Do ideas die ? I wondered after attending the AAP Women's Wing kick off meeting, yesterday. Motley group of about 40 women of varied ages and backgrounds. We were introducing ourselves and speaking about why we joined AAP. The women spoke with passion and most said that they were drawn to AAP because of its emphasis on truth, honesty. These are the values they cherish and see disappearing from public life. They teach these values to their children and want them to see these in the world outside not just in their homes.And so they are with AAP. I hardly heard anyone mentioning the names of Arvind Kejriwal or any other AAP leader. I was one of the few who did.
AAP speaks about decentralization of power, of giving power to people. AK says its your battle, you have to fight. I could see this at work in the AAP meeting. When future plans were being discussed, no major leader's names were mentioned.I do not mean to imply lack of respect or regard for the leaders. I mean to say that the inspiration, the josh was being sourced from the idea of AAP, not the personalities in AAP.
Many of these were women who had been dragged by police during rallies and protests and had been hurt. They had travelled to Banaras and slogged. They had done door to door canvassing in slums. And less than 48 hours after a disappointing result, they were full of enthusiasm.
I see the media still attacking AAP, trying to discredit AAP leaders. And I wonder whether it will succeed. For the idea of AAP is much bigger than the leaders of AAP. People can be discredited and killed. Ideas cannot.
May 19th
Attended the AAP Women's Wing's kickoff meeting in Bangalore, today morning
Considering the election results, I had half-expected to see a handful of morose women trying to cheer each other up. I found a group of nearly forty women ranging from a nuclear physicist in her seventies to young women in their twenties.Lawyers, doctors, teachers, trainers, corporate workers. Some of them recounted their experiences of volunteering and we saw that whatever the election results, they had all found a groundswell of support and goodwill for AAP, in common folk, in the police personnel, counting officers, even in BJP and Congress workers.They all know AAP is the future. I sensed no despondence of 'defeat'. Those experienced in politics said that we had too little time to prepare this time and considering this we had done well enough. There was palpable enthusiasm in the room as plans were discussed to prepare for the coming BBMP elections.So AAP moves on. Cheers!!
May 18thWell, I will not do the done thing and say that I respect and welcome the people's verdict. This will not be my truth and I am no hypocrite. The results have truly disappointed and dismayed me. I see this verdict as the success of a unprecedented , massive and sustained marketing campaign. The relentless selling of one man as the solution to all problems. Huge unaccounted money has been poured into this campaign and a dream has been sold. There was no open debate or discussion about this dream.The purveyor was not ready for it.And I don't see the euphoric media asking any questions about who funded this campaign and why. I see many of the same people back in parliament, only under a different party's name. I saw a biased and compromised media in these elections and am afraid it will get worse. I fear we may have to deal with more opaqueness from the govt now and it will be harder to know the truth.I agree that this elections have been historic in many ways. Indians were asked to vote for just one man and ignore the credentials of candidates. This is clear subversion of the democratic process.Democracy has been 'modified' and India will now get the taste of what person-centred, corporate sponsored democracy is like.
May17th
I can see one fallout of this historic election. That in the coming days, if and when a MP is caught indulging in criminal or corrupt activities, Indians who voted for him/her will not be able to say, "But we had no alternative, no choice." There WAS a choice this time, to vote for a clean candidate. AAP had made sure of that.
And also it might be a little embarrassing to say, "This system is so corrupt, so impossible. Why can't someone do something about it?" Someone did try their level best. AAP did.
So this was AAP's achievement this time. To take away a few of the excuses.
May16th
I would say let's not begin questioning and condemning all decisions made by AAP. We are just a year old, with meagre resources and hardly any organisational structure.We have fought on a very uneven field, against parties established for decades, against unlimited money-powered media campaigns, against a biased media. We challenged existing political concepts and were messengers of completely new ideas of how Indian politics should and could be. We fought well. We have made our mark and have won good will if not many votes. Our leadership's decisions have brought us here. So let's stand with them now and show our trust and support to them. AAP ROCKS !!!
