rolling over our batsmen. Such acts become more frustrating when one can’t do much beyond than asking for facts through RTI. Truth be told, the RTI answers angers more than otherwise as the road after that for an average individual is all but close. Rs 4000/- per toilet roll will what the RTI on CWG price chart would greet you. While one would scuffle greatly to digest, how in earth the tissues can cost so much unless it is laced with gold strings, there isn’t much one can do either. While clowns laugh their way to the banks we lesser mortals search our cupboard to get hold of the worst torn out pair to be used as a projectile when a chance is offered.
     
    This discrete helplessness to act authoritatively against the burglary bursts out like a volcano at the very appearance of the looter on public platform. As all are not lucky like the Shrud to reach close enough to land that much awaited slap, the rest resort to act from a distance and boy doesn’t the shoes come handy in this endeavor? The only weapons which even the security agencies can’t deny one to carry turns out to be the common man’s answer to USA’s Scud Missiles.
     
    So rather side kicking the truth, it is time for some realization. Realization that there is enough anger within the common populace. Our cunning political class must introspect than questioning the real motive and hurling political punches at their rivals for stage managing it. These are not just the slippers which are hurled but a sign of revolt. Revolt against all that wrong been long inflected on the citizenry for no apparent fault of theirs. Revolt against the collective loot going on since Pundit Nehru cracked that coconut at the foundation ceremony of Bhakra-Nangal dam. Revolt against that never heard three lakh millions of our money stashed in banks of various countries whose names I was not aware few months back. In nutshell – Revolt against the colony of highway robbers that fill the majority of chairs inside our parliament.
     
    On a second thought, when a third of our population can’t have enough on their plates to eat, the least our political class should accomplish is to eat some torn out slippers at times as a show of solidarity. Shouldn’t they?

    3 comments:

    1. Loved the style of writing....

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    2. Awesome...For one let me put this on record...the electronic/print media of our country are the real terrorists and real corrupt in this business of loot. Their role was to be critical of ruling political class and unfortunately i have more often than not found them panderng to political class and in fact more so to the current ruling class.

      The biggest "traitors" of our country are the ones sitting in media boxes.

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    3. Beware - Pranoy Roy, Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesaai, Vinod Sharma, Kumar Ketkar etc. will all throw shoes at you soon!

      ReplyDelete