Corruption With A Silver Lining?

It is prudent to publicly condemn corrupt practices, but, in private, most Indians have come to accept it as an invaluable general purpose catalyst: the ultimate motivator … the universal ice-breaker and palm greaser … the lingo everyone is conversant with … the master key that opens all locks! Let’s face it, we can boast having the very best darn Police money can buy – second to none! Where else but in our own beloved Mother India can you have anything done – I mean ANYTHING – by our uniformed gangsters and, that too, for a reasonable price? It is commonly believed that one can even walk into court with the decapitated head of someone they just killed and get bail! Provided you have “a little extra” to back your play.

The individual’s Rights is paramount! Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience theme was reliant on his principle that “elementary rights of individuals” were more important than the Empire’s political interests. True to his guiding inspiration, even today, the “elementary rights of individuals” IS STILL more prominently catered to but these “individuals” are the nation’s policy-influencing individuals and those entrusted with enforcement powers over the masses! In all fairness, we believe, even more than the homage and gratitude the persecuted handful of bullied patriots pay to the Father of Our Nation, the corrupt mass majority should be compelled to devote much more: percentage-wise! After all, were we still being plundered by the British Raj, it would have presented a serious impediment to the prosperity of our very own indigenous variety of Desi looters, wouldn’t you say?

Of course no one has the foolish courage to publicly admit it [– except fools (Oops!), and those few who truly can’t afford to feather someone else’s nest with their modest, honest earnings; in other words, THE LOSERS!]. One wonders if there’s any hope for our Nation to survive against such overwhelming, treasonous odds? Or are we destined to crawl in this cesspool of decadence, disguising the stench with cheap cologne while feigning indignation before the World community?

The Late Justice A.N. Mulla (a former Judge of the Allahabad High Court and author of the Mulla Committee on Prison Reform) stated: “I say it with all sense of responsibility that there is not a single lawless group in the whole country whose record of crime is anywhere near the record of that organized unit which is known as the Indian Police Force.”

Need we say any more?

The Grand Illusionist: The Ayatolla of Dhoo’kay-Wallaz!

JHUT BOLAY KAW’WA KAATE!

Although admirable and demonstrative of certain potential, (http://havepenwillwrite.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/deception-and-other-hoaxes-in-the-public%e2%80%99s-interest/) Amit Garg’s chicanery is child play compared to the sophisticated, anesthetizing, mind-coitus credited to the veteran Ustaad-oun-ka-Ustaad, the Guru of gurus, M.A. BASITH, IPS.

Observe the grand maestro at his befuddling best …

THE MECCA MASJID FARCE (or “How I Chuthya-Maro’ed The Public”):

As is so often the case with Majority Rule and covert partisan politics, the minority community is humored by the appointment of a member of their group as a (figurehead) person in authority. Such seems to be the case with M.A. Basith (purportedly Muslim) and Balwinder Singh (orthodox Sikh), respectively the Andhra Pradesh State Director General of Police and Hyderabad City Commissioner of Police.

The local Urdu media lapped up ’s Basith’s appointment like orphan puppies slurping up spilt milk (of Magnesia?). No matter how trivial the event, there would be at least a few lines about Basith almost every week, and if we were really (un)fortunate, there might even be a little photograph. They must have been really hard up for news knowing fully well that our Superhero has a reputation of being an Uncle Tom; a “Yes Boss”-Man lapping away on whichever side the bread is buttered, and of never having interceded in matters relative to a fellow Muslim’s victimization or provided any official support to bullied communities in the past! To be impartial and neutral, doesn’t require one be insensitive and detached. But this might explain his meteoric rise to No. 1 cop of the State.

Hence, on May 18, 2007, during commencement of the Friday congregational prayers (Muslim Sabbath), a bomb rocked the historical Mecca Masjid known to accommodate the largest number of devotees. There were several injuries and deaths. This shocked Muslims all over the world.

Adding insult to injury, indignant yelps from local protesters and leaders saw Police firing indiscriminately into the crowd at point blanc range killing five youths and injuring several others including those that were retreating! In typical concurrence with Maoist philosophy on power over the masses, Basith responded with barbaric dadagiri suppressing dissent through use of deadly force. “Power flows from the barrel of a gun“! (Mao Tse-tung).