May16th
To raise one's voice for truth, to use one's abilities to work for truth, aligns one with one's own source, one's soul. And then a strange joy, a deep satisfaction rises from within, which cannot be compared to any other joy in the world. It is this which motivates thousands of AAPians as they work for no monetary rewards, in grueling conditions, far from the comforts of their homes and families. And it is this which reflects in their faces, their voices and is far more powerful than propaganda powered by money. These people are making history.
May9th
I am amazed and moved by what is happening in Varanasi. Indians of all ages, faiths, from all corners of the country have congregated there. They are spending hours in the summer heat, living in hardship, going door to door or helping by doing whatever they can. Its a celebration of unity, of the spirit of India. A force has risen against the old oppressive system of money power, corruption, divisiveness on caste/community/religious lines. This cannot ever be defeated. I am happy to be witnessing this though I REALLY wish I could be there!
May7th
Today's TOI looks like a BJP mouth piece. Modi graces frontpage and his opinion on number of seats Congress is going to win, makes headlines. Modi sprawls all over the centrepage. Several big colour photographs of Modi. A fawning eulogy on Modi's Amethi rallly, which reports people saying "sher aaya."The nadir of journalism. Mind you, this is a day before elections when canvassing has stopped.TOI earns its keep.These elections have exposed media for sure.To think that I have to pay for this issue. Yuck!!! —
feeling sick.
May6th
Remembered reading in my school days, an essay by Nehru on his experiences of a lathi charge during British Raj. Today, the grand old party, the Congress, under the leadership of his great grand children, is orchestrating attacks on unarmed, peaceful AAP workers, in Amethi, in a desperate bid to hold on to power. How ironical and how demonstrative of decay and degeneration in Indian politics ! And these worthies keep boasting of their glorious family history and sacrifices made while seeking votes! —feeling sick.
There is something known as the 100th monkey effect, in which an idea or behavior spreads rapidly amongst the population in an inexplicable manner, without visible means of communication, over vast areas. We had seen this in the 1977 elections, held with the Emergency imposed. Much had been made of how governance was wonderful under Emergency. A muzzled press, restrictions on people congregating, all opposition jailed or underground, TV (DD) airing only govt propaganda notwithstanding, Congress had suffered a crushing defeat. This effect might be visible in these elections. Hopefully.
May4th
My sudden strong interest in the political happenings of my country, has surprised me most of all. I've been apathetic for so many decades.The last political event which had captured my imagination was the short lived post emergency euphoria in 1977. I was all of seventeen then. Now, I can attribute my fascination with politics to the advent of AAP juxtaposed with the build up of the larger than life Modi persona.They are a study in contrast. I am surprised by the strength of my opinions and the feelings aroused. I find myself involved in passionate arguments and debates. In the past month, I have lost a couple of friends and have gained many. The new ones are more in sync with my bent of mind. In my newly formed political identity, I find fresh insights to myself as a person. I find myself strongly outraged by many of the things I see, for example a biased media, use of communal divisiveness for gaining votes, blatant display of money and muscle power, contempt for minorities of all kinds and the 'weaker' gender. I find my affinity for AAP and my great respect for Arvind Kejriwal go much deeper than mere political affiliation. They exist because AAP's egalitarian, truly democratic outlook and its attempt to bring in clean politics resonate with my core values as a person. And so AAP's battle has become my battle and many others like me. I had read somewhere that a person's politics reveals their character. I find this to be true.
April 29th
Was surfing news channels yesterday evening and found that all but the two NDTV channels were showcasing Modi. The programs were not about work done or what he proposes to do but focused on building a personality cult based on eulogy. One program spoke of how the rest of the world was very unhappy with the rise of a 'strong' leader like Modi in India, and his security was a big concern. Kiran Bedi, one of the panelists, was very vocal on this. I could empathise with what a North Korean national must undergo on a daily basis, being force fed on the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Sun's propaganda.
