Politics continued

I read this thought-provoking blog in Citizen Matters yesterday where this person wrote about how she used to enjoy her morning walks and how they have now gone bad what with people's declining civic sense or the complete lack of it. And she quoted Khushwant Singh as saying that he used to hide in his balcony and pelt people who peed on his wall with stones. Man! I rather like that idea (don't jump to conclusions, I am NOT a violent person). If education doesn't bestow any civic sense on you and if not having an education is excuse enough for you to not feel responsible towards your country/land, then a few pelts might just do the trick eh? I'd love to take up that job any day as long as it guarantees that after being hit with stones by some unknown force a bunch of times, you would start thinking twice before peeing on public walls. I think our ancestors were far too wise and well ahead of their times when they said "Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahi maante" (Kicking is the only way some would listen).


On a related note, everyone knows Bangalore traffic is a nightmare. Subhash used to live in Noida/Gurgaon/Delhi area earlier and he tells me how Delhi Police did a splendid job of bringing down rowdy driving in the city. If you jump a red, forget jumping, even cross the stop line at a red, you could be sure that a challan (traffic ticket) would be sent home as a gift. And the normal INR 50 and INR 100 fines wouldn't do the job, so they hiked it up quite a bit and lo! people actually started behaving. I have proof of this here ;) The increased hikes in challans make so much perfect sense that I don't understand why Bangalore or even Hyderabad Police don't follow it. There are so many offenders, that surely if you start challaning everyone, your revenues will shoot up to 500% overnight and not to mention what it will do to that percentage if you hike the challan rates. But along with that of course you need to ensure people actually cough up and I wouldn't mind dealing a bunch of lathis to people who don't (am I getting more and more violent or what). When people HAVE to pay and pay high, they will most definitely toe the line. But there is also the fat in the system you have to deal with. Everyone is looking to make a quick buck from the havaldar to the inspector. (I actually pity those traffic cops standing in the middle of an unruly traffic street and enduring all that sun and pollution:( )

It just takes a visionary leader who has the power to enforce it is what I believe. When we have politicians who take a genuine interest in developing the place, I am sure we can see many such policies. Till then we have to wait and hope. And probably take that step into the dirty world of politics. After all its not going to get clean if we, the youth and the educated populace are going to sit around and do nothing. I am inspired to get into politics someday, its always been on my agenda. Ever since I realized, when I was 17, that being an IAS officer just wouldn't cut it as you simply have to play puppet to politicians wills. I want to be a minister for Telecom or Public Transport. I know a bunch of friends in traffic engineering whose knowledge I can tap on to make Indian Roads better. Agriculture would be best but I don't think I have the expertise to do that job well ;) Of course, everyone is apprehensive, the danger to your life in this dirty political scene, the things it takes to get there especially given that I am not a moneyed "baap ki aulaad" and I quite belong to the core middle-class, the fact that I am a female citizen, and so on and so forth. But I want to at least give it a shot. At least try to make that little bit of a difference. I want to be with TDP just for the sake of Naidu. Or maybe Lok Satta for the sake of Dr. JP. I read that Swami Ramdev wants to join politics to "clean it up". So maybe we are at a point where people are fed up of fat and filthy politicians and actually want to do something about it and clean it up a bit.

There ought to be some hope for my political aspirations somewhere!