Is India a banana republic ?
There has been a clamour for clemency for Sanjay Dutt by elite in the country which exposes the democratic and republican pretensions of the elite in India. Some politicians and some film folk have put forward the excuse that Sanjiv Dutt suffered a lot during the last two decades. They have not told us who has not suffered from among the accused and the convicted. They forget that innocent people have suffered – some have lost their lives, some have lost their limb and all of them and their families have lost their livelihood. A retired judge has said that Dutt has revived the memory of Gandhiji. Dutt's character in the film was that of a charlatan with a good heart. In what way that revives the Gandhiji's ideals of truth, non-violence and simple life is not clear to any common man.
Then we have the case of elected representatives of Maharashtra Assembly beating up a police officer for doing his duty. They have set a good example for others to follow. Maharashtra government yet to explain why irrigation facilities have not even increased by one percent in spite of spending Rs.70,000 crore in the last one decade. Then there is the curious case of Italian marines arrested for killing fishermen in Indian waters being sent twice to their countries for Christmas and for voting by the Indian state. At the same time there was another case of commission on chopper purchase from an Italian company. While Italian court knows who was given commission or bribe, Indians have yet to find their Indian counterparts. One gets a feeling that the governments in India are for the elite, by the elite and of the elite. There is one rule for the elite and one for the amm admi. Is this not the nature of a banana republic ?
March 26,2012.
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