April 27th
A supporter, who volunteered as a poll booth agent for AAP in Bangalore, said that many people came up to him and said they support AAP but this time they are going with the 'majority' or BJP. This is how a biased media subverts and undermines the democratic process. The whole media, blaring under the Rs.5000 crore (estimated BJP expenditure on advertising) onslaught, had already declared BJP as the majority even before a single vote had been cast in this vast nation of ours. How can we call ourselves a free nation when we do not have a free, impartial media?
Apr23rd
Ever since I began demonstrating my strong support for AAP, I have lost a few friends. One friend began sending me virulent anti AAP email forwards and on my protesting, snapped contact. I sense anger in them, a strong resistance to the idea of AAP. They keep harping on the same few points, of AK being a deserter in Delhi, AAP being a Congress/BJP B team and no amount of explaining makes a difference. I find it intriguing. What is this resistance really against? Maybe, over the years, we have come to accept the reality of pervasive corruption around us and have adapted ourselves to it.Hence the idea of fighting it, doing something about it means changing our own entrenched thought and behavior patterns. Change is always painful, even if its for the better. Maybe AAP is showing us the mirror and we do not like what we see in it.
I also think of MK Gandhi, who evoked similar strong sentiments, in favour
and against. This world has either killed or punished severely all those who were pioneers of significant change from entrenched patterns. Examples are many.
Apr 16th
My husband, a BJP or rather Modi supporter keeps telling me AAP will lose so why am I supporting a losing party. I tell him AAP is not just about losing or winning though of course we'll be thrilled to win as many seats as possible. AAP is about an idea whose time has come. When I hear people saying AAP can never form a Govt at the centre, I remember that AAP is just one year old and for it to be seen as a pan national party is in itself, no mean achievement. AAP is here for systemic change and not just a change of power. That takes time to sink in and grow roots. But the awareness is happening and is very visible in the heated debates happening in every home, office, street corner. These elections are the most exciting ever and would that have possible without AAP on the scene? Questions about crony capitalism, criminal candidates and corruption are now being asked all over the country. Way to go India ! Bravo AAP!
Apr 10th
And so I walked down the street, on my way to my assigned spot in the AAP human chain. Wearing my AAP topi, feeling self conscious, unsure, wearing my political identity openly on the street, first time ever. It was heavy traffic time with officegoers, children going to school. I stood there, waving my flag, saying nothing, looking at people in buses, cars, bikes. There were curious stares, hesitant smiles, derisive smiles, wide grins, thumbs up signs, indifferent looks. A woman passing by, said "Good!" After some time, l began smiling and waving at people. Some responded. A man laughed and said "You are all mental!" I laughed too and said"Great!" Another AAP volunteer joined me with pamphlets and topis.A friend came up and asked me" Since when did this 'bhoot' sit on your head? You and politics?"I said,"Yes, I am in politics and this is about chasing bhoots away!" People came up and asked for topis. Some asked for pamphlets. By 11 AM, we gave away the last topi and pamphlet. I walked back home and this time I was not self conscious. I felt proud of my AAP topi, satisfied that I have done my bit to clean up the dirt in politics and am definitely game for more such campaigns. AAP zindabad !
April10th
These elections are interesting in many ways. One thing which fascinates me is that two of the major contenders are such polar opposites. Modi stands for centralized power. He says that every vote for his party is a vote for him. He is bigger than his party, bigger than its ideology. Modi is the sarkar which will single handedly take India to glory days This for me, symbolizes the 'I, Me, Myself' , the 'self aggrandisement' mindset so prevalent these days.
The other candidate Arvind Kejriwal, stands for decentralization of power. He believes in referendums, that the power should be given back to the people by making gram sabhas, mohalla sabhas. Citizens are capable of taking good decisions for themselves. He speaks of aam aadmi sarkar. His message is to vote for good candidates and send them to the parliament, from whichever party they may be. This is a new idea, a new mindset.
Let's see what India is ready for. Lets see what India chooses.
