The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Saturday, 22 November 2014

DOUBLED SALARY BONANZA AMIDST 400 FARM SUICIDES: WAS THE TELANGANA FIGHT FOR IT?

“I myself will represent the Telangana government and argue before the Krishna tribunal. I will create a history by arguing the case in my capacity as CM.” - K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Chief Minister, Telangana

Now, this statement could have been seen as a routine overstatement coming from a politician who likes to boast and likes to brand himself as a forerunner of his political breed.

But, no, this comes to us from K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), the Telangana chief minister, the top most administrative functionary of India's newest state, who has been a big letdown after assuming the office when Telangana came into existence officially on June 2 this year.

The central reason behind the decades old Telangana struggle was the contention that the Andhra counterparts had ignored the Telangana areas totally leaving the concerned population in poverty and backwardness.

KCR projected himself as the champion of the cause and though he cannot take the sole credit, going by the political equations of the time, he was rewarded by the Telangana electorate in hopes he would bring home the change. But the downward spiral began from the day-1.

As soon as he took over, the dynast in him came out. He is chief minister who made his son and nephew ministers. His daughter is a member of the Parliament (MP). And he defends and justifies it with an 'air'.

When the agenda should have been reconciliation and synthesis till the whole process of bifurcation of revenue and resources is complete, he chose to indulge in cheap politics of sloganeering, not delivering on ground, and finding an easy escape in anti-Andhra Pradesh slogans.

And rational minds know that is not going to work.


But, the latest KCR move shows that was never his priority probably. The latest move is certainly a prime issue of national outrage that could not find its due on airwaves as other major rating-worthy stories broke out simultaneously, dominated by the round the clock developments around the controversial Haryana godman Rampal who refused to accept the orders of different courts including the high court and his arrest came after violent clashes and a long drama.

Anyway, that is a typical Indian flavour where fake religious gurus have been exploiting the  insecurities of human lives in a country where universal norms of a dignified life do not come even in dreams of the majority of the population.

And Indian politicians are not much different, the political history of independent India tells us, and KCR's latest move reaffirms that.

In an outrageous and anti-human move, the Telangana politicians, led by KCR, came together to hike their salary by 100%. Now the salary of a Telangana MLA (Rs. 2 Lakh) would be more than that of the President (1.5 Lakh) and the Prime Minister (1.60 Lakh). While doing so, the atmosphere was of almost consensus, something that we have seen so many times in 'doing so', including in the Indian Parliament. The bitter TRS-TDP war of words or the Congress or the BJP voices - we could not hear them.

The doubled salary bonanza came at a time where the state is facing aftermath of drought.  

Different reports say, the authenticity of which we can safely accept, that around 400 farmers have committed suicide in Telangana after KCR took over in June. 350-400 farm suicides is the range of such reports and the government attempt to put them at around 80 easily blows out when we read the reports.

The burden of the hike that the state will face (Rs. 75 crore in five years) could have easily saved the lives of these farmers had they been given the loan waivers or financial assistance in time.

But that would have happened only when the people would be the priority. The brazen defence of the salary hike by the Telangana government and KCR tells us they don't care at all.

KCR may blame Andhra Pradesh and Chandrababu Naidu for Telangana farm suicides but that would not stop the farm suicides.

KCR's efforts to justify the MLA salary hike and deflect the blame to Chandrababu Naidu - amidst 400 farm suicides - was the Telangana fight for it?

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/