Questionable déguisement

For centuries, 'All Hallow's Eve' was a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain, where followers would light bonfires in an effort to ward off roaming ghosts and lurking evil spirits. Ironically and happily so, Halloween has since evolved into, of all things, a children's holiday. We now see eager faces of little ones in the Western world, some even dressed in questionable déguisement, going from door to door in search of trick or treat, giggling and cackling despite their dark external demeanour.

One can only hope that things finally turn out the same way in our very own India and that our ongoing Halloween party in five states has a happy ending. What in evil's name is India's Halloween, you ask? Well, it is what we are observing in five election-riddled states for a while now, where the devilish words being sauntered about, let alone the fiendish acts being enacted, are as abominable as Hallow's Eve was in Celtic times. Each day over the last few months, we have heard fuming rants and raving claims across the said five states, with Uttar Pradesh donning the redoubtable crown. We have heard blatant lies, untruths so bizarre that they are demolished immediately in the public domain, moments after they are mouthed by our most potent and most vigorous authorities.

Nonetheless, they continue to bombard us with spiteful statements, some absurd and others downright symptomatic of the most basic decency and education; that happens when we question parental lineage and the like.

I grew up in India and know that politics can be messy when it has to be. But it has never been as dirty as we find overflowing in our immoral cups today. Enough, I say. Wrong ought to be wrong and labelled as such. Malice should be caught and brought to bay, with evil culled, its innards laid out bare for public disdain. That's the only possible path to eventual catharsis, peace and national sanity, even sanctity.

Shocking verbiage

What we are witnessing in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur makes for terrible and horrific sights and distended sounds. Shocking, mocking and blessedly acidic verbal vitriol is clearly the game at play as our spirited leaders use the once-holy election dais to spout venom, without a thought toward end-result – fracturing an already-fragile societal firmament. As a nation steeped in politics and politicos, we are clearly changing, and not for the better.

Before I go a-yonder, let me fondly remember former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a humanitarian and statesman beyond compare, one who would crack the whip at the strongest of his own functionaries if they crossed the line of dignity and decorum. Vajpayee ji stomped down at Yatras and Abishekhams, for he saw in them the evil that tried to desist – political torpedoes and harpoons desired to divide a nation. Lest we have forgotten our history, it is little wonder that this very great man was requested by another former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, to represent India at the United Nations, when he was very much in the opposition.

At the United Nations meeting, what Vajpayee ji said was little short of a wonder, for it struck the world right where it hurt, at their innards, and it embellished India. As Donald Paul of BBC attempted to needle Vajpayee ji, he asked – "Indira ji regards you as a staunch critic. In spite of that, are you sure you should be at the UN shouting in favour of the incumbent (Indian) Government?" Vajpayee's repartee was historic. It shall be for all time – "A rose adorns a garden, so does a Lily. Each is beset with the idea that they are the most beautiful. When the garden falls into a crisis, the gardener(s) has to safeguard its beauty. I have come today to save my garden. This is Indian democracy."

That was then. Now we have today.

Simians in the fray

Today's India is turning rancid and less than compelling. Acid, vitriol and inanities are being spewed by the most powerful in a bid, however desperate, to grab victory at the hustings. While these actions and sanctions are indeed questionable, so is the verbal vomit hitting our ears, with an abject disregard to the consequence(s). No one seems to care, even though everyone knows that the end-result could be tortuous. As tortuous as some political aficionados claim that if their party loses the elections, they will utilize ready and summoned bulldozers to raze the errant voters' homes and fields to the ground. If anything is left standing, they will burn it, they claim on public television.

That is why I say that we seem to have simians in the fray today running for political office, including those that want to hang on to 'power' without a damned care for our tomorrow. No one talks of the real issues or of moral values. Nearly all political leaders today spout the four dreaded 'M's – Mandir, Muslim, Madrassa and Maans. What of the economy? What about jobs? What about personal earnings? Nothing, for these are seemingly non-existentialist issues. After all, we are providing free food to 80 crore Indians. If we go a step further, that means 80 crore Indians out of a total 135 crore do not have the ability to even feed themselves.

What happened to us, decades after we were thriving after the economic reforms of the 1990s? Remember, friends, reforms take years to fructify...

Here's a word on Dr Manmohan Singh, who gave us a sniff and whiff of economic liberty and exuberance, which lasted for decades and brought indulgence and fame to us. Here are his own words in his outgoing speech in 2014 – "History will remember me far more kindly than the media is doing (today)."

What is our today?

Rather dismal. Today's pillars of India's democracy are frail. We have spoken of most of our politicos. Let's talk of our media, which has not just been proven wrong, but also shown to be greedy and motivated, divisive, especially financially (throw the hungry dog a bone and he shall bark your tune – that's the media of today). What of Indian industry? It is fractured, dependent and lacking in vision, given the paralysis on the policy front. What of our people and labour laws – the former are despondent and the latter are angry, perhaps self-destructive in the longer scheme of things. Who's managing the rot? And what of our families, which are disintegrating and literally blows over property and money?

Something has to work, say... You are right. A lot is. There are an increasing number of outlets offering you quick redemption for family gold (India's mainstay}. Two, an increasing number of Indians are leaving the country. Three, many Indian fathers and mothers are planning a future for their children in lands far away from India. Four, we don't need loudspeaker companies anymore, as our speakers today have a volume that is unprecedented. Let's forget the content, for that is always convoluted and divisive.

This is again bad news? You are right. I am a doomsayer. Let me correct this today. We have now found the owner of ABG Shipyards – in Singapore, living life there for the last four years, with his creditors thumbing their nose for the last nine years, wondering where the over Rs 22,000 crore disappeared to. Many other bhagodas continue to be in exile, akin to what India's middle class is attempting to do for their own. My friends and my own brother have done this. What about you?

The writer is a clinical analyst and a communications specialist. Views expressed are personal. narayanrajeev2006@gmail.com