Apr9th
Venkatraman Balakrishnan AAP candidate from Central Bangalore recently visited my apartment complex. On seeing my photo with him , my cousin enquired whether I am becoming a politician soon. A few months ago, my answer would have been an aghast 'NO!" Today, I replied, "Who knows? One can never say!"So Modi says every vote for BJP is a vote for him. So vote for the BJP candidate with your eyes shut. It does not matter whether he/she is totally inefficient, corrupt or criminal. 48% of BJP candidates are tainted anyway. You just vote for Modi. What happens to the local governance? What happens to the sadak, bijli, pani in your constituency, the availability of ration in the ration shops? Isn't your local MP accountable , responsible in any way?But do not worry. Modi, the superman, the one man army will manage everything just fine from the centre. Har har Modi !
AAP speaks about decentralization of power, of giving power to people. AK says its your battle, you have to fight. I could see this at work in the AAP meeting. When future plans were being discussed, no major leader's names were mentioned.I do not mean to imply lack of respect or regard for the leaders. I mean to say that the inspiration, the josh was being sourced from the idea of AAP, not the personalities in AAP.
Many of these were women who had been dragged by police during rallies and protests and had been hurt. They had travelled to Banaras and slogged. They had done door to door canvassing in slums. And less than 48 hours after a disappointing result, they were full of enthusiasm.
I see the media still attacking AAP, trying to discredit AAP leaders. And I wonder whether it will succeed. For the idea of AAP is much bigger than the leaders of AAP. People can be discredited and killed. Ideas cannot.
May 19th
Attended the AAP Women's Wing's kickoff meeting in Bangalore, today morning
Considering the election results, I had half-expected to see a handful of morose women trying to cheer each other up. I found a group of nearly forty women ranging from a nuclear physicist in her seventies to young women in their twenties.Lawyers, doctors, teachers, trainers, corporate workers. Some of them recounted their experiences of volunteering and we saw that whatever the election results, they had all found a groundswell of support and goodwill for AAP, in common folk, in the police personnel, counting officers, even in BJP and Congress workers.They all know AAP is the future. I sensed no despondence of 'defeat'. Those experienced in politics said that we had too little time to prepare this time and considering this we had done well enough. There was palpable enthusiasm in the room as plans were discussed to prepare for the coming BBMP elections.So AAP moves on. Cheers!!
May 18thWell, I will not do the done thing and say that I respect and welcome the people's verdict. This will not be my truth and I am no hypocrite. The results have truly disappointed and dismayed me. I see this verdict as the success of a unprecedented , massive and sustained marketing campaign. The relentless selling of one man as the solution to all problems. Huge unaccounted money has been poured into this campaign and a dream has been sold. There was no open debate or discussion about this dream.The purveyor was not ready for it.And I don't see the euphoric media asking any questions about who funded this campaign and why. I see many of the same people back in parliament, only under a different party's name. I saw a biased and compromised media in these elections and am afraid it will get worse. I fear we may have to deal with more opaqueness from the govt now and it will be harder to know the truth.I agree that this elections have been historic in many ways. Indians were asked to vote for just one man and ignore the credentials of candidates. This is clear subversion of the democratic process.Democracy has been 'modified' and India will now get the taste of what person-centred, corporate sponsored democracy is like.
May17th
I can see one fallout of this historic election. That in the coming days, if and when a MP is caught indulging in criminal or corrupt activities, Indians who voted for him/her will not be able to say, "But we had no alternative, no choice." There WAS a choice this time, to vote for a clean candidate. AAP had made sure of that.
And also it might be a little embarrassing to say, "This system is so corrupt, so impossible. Why can't someone do something about it?" Someone did try their level best. AAP did.
So this was AAP's achievement this time. To take away a few of the excuses.
May16th
I would say let's not begin questioning and condemning all decisions made by AAP. We are just a year old, with meagre resources and hardly any organisational structure.We have fought on a very uneven field, against parties established for decades, against unlimited money-powered media campaigns, against a biased media. We challenged existing political concepts and were messengers of completely new ideas of how Indian politics should and could be. We fought well. We have made our mark and have won good will if not many votes. Our leadership's decisions have brought us here. So let's stand with them now and show our trust and support to them. AAP ROCKS !!!
