Gujjars, Gurkhas, Sikhs.. and others on the NH

In the good old days, only thing holding up traffic on the National Highways were half finished stretches of road or accidents. Things have come a long way now. Most NHs are completed upto nearly 75% of the way. So they are repairing the completed part all the time.... Thats is because it happens only in India.

I am not sure who started it.. to my memory it could have been the Gujjars but may be somebody else did it first... Now every protester knows that for best results, you blockade the city / state's life line... the National Highway and railway tracks. New Delhi, Maharastra, Sikkim.. Funny thing to note about Sikkim. This state is cut off from the rest of the country thanks to the Gurkha protests in the neighbouring state. The only outsiders to visit Sikkim this week were the Chinese troops. In today's succession ridden India, it is good to note that the people of Sikkim were not happy with their visitors.

There are many contributing factors to this broadside against civil society. I wont chorus with the media to say there is a lack of political will. That refers to passing of legislative bills. It is a lack of leadership. We have no leaders who will stand by their decisions. Everyone talks about the qualifications of our Prime Minister. Yeah, we are proud to have him.. But then aren't our bureaucrats qualified. Why do we need to elect a leader if qualification is all that it takes to run a country like India? In an interview about Indira Gandhi, Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw recalled the Prime Minister asking him to help the rebels in East Pakistan (Bangladesh). When he told her that it could lead to a war.. "if it is war, it is war" was her reply.

Strong leadership is lacking in the country. No imagination, no new ideas and as a result the nation is adrift. Every protester, every political denomination, anyone with a grouse can bring the country to a standstill. The prices would have surely risen this week in Mumbai. There is no one to put a stop to it. Our Ministers are in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The only people to get a raise in their salary this year were the bureaucrats.

Thankfully, Karnataka is bandh free for a couple of months now (touch wood)... but my petrol is taxed more than the national average... May be I should pitch a tent on the national highway too!!