By the people, for the people, of the people ???

Yeah, I am talking about the "D" word! Next to the "F" word it is probably the most controversial word in the making.

Cannot help but hear it at least a few times a day, be it in India or the United States.

India : largest Democracy
USA : worlds largest exporter of Democracy

So much of this word that pretty soon it would be Democrazy!!

I am writing about this after I listened to Terry's interview of Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani Journalist, on public radio. It put the word in an all new context!

Democracy is what we want it to be, people. The funny thing is everyone votes, thinking there is a majority opinion out there that has finally made it! Even if the rule of law is not representative of the majority or the system, no one will ever know! Why ? Because the people is a large body and every individual is but a drop in the ocean.

Let us say you are someone like me wondering "why is there more war talk when almost all the people around me dont want the war ?" or "why are we adjusting the clock two weeks ahead, or why are we adjusting the clocks at all ?"...

Then maybe you rationalize the fact that there is war and daylight savings inspite of everyone around you telling you that they are against it, because there must be a great many people in the ocean of democracy who want the war and the daylight savings and they have the majority vote !!

However, they do announce in opinion polls etc., that <40% of the people support the war! Either people say they do not support it and are secretly voting for it or everyone thinks there are a majority of people who must want the war, when in reality it is a few smart people who know how Democracy really works!!

It works using "the other guys must have voted against what I voted for" syndrome!!

In India I used to ask myself "why in the world would anyone do a budget like this? pass a law like this ? etc. etc." and think "I am from the middle class. India is the land of the poor. Maybe the poor majority likes these rules.". But my theory would be dashed to pieces when people who are from poorer segments, like the maids who used to help with cleaning the house and dishes also agree with my ideas or say "they dont want those things either!". Same thing in the US of A with the War!!

Hope the genius in me has finally figured this out!

Now, on the lighter side, you have to watch this video. Puts some things in context while still being hilarious!

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Corruption ?

Read this post by Sree recently. Was reminded of my own post, just after I started blogging !!

Guess things havent changed much in two years!

This post is not just about those questions. It is about the reference to the movie Guru!

Mani Ratnam has made a great movie, a real entertainer and I give him credit for it.

If you have watched Aviator, you cannot help but wonder if a few scenes from Guru have taken their inspiration from Aviator. Would especially point to the one where Leonardo or Abhishek sit down in front of the panel and they take a good look all the whirring video cameras, or the ones where both of them say "do whatever it takes to get the contract". Leonardo offers prostitutes, Abhishek offers a veiled threat!

The jist of Aviator(Guru) is that Howard Hughes (Gurukant Desai) wants to be the king of the Aviation(textile) industry in US (India) and eventually the world, and he has to fight corruption at the Senator(Minister) level to be just that. In doing so, he faces the wrath of the govenment, stockholders, competitors, and the press, then goes through an inquiry comittee and finally comes out with minor damages! In short one man fights against a system that tries to hold him down when he starts firing on all cylinders!

Aviator is more of a biography that focus on Hughes and his disease while Guru is a love story for the most part! So the movies have a look and feel that is very very different.

What is interesting is that :
Howard Hughes - Mid 1940's!
Dhirubhai (Guru) - Mid 1970's!

I do not think things have changed much in the USA or India in regards to the system! The only difference in my opinion is people in the USA are exposed to these corruption levels only if they are multi millionaries, trying to become billionaries. In India even the poorest end up tasting the system!

To clarify, you cannot bribe traffic cops or building inspectors in the US. People who represent the rule of law that an average citizen would normally come in contact! At least I have not heard of any instances. We do get stories of corrupt politicians who take bribes in all forms almost on a daily basis when we tune into public radio!! (Cunningham, Abramof stories, etc. etc.).
I guess in the US, "A bribe too small is not worth taking!!". (I like the way that just came out. Should trademark this Gandhimadhi style!).

As long as sparrows have existed, so have sparrowhawks!! As long as citizens exist, there will be politicians, a goverment by the people, of the people, for the people, that also screws the people if they challenge the government in any way!