May16th
To raise one's voice for truth, to use one's abilities to work for truth, aligns one with one's own source, one's soul. And then a strange joy, a deep satisfaction rises from within, which cannot be compared to any other joy in the world. It is this which motivates thousands of AAPians as they work for no monetary rewards, in grueling conditions, far from the comforts of their homes and families. And it is this which reflects in their faces, their voices and is far more powerful than propaganda powered by money. These people are making history.
May9th
I am amazed and moved by what is happening in Varanasi. Indians of all ages, faiths, from all corners of the country have congregated there. They are spending hours in the summer heat, living in hardship, going door to door or helping by doing whatever they can. Its a celebration of unity, of the spirit of India. A force has risen against the old oppressive system of money power, corruption, divisiveness on caste/community/religious lines. This cannot ever be defeated. I am happy to be witnessing this though I REALLY wish I could be there!
May7th
Today's TOI looks like a BJP mouth piece. Modi graces frontpage and his opinion on number of seats Congress is going to win, makes headlines. Modi sprawls all over the centrepage. Several big colour photographs of Modi. A fawning eulogy on Modi's Amethi rallly, which reports people saying "sher aaya."The nadir of journalism. Mind you, this is a day before elections when canvassing has stopped.TOI earns its keep.These elections have exposed media for sure.To think that I have to pay for this issue. Yuck!!! —
feeling sick.May6th
Remembered reading in my school days, an essay by Nehru on his experiences of a lathi charge during British Raj. Today, the grand old party, the Congress, under the leadership of his great grand children, is orchestrating attacks on unarmed, peaceful AAP workers, in Amethi, in a desperate bid to hold on to power. How ironical and how demonstrative of decay and degeneration in Indian politics ! And these worthies keep boasting of their glorious family history and sacrifices made while seeking votes! —
feeling sick.There is something known as the 100th monkey effect, in which an idea or behavior spreads rapidly amongst the population in an inexplicable manner, without visible means of communication, over vast areas. We had seen this in the 1977 elections, held with the Emergency imposed. Much had been made of how governance was wonderful under Emergency. A muzzled press, restrictions on people congregating, all opposition jailed or underground, TV (DD) airing only govt propaganda notwithstanding, Congress had suffered a crushing defeat. This effect might be visible in these elections. Hopefully.
May4th
My sudden strong interest in the political happenings of my country, has surprised me most of all. I've been apathetic for so many decades.The last political event which had captured my imagination was the short lived post emergency euphoria in 1977. I was all of seventeen then. Now, I can attribute my fascination with politics to the advent of AAP juxtaposed with the build up of the larger than life Modi persona.They are a study in contrast. I am surprised by the strength of my opinions and the feelings aroused. I find myself involved in passionate arguments and debates. In the past month, I have lost a couple of friends and have gained many. The new ones are more in sync with my bent of mind. In my newly formed political identity, I find fresh insights to myself as a person. I find myself strongly outraged by many of the things I see, for example a biased media, use of communal divisiveness for gaining votes, blatant display of money and muscle power, contempt for minorities of all kinds and the 'weaker' gender. I find my affinity for AAP and my great respect for Arvind Kejriwal go much deeper than mere political affiliation. They exist because AAP's egalitarian, truly democratic outlook and its attempt to bring in clean politics resonate with my core values as a person. And so AAP's battle has become my battle and many others like me. I had read somewhere that a person's politics reveals their character. I find this to be true.
April 29th
Was surfing news channels yesterday evening and found that all but the two NDTV channels were showcasing Modi. The programs were not about work done or what he proposes to do but focused on building a personality cult based on eulogy. One program spoke of how the rest of the world was very unhappy with the rise of a 'strong' leader like Modi in India, and his security was a big concern. Kiran Bedi, one of the panelists, was very vocal on this. I could empathise with what a North Korean national must undergo on a daily basis, being force fed on the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Sun's propaganda.
