We have heard that when the stomach growls, one has to just feed it. But no one has told us what to do when the stomach wants to stay hungry, or better yet, wants to be empty and un-hungry.
Of course, the guru to tell us exactly what to do is here – Mr. Hazare. He says, “Go on a fast.” He practices what he preaches. He went on two indefinite fasts and has threatened, ever so frequently, to go on limited editions – for one day, three days etc. He pacifies his stomach, and so should we.
While Mr. Hazare has hi-jacked the corruption issue, there are many more where that came from – mining for minerals and sand; water mafia in urban areas; land mafia anywhere and everywhere; environmental clearance; forest mafia; footpath mafia; eve-teasing; spurious medicines; seats in colleges and nursery schools and all levels in between; appeasement of minorities; Ramayana; Ayodhya; Ram Setu; Valentine’s Day; Shri Ram Sene; Christmas; Dwarka (lest Lord Krishna feel left out); UID; Food Security Bill; Bhagvad Gita and Russia; slum regularization (but not tax amnesty; admittedly, it has been a while since the last one!) … the list is endless.
The pool of issues waiting to be fasted-upon will definitely cater to India’s 1.2 billion plus population (Oh, I forgot, some percentage of the population is already fasting – malnutrition!).
Ladies and Gentleman, pick an issue and follow the leader, Mr. Hazare!
Let Us Start Fasting!
Let us pacify our un-hungry stomachs!
Raghuram Ekambaram
Of course, the guru to tell us exactly what to do is here – Mr. Hazare. He says, “Go on a fast.” He practices what he preaches. He went on two indefinite fasts and has threatened, ever so frequently, to go on limited editions – for one day, three days etc. He pacifies his stomach, and so should we.
While Mr. Hazare has hi-jacked the corruption issue, there are many more where that came from – mining for minerals and sand; water mafia in urban areas; land mafia anywhere and everywhere; environmental clearance; forest mafia; footpath mafia; eve-teasing; spurious medicines; seats in colleges and nursery schools and all levels in between; appeasement of minorities; Ramayana; Ayodhya; Ram Setu; Valentine’s Day; Shri Ram Sene; Christmas; Dwarka (lest Lord Krishna feel left out); UID; Food Security Bill; Bhagvad Gita and Russia; slum regularization (but not tax amnesty; admittedly, it has been a while since the last one!) … the list is endless.
The pool of issues waiting to be fasted-upon will definitely cater to India’s 1.2 billion plus population (Oh, I forgot, some percentage of the population is already fasting – malnutrition!).
Ladies and Gentleman, pick an issue and follow the leader, Mr. Hazare!
Let Us Start Fasting!
Let us pacify our un-hungry stomachs!
Raghuram Ekambaram
4 comments:
Raghu, I Me and Myself strongly condemn your rating of our leader. Lokpal will solve all the problems in this country, you must know it :P
Balu, if the Lokpal bill solved hazare'sun-hungry stomach problem, that would be sufficient. The mandiwallahs are trembling about the collapse of the grain and vegetable markets :P
RE
Going off on tangent...I wonder sometimes Raghu if all of us who can afford to eat, consciously skipped a meal a week, how much that would save in making food available to the hungry. A dalit colleague of mine, who has faced hunger as a school going child, puts it very succintly...a poor and hungry person is one who eats only when food is available to him,all others who have a choice whether to eat or not to eat do not qualify.
No, it ain't tangent Aditi ... in Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen makes precisely the point your colleague made - there IS a difference between GOING ON A FAST (weekly religious fasting, Karva Chauth etc., not to mention the Hazare, MKG type) and BEING MADE TO FAST (food unavailble, unaffordable etc.)
Ask that colleague of yours about the mid-day meal scheme, even as bad the scheme is being implemented, the food almost inedible etc. I would not hazard a guess about his response.
RE
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