The Absent State- Book Review

THE ABSENT STATE is an appreciable effort to encapsulate all forms of insurgencies India is battling against. The  book provides an unbiased view and tries to cover every aspect of an insurgency area that breaks the general perceptions of an outsider. The whole book is divided into three sections. It shells the Naxal affected areas, the millitancy in Kashmir and the most serious ethnic insurgency in Northeast. It obliges the reader to realize that real India doesn't reside in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai rather in villages where basic needs are far from  the reach of the residents.It throws light on the prevailing huge gap between BPL and IPL of India. It talks about how insurgency is used as an excuse for misgovernance. 

Various schemes announced, but merely announced, in any case if implemented, than corruption overpowers their implementation. Result is obvious, people are deprived of  basic requirements such as education, roads, drinking water, employment opportunites and food to eat.This rift created between the government and the common people which is been filled and most of the times misused by the insurgents & millitants.The politicisation of small issues has worsen the situation and resulted into a disaster. Although, to put the vast insurgency issue in a nutshell is an extremely difficult task but the authors have tried their best to present an unprejudiced sight to avoid it to be seen through a single bigoted lens. The book is a good read for those who want to see the true picture behind the excuse called 'Insurgency'.

penned by Anubha.

Democracy Seeking A Chance In Egypt.

After Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, it's Egypt which is on fire now. People are protesting strongly at Liberation square demanding the ouster of their President.  However, President of Egypt Mr. Hosni Mubarak has refused to step down stating -"I am fed up, but if I quit now there'll be chaos". Obliquely, he wanted to suggest that Egyptians have only left with two choices, either Mubarak or an unbearable chaos.Democracy is not even considered as an option by him. He fears that the conservative Islamic Muslim Brotherhood may take over the country in case he gives in.

On January 14, 2011, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted after series of demonstrations and riots by the people of Tunisia those were started over unemployment , food inflation, corruption , freedom of speech and poor living conditions in December last year. The protests on such legitimate issues are spreading across the Arab world. People are raising their voices against their authoritarian rulers and the rage is obvious. 

The Arabs are the world's most injured civilization. They don't have leaders whom they can look up to. The EIU Democracy Index 2010 shows that out of 20 Arab countries, 16 are authoritarian. Apart from those 16, Iraq and Jordan are extremely chaotic and are flooded with corruption. Countries like Sudan, Egypt , Jordan and Syria are among the poorest. Even if economic reforms happened, they only upgraded the elite ones and led to an authoritarian rule. Sorbonne's Burhan Ghalioun, a great scholar defines these rulers as ' corrupt elites backed by Western countries'. Such a dictatorial regime, though a distorted one was supported by West to control Islamic militancy which is actually its own baby. The Bush administration's policy of 'Democracy by invasion' after 9/11 has further accentuated the anger of the people and they don't want themselves to be mere puppets in the hand of US.

In the middle of all this, the people of Egypt have preferred to revolt without militancy which should be appreciated. People are defying curfews, not willing to be fooled by their rulers, determined to their cause. Even Egyptian Army is neutral and not taking action against the protesters.The power of unity among citizens have done what the years of militancy had been unable to achieve.The  slogan powered by Islamic Muslim Brotherhood- " Islam is the solution" is replaced with  " Tunisia is the solution" by demonstrations at Tahrir (Liberation) Square. Egyptians have valid reasons to revolt. 

The world can't afford the Arabs to struggle for Democracy. Half of the 350 million of total Arab population is under 30 and economically underdeveloped. They have extensive fossil fuel reservoirs but their politics have kept them at the back foot. India has diplomatically supported the Egyptians in hushed voice. It's required that 

pro-democratic voice should not be too low that it can't be heard. The people of Egypt are looking at secularism rather than extremism.They want democracy rather than conservative Islamism. Their revolution is driven by faith but is not governed by it. They are giving a chance to democracy, it's time for the world to give them a chance to achieve it. 

Penned by-

Anubha Shukla.

Citizens Marched Against Corruption.

30th Jan.2011

New Delhi.

On the 63rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, thousands of people assembled at historic Ramlila Maidan to take a call against corruption menace that is weakening the roots of the country. The main motive of this event lead by Dr. Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mr. Ramjethmalani, Swami Agnivesh and many other renowned personalities was to push forward a new "Jan Lokpal" bill. It was organised by the forum 'India Against corruption' and is intended to spread across 55 cities.