April 27th
A supporter, who volunteered as a poll booth agent for AAP in Bangalore, said that many people came up to him and said they support AAP but this time they are going with the 'majority' or BJP. This is how a biased media subverts and undermines the democratic process. The whole media, blaring under the Rs.5000 crore (estimated BJP expenditure on advertising) onslaught, had already declared BJP as the majority even before a single vote had been cast in this vast nation of ours. How can we call ourselves a free nation when we do not have a free, impartial media?
Apr23rd
Ever since I began demonstrating my strong support for AAP, I have lost a few friends. One friend began sending me virulent anti AAP email forwards and on my protesting, snapped contact. I sense anger in them, a strong resistance to the idea of AAP. They keep harping on the same few points, of AK being a deserter in Delhi, AAP being a Congress/BJP B team and no amount of explaining makes a difference. I find it intriguing. What is this resistance really against? Maybe, over the years, we have come to accept the reality of pervasive corruption around us and have adapted ourselves to it.Hence the idea of fighting it, doing something about it means changing our own entrenched thought and behavior patterns. Change is always painful, even if its for the better. Maybe AAP is showing us the mirror and we do not like what we see in it.
I also think of MK Gandhi, who evoked similar strong sentiments, in favour
and against. This world has either killed or punished severely all those who were pioneers of significant change from entrenched patterns. Examples are many.
Apr 16th
My husband, a BJP or rather Modi supporter keeps telling me AAP will lose so why am I supporting a losing party. I tell him AAP is not just about losing or winning though of course we'll be thrilled to win as many seats as possible. AAP is about an idea whose time has come. When I hear people saying AAP can never form a Govt at the centre, I remember that AAP is just one year old and for it to be seen as a pan national party is in itself, no mean achievement. AAP is here for systemic change and not just a change of power. That takes time to sink in and grow roots. But the awareness is happening and is very visible in the heated debates happening in every home, office, street corner. These elections are the most exciting ever and would that have possible without AAP on the scene? Questions about crony capitalism, criminal candidates and corruption are now being asked all over the country. Way to go India ! Bravo AAP!
Apr 10th
And so I walked down the street, on my way to my assigned spot in the AAP human chain. Wearing my AAP topi, feeling self conscious, unsure, wearing my political identity openly on the street, first time ever. It was heavy traffic time with officegoers, children going to school. I stood there, waving my flag, saying nothing, looking at people in buses, cars, bikes. There were curious stares, hesitant smiles, derisive smiles, wide grins, thumbs up signs, indifferent looks. A woman passing by, said "Good!" After some time, l began smiling and waving at people. Some responded. A man laughed and said "You are all mental!" I laughed too and said"Great!" Another AAP volunteer joined me with pamphlets and topis.A friend came up and asked me" Since when did this 'bhoot' sit on your head? You and politics?"I said,"Yes, I am in politics and this is about chasing bhoots away!" People came up and asked for topis. Some asked for pamphlets. By 11 AM, we gave away the last topi and pamphlet. I walked back home and this time I was not self conscious. I felt proud of my AAP topi, satisfied that I have done my bit to clean up the dirt in politics and am definitely game for more such campaigns. AAP zindabad !
April10th
These elections are interesting in many ways. One thing which fascinates me is that two of the major contenders are such polar opposites. Modi stands for centralized power. He says that every vote for his party is a vote for him. He is bigger than his party, bigger than its ideology. Modi is the sarkar which will single handedly take India to glory days This for me, symbolizes the 'I, Me, Myself' , the 'self aggrandisement' mindset so prevalent these days.
The other candidate Arvind Kejriwal, stands for decentralization of power. He believes in referendums, that the power should be given back to the people by making gram sabhas, mohalla sabhas. Citizens are capable of taking good decisions for themselves. He speaks of aam aadmi sarkar. His message is to vote for good candidates and send them to the parliament, from whichever party they may be. This is a new idea, a new mindset.
Let's see what India is ready for. Lets see what India chooses.
