DON'T FORGET WHEN THE TIME COMES

We, The People of India, have short memory. History has proved this very well. But then what will we do even by having a good memory? Before that – what is the relevance of even asking this question and that too at this stage when the country is going through a catastrophe? The relevance is there – the very fact that we have not been able to get the basic facilities that we as humans deserve by the people we have elected to lead/govern us ever since independence has big role to play in the current day medical fiasco that we are witnessing. So, does that mean that the government is to be blamed for the deaths and the pain people are going through because of the COVID 19 second wave? No, I didn’t mean that at all. What I meant is that we have to learn from this moving forward. Learn so that what we and those departed souls have suffered now should not be a repeat exercise for us or our future generations.

Learning and implementing for me is self-improvement. Improvement of my thoughts, my vision and my decisions. This, if followed by the mases shall result in a more developed and more practical society. Today on social media all that we read is that our Prime Minister should resign and he is the sole responsible person for the ills that we are suffering. The rallies that he conducted in West Bengal for the sole purpose of winning the elections, the Kumbh Mela are the foundations of the current scenario. Why should only the PM resign? Why not the CMs and the other political & religious leaders? Why were there parties and/or gatherings (of majorly all the religions in India) going on when we knew that we have not yet come out of this pandemic? Was it only the PM who conducted rallies? Not the leaders of the other party/ies who were also contesting the elections? Till when are we going to or let people with such thoughts to encash the hidden agenda in exchange? Some, even go on to say that – make them (politicians) pay when the next elections come the way they have made us suffer in getting medical oxygen and hospital beds. My question to such people is – how will you make them pay? By not exercising your vote? Still someone shall win – but what is the guarantee that the winner would be a better leader? Or we make them pay by selling our vote? Seriously? Have we reached a level that we would charge for all the deaths and our pain? Forget about whether selling our vote is legal or not – legality has gone for a toss in the last 3 weeks or so – but just imagine someone who lost a family member – are we proposing that s/he should sell that loss at a premium? Come on think of it – are these logical solutions to the problem that we face? Would such an ideology/thinking lead us to a more positive and better society? I leave the reader to have his own answer. I shall point out my answer in the following paras – these might be debatable and the reader is free to express her/himself in the comments – you might agree/criticize or have a different opinion but still feel free to express yourself.

WHO IS TO BE BLAMED?

We, The People of India.

WHY?

Because,

·     majority of us do not take responsibility – we try and find a scape goat for every wrong that happens to/around us. We cannot be wrong, at all. How many of us are willing to accept that we started taking things easily and went back to Pre-COVID normal life without realizing that the threat has not yet gone? Similarly, neither our central government nor our state governments have realized that they have made mistake in dealing with this pandemic.

We need to learn to accept our mistakes and take necessary action/s towards improvement and stop blame game.

·      we are selfish – we are not concerned about the society. We just want the well being of our own self/family – the society is not important. Today, we are screaming that the medical infrastructure of the country is ill-equipped but tell me this infrastructure used to look great just a year back. It was sufficient – yes it was but only for those who could afford. What about those who are poor? Today we scream because the rich with all the money (black or white) are not able to save the life of their loved ones or are going through gross pain in getting medical facilities. Had it been restricted to just the poor – I don’t know how many voices would have come up.

We need to have empathy for each other, irrespective of whether s/he is rich/poor. Only then can we really strategies and plan for development since development is only there when the basic needs of each and every national is fulfilled otherwise it is nothing but hollow.

·       we are majorly corrupt – barring a few. How many of us pay our taxes/dues with honesty? Our population is very high therefore in percentage people who are not corrupt might be in decimal. We are ready to buy things at premium when the need is there but would not give our complete dues to help build a better society. This attitude of ours is played with when the need is really high – I read in one of my WhatsApp group that the drug Tocilizumab was being sold for as high as 3 Lacs for one dose (I do not take the responsibility of this figure as it is what I read – I haven’t personally been offered). This is only because the corruption is in our culture – and we are party to it. This corruption did not originate during COVID times – it’s there in our blood. Right from paying that extra money to jump the queue to getting a job at a premium – We, The People are party to the corruption that exists in our country.  

We need to learn to live on merit and not find a short cut by corrupting others for our benefits. This attitude has to change only then would we end up paying the right price for the things that we want or buy. Because otherwise again those who pay a premium would get the stuff but imagine if there are others who are ready to pay more than you?

·       we don’t believe in science completely. We as a society are still believing more in religion than science. There is no harm in having faith and belief in one’s religion but not accepting science is something that could lead to a disaster. Till the second wave people were questioning the vaccine – some even went on to say that this is a BJP vaccine. What crap? Today people are willing to get a jab but before the situation got critical, people were reluctant.

We need to move with time – don’t take science as a competitor for religion – let them go parallel and do the needful.

·       we follow individuals and not the system – in fact I doubt if we have a system in place. When we exercise our vote, majority of us vote for the individual for whatever reason but how many of us really understand what the country really needs and vote accordingly. The nation elected the current Prime Minister with clear margin – how can a few individuals ask for his resignation when he alone is not to be blamed. He did not start the corruption in the country – it existed before he sat on that chair. Currently, it is only the people with or against the PM. One goes blindly blaming him and the other blindly supporting him. Due to people either following or being against an individual - no one asks the right questions. Seven years back this government headed by our PM promised for good governance and improvement in infrastructure – please ask him where is good governance? And where is the medical infrastructure even after one year of COVID and the experience gained from the failures of advanced nations like USA and Italy (& others)?  

We need to have a system in place and we should follow IT & not an individual. Chose the leader or party who can lead us towards development and not an individual because we like him or is an heir apparent. Also, learn to question and yes - the right question/s.

·       we love to show-off & spend more money on unnecessary things rather than Important ones. I am not against the construction/building of statues or the central vista redevelopment project or even the park beautifications in Uttar Pradesh that took place few years back. I have nothing against them but what I fail to understand is that why spending such an exorbitant amount on them when we do not have other basic infrastructure in place? The common man struggles to get the amenities to live a proper life but our so-called leaders spend lavishly on building monuments that would last beyond their lifetime.

Use our money wisely and learn to understand the value of something and not its price. I am sure that our future generations shall be thankful to our politicians if they build important things first and only after achieving that goal they spend on monuments.

·      Education – I won’t say much on this apart from – invest in education for yourself and your children and this investment shall give You the Greatest of Results. THIS IS THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT ONE CAN MAKE.

This is what I have felt and learnt in the last one year and this is what I won’t forget when this time shall pass and the time comes when we have to restart our lives Post COVID. The reader is free to express him/herself in the comments