The event started off with chanting patriotic songs to realize the power of unity. Mahatma Gandhi, the great Martyrs and the RTI Activists who were killed by Mafia were also commemorated. Labourers from Faridabad, houswives from Dwarka and some ex army men from Gurgaon had just one thing in common and that was their outcry against corruption. Whether students, old men & women, and even kids stood up shouting the slogans "Gandhi hum sharminda hain, bhrashtrachari zinda hain" (Gandhi, we are ashamed that corrupt are still alive). 

Among the speakers were first woman IPS officer of India Dr. Kiran Bedi, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, Archbishop of Delhi Rev Vincent , apex lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan and Mehmood Madani. All these leaders joined hands with civil society and made the people to understand that Lokpal bill presented by the Government is just an eye wash, we have to push forward an effective Lokpal bill chosen by the citizens.

Mr. Mehmood Madani said : "I don't find any difference between corruption and terrorism. We have to fight against it as we fought against terrorism"

Activist Arvind Kejriwal said, " We have to create a vote bank against corrupts and pressurize the government to enact the Jan lokpal bill".

Swami Agnivesh whole heartedly praised Supreme Court judges who have been recently giving a tough time to the Government and straightforwardly asked Mr. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resign if he can't publicize the names of the people who have accounts in Swiss Banks.

Citizens also took oath that they won't vote anyone who is corrupt. Around 4:30 PM , this crowd of thousands of people then took a march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar where the event ended with singing Rasthragaan.

Penned by-

Anubha Shukla

Be Vigilant, Break the Silence!

In the midst of the various scams, food inflation and corruption in almost each and every department, India is going through an ordeal from where everything seems so dark and hopeless. A condition in which 25% population struggles for food under below poverty line status and crores of money is engulfed in scams. It's adequately clear that we don't lack money, what we lack is clarity of intentions of the incumbents . "Nothing will change" notion has so deep rooted in the minds of the people that they see no way out. It's true that dawn of prosperity and hope is yet to come but no one stops you to light a candle in  the middle of the darkness. Youth encompassing 47%of the total population  of India can prove to be one of the greatest assets to streamline the corruption menace within the country. Lets talk about light rather than cursing darkness. Lets try to find out how a common youth can  intensify anti-corruption  movements and bring more transparency in the system.

-Constitutional literacy, a much needed and a much ignored part of our education system. Presence of Preamble of Constitution on the very first page of most of the CBSE course books explains its vitality. How many of us really know the first line of the preamble? Constitution for a country is what character means to a person. It forms the ideals the country believes in. How can you  believe and implement the ideas which you don't even  know? Atleast learning the preamble of the constitution should not be seen as just a protocol rather than a necessity. Constitutional literacy is indispensable to bridge the gap between legal system and the people.

-Be the part of the system by entering into the politics. Blaming the politics by calling it dirty will not work now. In spite of the fact that majority of Indian population is under the age of 35, our political parties are flooded with old men & women who look more like pensioners rather than leaders.Active participation of the youth in political system is the need of the hour. Being the part of the system you can put forward your voice more effectively and make it heard. You can be the voice of those who don't have voice.

-Learn to ask questions. Raise your voices because your silence is weakening the roots of the democracy. Our constitution gives us the right to ask questions through RTI Act and the government is bound to answer us. Remember, nobody gives you a glass of water if you don't ask then how could you expect your government to show accountability without even asking? If you think parliament logjam should be addressed, then ask for it.If you think there should be set accountability for a particular corruption case, then ask. Write letters to the officials and the governing bodies.Recollect the fact that those were merely 2% of total population of India who fought for us and brought us freedom. We need another 2% active participants of  present population of India who are dedicated enough to bring out the change for the good of the people.Surely, Government can ignore a single letter but it can't afford to ignore 2Crore letters in the present scenario.

-Last but not the least, be conscious while you vote. Don't vote just for the sake of voting. Despite of all political turmoils, make yourself believe that your vote can make a difference. So, use it sensibly. Collect certain information about the people you are going to vote. What's their educational qualification? What is the current status of their personal assets? Do they have any criminal background? When you are equipped with the above information then you can vote for a better candidate and make a difference too by choosing good governance.

If we can't stand for our country who else will ? If we are not vigilant enough, who else will be? We all fathom that absolute transparency in the system is required. It will happen for sure when we make the ruling realize that each of their steps is been scrutinized by the ruled, the people. 

-Penned by 

Anubha.


This article has been published in the Magazine B' Cogzinance of IIIT-Allahabad in Jan- Feb Edition. You can follow the link to see the article--http://bcognizance.iiita.ac.in/Jan-Feb2011/
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