Apni aazaadi to bhaiya

Despite the gravest agrarian crisis in recent decades, the most striking consumer price rises in the whole of developing and developed world, the most potent uprising against India till date in Kashmir, and the worst natural disaster in recent history killing thousands in our neighborhood, it may not be an August to remember. But I hope we remember that there are things still worth celebrating.

Yet the biggest let down of the day was the Prime Minister’s speech. Every time I hear Manmohan speak, I lose faith in democracy. He speaks like a person who has no stake in what happens in India, forget the fact that his speeches are as some one called “Butt-numbingly” boring. Boring isn’t just the only problem but he clearly eluded the core issues of public distribution, price rise, and made a quarter-hearted plea to the naxals – which forget the naxals, cannot even bring my angry four year old cousin to table for talks.

In other news, one of the largest natural disasters in recent years is unfolding in Pakistan, with one fifth of the country under water. As UN calls it “fortnight-long flooding of the country as a calamity graver than the three biggest natural disasters of this century put together – the tsunami of 2004, the earthquake in Pakistan of 2005 and the Haiti quake this year.” The disaster has been completely shelved by the Indian media, but what surprised anybody following the issue was Krishna’s phone call to Qureshi offering “5 million dollars” in aid. Unconfirmed reports say, he also offered three kg basmati rise and two goats to the flood victims to make biriyani during Ramzan. Qureshi must have been taken aback, that he didn’t respond to the offer. But unconfirmed reports say the Govt. of Pakistan send an official sms to Govt. of India. The sms read “Fuck Off!”.

There will be a large majority of people who still don’t understand why we should be helping Pakistan. There isn’t a better way to summarize the country’s malaise under “Manmohanomics” than by these lines from Piyush Mishra in Gulal.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJpAoUMEbWA

sarfaroshi ki tamannaa ab hamaare dil mein hai.

dekhnaa hai zor kitnaa baazuve kaatil mein hai

waqt aane pe bataadenge tujhe ae aasmaan

hum abhi se kyaa bataaye kyaa hamaare dil mein hai

o re bismil kaash aate aaj tum hindustaan

dekhte ki mulk saara kyaa tashan kyaa chill mein hai

aaj kaa laundaa yeh kehtaa hum to bismil thak gaye

apni aazaadi to bhaiyaa laundiyaa ke til mein hai.

aaj ke jalson mein bismil ek gungaa gaa raha.

aur behron kaa wo relaa naachtaa mehfil mein hai

haath ki khaadi banaane kaa zamaana lag gayaa

aaj to chaddi bhi silti englison ki mill mein hai

dekhna hai zor kitnaa baazuve kaatil mein hai

waqt aane pe bataadenge tujhe ae aasmaan

hum abhi se kyaa bataaye kyaa hamaare dil mein hai

sarfaroshi ki tamannaa ab hamaare dil mein hai.