Apr9th
Venkatraman Balakrishnan AAP candidate from Central Bangalore recently visited my apartment complex. On seeing my photo with him , my cousin enquired whether I am becoming a politician soon. A few months ago, my answer would have been an aghast 'NO!" Today, I replied, "Who knows? One can never say!"So Modi says every vote for BJP is a vote for him. So vote for the BJP candidate with your eyes shut. It does not matter whether he/she is totally inefficient, corrupt or criminal. 48% of BJP candidates are tainted anyway. You just vote for Modi. What happens to the local governance? What happens to the sadak, bijli, pani in your constituency, the availability of ration in the ration shops? Isn't your local MP accountable , responsible in any way?But do not worry. Modi, the superman, the one man army will manage everything just fine from the centre. Har har Modi !
This is blatant subversion, a mockery of the democratic process by a man who does not think twice about twisting the rules to serve his ambition. Venkatraman Balakrishnan the AAP candidate from Bangalore Central said that even if the country shows a 15% growth rate, the ground reality, our daily woes will not change because 80% of government spending is eaten away in corruption. So its imperative for parties to field good, clean candidates and for voters to vote them into power. Only if the intention is clean can we have good clean efficient governance.
As a voter my vote goes to the best candidate in my constituency.That is my responsibility, my duty to the country. That is true democracy.
As a voter my vote goes to the best candidate in my constituency.That is my responsibility, my duty to the country. That is true democracy.
Apr6th
CIA/Pakistani agent OR dangerous anarchist OR bhagoda(runaway) OR dharnawala OR....
Why do I support Arvind Kejriwal?
He is obviously not a statesman, a 'seasoned' politician. I see in him a common man like me and yet someone who has a backbone. A strong one. He does not sit back and blame the system for being rotten. He wants to do something about it.
He had a IIT degree and worked in the IRS. He had a family to look after. He could have minted money and led a cushy life. But he wanted to do something for the country. He has a 12 year strong track record in social work to show for it. I see determination and strong, clear intention.
He is fearless in raising his voice against people in powerful places, against the wrongs he sees.
He has the courage to take on the lion in his den and to face him in a public debate. Success failure be damned. Even if he 'loses' this battle, I know that the war will go on.
I support him because in him I see the change I want to see in myself and around me.
And now, if I don't raise my voice and join it with his, I may never hear such a voice again.
Why do I support Arvind Kejriwal?
He is obviously not a statesman, a 'seasoned' politician. I see in him a common man like me and yet someone who has a backbone. A strong one. He does not sit back and blame the system for being rotten. He wants to do something about it.
He had a IIT degree and worked in the IRS. He had a family to look after. He could have minted money and led a cushy life. But he wanted to do something for the country. He has a 12 year strong track record in social work to show for it. I see determination and strong, clear intention.
He is fearless in raising his voice against people in powerful places, against the wrongs he sees.
He has the courage to take on the lion in his den and to face him in a public debate. Success failure be damned. Even if he 'loses' this battle, I know that the war will go on.
I support him because in him I see the change I want to see in myself and around me.
And now, if I don't raise my voice and join it with his, I may never hear such a voice again.
March 31
Yesterday, my husband's mama and mami came visiting. Both retired professionals, in their early seventies. The conversation was flowing along predictable lines, weather, food, ailments and so on, when it came up that mama was an ardent AAP supporter. So am I, I said. The conversation really hotted up after that as mama turned out to be a veritable storehouse of info on AAP. He has contributed 5 thousand rupees to AAP, he proudly informed me. We happily discussed the merits and demerits of AAP candidates and their opponents and the various controversies while my husband , a NaMo supporter watched more or less mutely.When the talk turned to the battle at Varanasi, mama said to me wistfully," Wouldn't it be great if we both could go there? We could get AAP some votes in the Bengali Tola."I sighed wistfully too. After they left, the debate on NaMo vs AK between my husband and me continued late into the night. A few months ago, all of us were politically apathetic, hopeless, disillusioned with the system. Now we are involved, interested, concerned. No matter, how many seats AAP wins or loses, the change is already here.
March28
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