AN EXERCISE FOR UNJUST ENRICHMENT

After the recent Elections to the Panchayati Raj Bodies I felt like articulating some of my apolitical thoughts with personal malice towards none.

" I view the recent Election predominantly as an elaborate exercise on unjust enrichment. Who has emerged victorious is not the issue. Who has been vanquished is more important.
 The young girl of Pipili, in coma, fighting for her life; the young eight year old girl in little known village BEDAGUDA near Jeypore in Koraput District, holding a handy solar lamp, one of a few such lamps gifted to the villagers by a few enlightened youths who chose to climb the hills and reach the poor villagers; the hapless tribals who again look forward to the annual visits of Cholera; those defenceless weak villagers of Odisha who will pay advance gratification to the strong men of the Panchayats on the hope of an Indira Awas; the unsuspecting villagers who would be made to assemble on the promise of a good lunch and/or some inducement, to mark their presence in a public hearing
for an industrial or a mining project the benefits of which to the villagers would not be clear; the 1.8 million Odias who leave their homes in search of manual jobs in different parts of the country; the thousands of children in government schools who wait for teachers --- they are some of the characters who stand vanquished.
 Who are the victors? Those who own SUVs or shortly would; those who would only be listened to; those who would lead a life of tax free luxury and those who facilitate the indulgence to happen-- they are the victors
It is ironic that Emperor Ashoka had won victory in the Kalinga War at a place not far from the State Legislature Building at Bhubaneswar. After a bloody war in which thousands perished, the Emperor could  soon realise the futility of such a victory and made amends. He renounced violence and gave a humane face to governance. Unfortunately the Ashokan Edict at Dhauli that explained the rationale of governance and explained the duties of a Ruler, has only a few visitors today and certainly not one of them will ever be from those who has emerged victorious in the just concluded Election. The rock Edicts have ceased to be relevant; the present script-writers are rewriting the tenets of governance where it is only the Ruler and his interests  matter.
We seem to be surely and steadily slipping into sure anarchy. Power-capturing, by hook or by crook, has been the mantra. Anyone having even a modest degree of leadership qualities should be toiling hard to lift our people from the morass of grinding poverty. Here, however, we see the so called leaders rolling in money. Twelve years is a Yuga. What has been the track record in the area of poverty-reduction?
 I therefore confess my inability to view the recently concluded Election in any manner other than an exercise of unjust enrichment.

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21st February, 2012