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August 25, 2009 - Goanet's 15th Anniversary
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I had read Dr. Abdul Kalam's letter to every Indian once before and dismissed
it as GREAT rhetoric from a great man and the ravings of the devil's advocate.
Call the devil what you may -- the system, a politician, or an administrator or
simply a municipal clerk.
Let me start at the beginning.
"Why is the media here so negative?"
Dr Kalam forgets that sometimes being negative is just being practical.
"I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day
after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas
had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish
gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a
granary."
Not a bad achievement to match the Hamas. But I think the Tel Aviv sub lacked
in news sense. If that happens in India the sub and the chief sub on the night
shift will get the kick and rightly so because a newspaper is supposed to be
objective in its job.
"In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime."
In India we read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime because that is the
primary concern here. In health care, where is the system? And it is not just
about international terrorism. In fact it is more about internal warfare.
"Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - ‘YOURS’. Give him a
face - ‘YOURS’."
Singapore and Dubai have rulers and administrators who are serious about the
rules of their countries. If I know I cannot bribe an RTA Officer I will dare
not try. But if I know I will never get the licence without a bit of compromise
on my beloved Dubai and Singapore ideals I will be compelled to chose the
Indian way to spare myself the harrassment and agony of going against a
treasured tradition of the country.
"What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our
neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU."
Well I would recommend Dr Kalam something as simple as trying to get a birth
certificate from Panjim as a resident of Canacona to get a taste of how
impossible the system can be for somebody who is too stupid to stubbornly stick
to his avowed principles.
Dr Kalam or for that matter anyone else with a gift for words could use his pen
to make an equally compelling case with as much rhetoric to suggest that the
Indian political system has gone to the dogs beyond a point of salvation. And
that it is certainly sensible to shut up and endure it as best as and as long
as one can.
Tony Martin
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