Rushdie's video link Scrapped

The Jaipur Literature Festival 2012 reached an abysmal ending today. Once again we have given in to the zealots who threatened the people at the fest and the literary figures who were there to witness the discussion on “Midnight’s Children”, the book honoured with the Booker of Bookers. The entire episode left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth except for the bigots present there who threatened violence and the entire edifice of the JLF 2012 if Rushdie were to appear on the screen. The mere sight of the great man was so abhorrent to them.

It makes me wonder if India actually is the country which espouses secularism, which considers all faiths as equal. After all atheism is also a faith. It is a blot on the face of freedom of expression. And to answer what Mr. Chetan Bhagat said at one of his sessions, we are not making heroes out of those who have hurt the sentiments of others. We have made heroes out of those who have come out as winners in the face of extreme adversity, and have the courage, determination and obviously the talent to present their side of the story in such enchanting words. We were there to celebrate the brilliance of their writing with which they have entertained the literary world. And last but not the least we were there to celebrate all those who have supported him (including ourselves) and we are going to continue to support him since “absence only makes the heart grow fonder”.

What truly concerns me is the image our country has put forth to the foreign delegates and nationals who visited this year to be a part of the fest. These unfortunate events can easily sully the reputation of our country and make them believe that India may be a soft state.

But it really makes me question India and the double game our polity plays. On one hand they are the first ones to criticize China when they refuse the Visa to some military units of the state of J&K and on the other hand they do nothing to control the untoward elements in our society, the neanderthals who believe that violence is the solution to everything. It is either vote bank politics or a truly spineless government we are represented by. Now I do believe, freedom is as far as freedom goes.

The issue of Climate change has hitherto been everyone's business but nobody's responsibility. The recently concluded Cancun summit has been hailed as a "significant" step by the British PM David Cameron but once again the agreement declined to commit to binding targets for emission cuts. Unsurprisingly it garners accession within the political strata 'coz where everybody stinks, nobody smells.

UNIQUE ID CARDS

The government’s plan to issue unique ID numbers in the form of ID cards has received a mixed response. I believe, the apprehensions are unfounded and that it is a positive and ingenious move which will “speed-up” our journey on the road to development.

From the perspective of a common man, it alleviates the phenomenon of “identity crisis” commoners go through on a regular basis. It gives every Indian a unique ID number which will help in providing them with a sense of “existence”, particularly the destitute.

In a country like India, where the PDS is highly porous, the benefits of the accrued resources are unable to find a way through to the needy. As Rahul Gandhi pointed out, for every rupee spent on the public, only 5 paisa reaches them. The system of IDs will work as a double-edged sword by allowing the government to do away with the middle-man and deposit money directly in the accounts of the needy, in the process thwarting the money meandering power in the hands of the venal officials. Due to the lack of proper distribution system and the amount of resources needed in the process, the money is donated to the people annually, making it difficult for them to manage funds for the year round expenses. With the inception of ID cards the government will be able to deposit money on a monthly basis. This will also enable the people to draw loans. Even the rural poor, who migrate to the urban areas in search of employment will be able to receive a continuous allowance, which they are unable to receive presently. Therefore, it will provide an unprecedented transparency to the system and control the leakages. It will also make our dependence on the venal “babus” redundant.

Secondly, this system will go a long way in assuaging our worries over the security concerns facing us as it will become easier to differentiate between the residents of our country and the illegal immigrants.

Different institutions require different ID proofs for proceeding with the designated tasks. The system of unique IDs will reduce the burden on consumers by providing a ubiquitous platform.

Thus this system is a revolutionary move which will provide accountability to the system with the added bonus of poverty alleviation if implemented well.

References:

"Imagining India"- Nandan Nilekani

Wikipedia