SNIPPETS

है क़दम क़दम पे खतरा,

मगर आगे बढ़ रहा हूँ,

उसे मौत कैसे रोके,

जिसे ज़िन्दगी बुलाये॥

आज सवेरा आया है

ये आज सवेरा आया है,
ये आज सवेरा आया है,
अंधियारी काली रातों के बाद उजेरा आया है,
ये आज सवेरा आया है।।

उम्मीद की एक किरण के साथ,
जीवन में मतलब आया है,
आवाज़ उठाने की जन जन में कैसी हिम्मत लाया है,
ये आज सवेरा आया है।।

मैंने तुमने देखा है,
वो सपना क्या सच होगा?
जब गूँज उठी हैं राहें अब,
तो ये भी होगा, होगा, होगा॥

THE JUGGERNAUT OF CORRUPTION

Since childhood we heard talks regarding corruption and bribery anywhere and everywhere. I remember once for my school magazine i wrote an article with the help of my father in Hindi - "bhrasht-achar". The only difference I noticed in my growing years was that when we were in school, corruption was a popular topic for essay writing then it became fashionable for drawing room discussions and finally for Indian cinema. Some provocative dialogues came into the public domain, like - "mera bharat mahan, 1oo mein se 99 beiman". Later by the time I became adult, I realised corruption had almost become a non-issue, not because it was done away with rather it had become so normal and matter-of-fact thing that any discussion on it was treated as naivety.

One day I decided of becoming a journalist. I got a chance to do Journalism (Hons.) from Lady Shri Ram College. I Thought I was getting close to my dreams. Finally that golden opportunity knocked at my door. Literally knocked at my door! In our classroom a letter came with the information that a news channel had come up and was looking for young journalists. I immediately along with a friend went to the Habitat Center for the interview. There were two to three rounds of the selection process. Finally I got selected. I thought that was it but unaware of the next turn of events I kept basking in the glory of getting into the field of choice. Then suddenly and unexpectedly my executive producer asked me to leave for Chennai to get the bureau started. I took up the challenge with of course some shivers. For some time i was liking it. I was always interested in social issue based stories and Chennai in 2005 served stories on a platter for me. People were still living under the shadow of Tsunami destruction and agony. In many Tsunami relief shelters people were almost living within and around the rot. Some were the victims of mismanagement, some of discrimination and mostly were victims of syphoning off business of the relief aid.

After some time I heard of something unusual happening in the villages near Madurai. In the constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Castes stange thing had been happening for years. After the elections, almost within 5mins, the elected candidate was made to resign and some puppet candidate used to be decided upon. People who refused to resign or opposed had to either bid adieu to their lives or the whole family was boycotted. It would be wrong to say that all that was happening under the nose of the officers in charge of the area rather it should be said that it was happening under the auspices of the officers with their humble protection. I went there and expressed my desire to meet the new puppet candidate. People guided me to the hut. I peeped in and saw an extremely old man, so detached from the world around him almost like a saint who had transcended this world. He finaaly came out. He could hardly hear or speak. He could even barely walk, though he tried it with a stick - who was supporting who remains a mystery. There could not be any better puppet in his competition. He was beyond competition. Suddenly Gandhi ji's ideals struck me - "bura mat dekho, bura mat suno, bura mat bolo". This man's organs were automatically not allowing him any of the three! I talked to the people of the village and could easily sense the helplessness that prevailed. I pictured all of it and the story went on air. I knew this story was covered bu=y te local media as well and nothing had changed and my story would also meet the same fate. I knew it would just catch people's attention as just another 'Bekieve it or not' story.

The number of such stories was increasing on my table and i was finding it difficult to contain my emotions and sentiments. This was the period when it was believed that media was only interested in the famous three Cs - crime, cricket and cinema and of course not to leave out sex scandals. People had witnessed Tehelka team's fate when it tried to create revolution through its investigative methods. My conscience started troubling me. I was a new entrant to this field. On the one hand I somehow had to file stories to establish myself while on the other hand I felt sad and useless that I was only able to put people's miseries on display and nothing else. Everyone was saying that media in this country was ineffective and could be silenced easily. It was believed one could only work in this field if one didn't possess conscience. At that time I was too young to be diplomatic and balanced. I did something surprising. I even surprised myself! By the time people could suggest me anything I was already ready with my resignation letter. I thought I would not be able to sell my stories in the then market. It demanded real business skills which i felt were beyond my comprehension. I thought of cleansing my system by taking some time off and studying further. I went on to do my masters in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University. By now I had also stopped discussing corruption. Though I used to wonder how would it feel like living in a corruption free zone. Somewhere it used to give a sense of deprivation when everytime India fared badly in surveys regarding corruption and credibility. Everyone had accepted it as part and parcel of life no matter what you do. I used to strain my mind at times to think what could be done or could there be any solution ever but in front of this juggernaut of corruption my thinking faculties failed me. It was hard to believe that in a system run by corruption, there could be any honest. We kept hearing about corrupt officers and politicians. The moment people got into civil services, it was believed their lives are made, not because of the job rather the kind of opportunity they would get to suck in all the money. Dowry rates were always high for the higher rung officers. Then I saw that dowry rates were getting higher and higher even for the lowest in the order! Why? Ah! Obviously because merely the tag of a government job was good enough even if the salary wasn't! The son-in -law would anyway extract enough bribe to sustain generations after generations.Then finally I thought that this could happen some day after the complete overhauling of generations, when the real change of heart took place within each individual. Things were almost left to destiny.

Once i had read an article in ' The New Indian Express' in Chennai saying, "Where are the thinkers in India?". Suddenly after all these years a miracle happened. Some people took up the cause and envisioned a fight against corruption. It was believed that the people of India had made themselves comfortable on the back foot. They do not wish to come out of their comfort zones but the day came when all the barriers were broken, all the misconceptions were flung away. I do not know from where this hope and faith came that tables could be turned and the common man can be transformed into a fighter against corruption. We are getting back our fighting spirit. We can give a tough fight to something seen as fate. The whole country except for the corrupt few joined hands in the battle. With the efforts of the intelligent and brave members of India Against Corruption and the strength and sustenance capabilities of the countrymen we are pulling ourselves back from the grave. Let us never get back there again! Today I am also glad about the fact the way media is handling such issues. In my earlier posting on this site I had expressed my grief regarding the unfortunate state of affairs of Indian media but I can see and feel now that times definitely are changing - for the good.