You can always count on puppet Director Generals and their henchmen to facilitate martyrdom while amassing Brownie Points.

Basith tagged the line that the bombs were “sophisticated” (common cast iron pipes containing explosives!) with “sophisticated” triggering mechanism (a simple call via cell ‘phone!). “That capacity is not available in Hyderabad so far”! Amazing! So we are still using drums and smoke signals to communicate …

As expected, the appearance of “police check posts” immediately followed in just about every major street in the “upscale” part of the City, and just about every ally in the in the predominantly Muslim slums. No doubt our industrious police were looking for villains carrying sophisticated cast iron pipes and sophisticated cell phones! Wonderful! But these Check Posts turned out to be yet another creative extortion racket to put the squeeze on motorists, autowallas, 2-wheeler riders, other vehicle operators even unlucky pedestrians caught in the net! You can always count on our cops to be resourceful during difficult times.

A week or so later, the coup de grace: Basith pulls a turbaned rabbit out of the hat! Outstanding! Our vigilant Police have the stooge culprit in custody: some miserable low life schmuck who happens to be Muslim! Slick move!

Any prospect of communal tension fizzles out. Tempers come to a dead end blocked by a giant red question mark: “Certainly no Muslim would commit this heinous act”! But that’s irrelevant now. Congratulations are in order …. More media hype on Basith (and even more little photos!) ….. and a couple of weeks later, we’re dealt a classic “Basith Head-Scratcher”: A perplexed, open mouthed public is notified of a cash reward from the Police for any information leading to the suspect(s)! Now, a year later, the suspect’s identity is still a mystery and Hyderabad continues to maintain its prime ranking as the testing ground for improvised explosive prototypes.

What a crying shame: All that brown-nosing by the Urdu media was in vain! “ Basith Bhai! Tu kya zabardust gaaf-mei-haath diya, Yar! It hurts when we try to sit down”!

Around the same period, during Basith’s bedazzling leadership, the city is plagued by a series of scattered bomb blasts in public places. Many casualties. Many deaths. Predicting a righteous public outcry demanding his hide, Basith, a seasoned veteran survivor of public scrutiny, not to be outdone, cons media support and, one fine morning, proceeds to do a tactical Self-Defense number on the thoroughly perplexed Sardarji-Commissioner blaming him for security lapses as though the “buck” stops at the Commissioner! Commissioner Balwinder, who only recently transferred to his new assignment in Hyderabad, hardly had time to unpack let alone make an independent assessment of the comical public safety situation prevalent throughout Basith’s administration. Little did the straight forward Balwinderji realize at the time that he had been served a combo Gugli-Bumper Special, the insidious “Basith Head-Scratcher cum Pagadi Shaker“, a special treat reserved for special people and special occasions.

But setting aside the community’s mistaken belief of “Sadar Pahelwaan Basith” championing the cause of underdogs, the rightful expectation of an aggressive, professional, visible public safety program or, at the minimum, an honest, good-faith endeavor at launching such, vanished in smoke leaving behind a clear message that the impotent public could grab their ankles and take it in their rear. And with head upside down panning between parted legs, venture to acquire a sharper perspective of what’s REALLY happening to them: To wit, no official inquiry into security protocol violations by police personnel stationed at the entrance to the mosque during Friday Prayers, no prosecution for unnecessary use of deadly force on unarmed demonstrators by the on-site armed police personnel, no official disposition of any inquiry into the several bomb blasts in Hyderabad, no administrative or criminal sanctions for misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance by officials entrusted with our safety, and no showing of any lasting interest in the matter by our chosen legislators.

It is ironic that our leadership promises “transparent, accountable governance”, but the only thing transparent here is the cheap lappam concealing the cracks in accountability. This just strengthens one’s conviction that protest is futile and we are such a tolerant, vanquished people. Subsequently, as expected of our fickle memories, the matter fades off into oblivion, and, mercifully, so does Basith with his retirement!

Now, who in his right mind can say that the IPS generates a legion of clowns?