I have aired the below views purely as a patriotic Indian whose blood boils like every other Indian seeing the quality of politicians and how rotten the whole system has become that it has reached a stage where it has gone beyond hopes of restoring honesty, dignity and concept of service. We have a half-a-thousand idiots sitting and eating the tax-payers money.
To me, the Dec 13 attack on parliament was the biggest opportunity we ever had to clean up this political system. Few security guards who sacrificed their lives fighting out the terrorist, did their duty as per their training, preventing the terrorist from getting into the parliament house when almost 80% of elected idiots were present. But if they been little sensible, they could have allowed the men to get inside, and then nabbed by circling the whole building. They (terrorist) are suicide attackers and so they would have committed suicide instead of getting caught. But this was the best possible chance that we ever got to clean up. Yes, there could have been deaths of some gentleman politician – who have always worked for the people, have not misused their power, have not received single penny as bribe, lived a simple life, but they would have gone down in history as who sacrificed their life similar to what great freedom fighters did to this country.
Friday, November 04, 2005
One has to be a VIP to get darshan (of Lord Ranganatha) at Srirangam temple
I was a little skeptical when I started writing about this as a prickly feeling ran through my mind that I am going to write about the temple in India which still attracts major crowd, probably second to Tirupathi. I was born, brought up, educated in the city of Trichy and had been regularly going to the temple at an average of once a week (till I was in my college). Looking now at the increasing malpractices being committed by the temple authorities, I have to admit that the temple is being grossly mismanaged with its funds.
It is sad that the deity which is the only one to have been worshipped and sung in praise by 11 azwars (Tirupathi is next with 10 azwars) is in such a bad state that it has become a VIP temple and not a temple for common man. For the millions of devotees and rupees that are poured in by the people, the temple can be managed in a much better way.
One needs to have special rapport with the temple authorities to get to worship the main deity, Lord Ranganatha, more than his / her devotion. It will be a rare occasion if an individual gets to worship by paying the nominal fee as specified.
During the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, apart from the indiscipline that people exhibit, acting with little common sense and throw an artificial display of bhakthi, the ad-hoc arrangements by the temple to regulate the queue adds woes. On this day, people who couldn’t get to go in the early morning auspicious hours, tend to go in the afternoon. A special fee of 50 is charged (which might increase next year without any reason) and without any mercy, the people will be asked to wait coolly even for 2-3 hours to catch the glimpse of the deity. Two years back, on this same occasion, four of us went to experience the vaikunta ekadasi by paying up 200 Rs per head. The funny part was that the temple authorities didn’t had a clue on the number of such tickets issued. We were asked to be in by 1 AM (early morning) and without planning and foreseeing the number of people who can be accommodated in the small enclosure, they kept on allowing the people who had the tickets. It was almost 4.30 AM and almost after frantic crying and shouting by the people in our section due to suffocation, they opened the gate to allow us inside. The cruelest part is that people who buy this ticket is supposed to go through a pain-less worship!!
The above is not just a one-off incident, but a regular feature of Srirangam temple. You have to be a VIP and then you get all the respects. If you are able to pay a huge amount (in terms of lakhs probably), they might even bring the lord to your house for a special worship. The temple has become a business house and sadly, unlike Tirupathi, there is no accountability and responsibilities for the atrocities being committed. When large number of people would be waiting for hours in the queue, a VIP (of all the reasons, he will be cine actor) will walk in casually with his brigade and he will be accosted by the authorities themselves ignoring the poor people. One can accept the reason if the VIP is a religious scholar or a great personality, but why on earth the temple should allow someone because he happens to be a cine personality?
I feel that the recent flood alert is just a warning from the deity himself on the growing atrocities in the temple. The day of punishment is not too far away for those who had been earning the hatred of common public. Srirangam is no more a temple for the public, but becoming a private temple with no one to question the management.
It is sad that the deity which is the only one to have been worshipped and sung in praise by 11 azwars (Tirupathi is next with 10 azwars) is in such a bad state that it has become a VIP temple and not a temple for common man. For the millions of devotees and rupees that are poured in by the people, the temple can be managed in a much better way.
One needs to have special rapport with the temple authorities to get to worship the main deity, Lord Ranganatha, more than his / her devotion. It will be a rare occasion if an individual gets to worship by paying the nominal fee as specified.
During the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, apart from the indiscipline that people exhibit, acting with little common sense and throw an artificial display of bhakthi, the ad-hoc arrangements by the temple to regulate the queue adds woes. On this day, people who couldn’t get to go in the early morning auspicious hours, tend to go in the afternoon. A special fee of 50 is charged (which might increase next year without any reason) and without any mercy, the people will be asked to wait coolly even for 2-3 hours to catch the glimpse of the deity. Two years back, on this same occasion, four of us went to experience the vaikunta ekadasi by paying up 200 Rs per head. The funny part was that the temple authorities didn’t had a clue on the number of such tickets issued. We were asked to be in by 1 AM (early morning) and without planning and foreseeing the number of people who can be accommodated in the small enclosure, they kept on allowing the people who had the tickets. It was almost 4.30 AM and almost after frantic crying and shouting by the people in our section due to suffocation, they opened the gate to allow us inside. The cruelest part is that people who buy this ticket is supposed to go through a pain-less worship!!
The above is not just a one-off incident, but a regular feature of Srirangam temple. You have to be a VIP and then you get all the respects. If you are able to pay a huge amount (in terms of lakhs probably), they might even bring the lord to your house for a special worship. The temple has become a business house and sadly, unlike Tirupathi, there is no accountability and responsibilities for the atrocities being committed. When large number of people would be waiting for hours in the queue, a VIP (of all the reasons, he will be cine actor) will walk in casually with his brigade and he will be accosted by the authorities themselves ignoring the poor people. One can accept the reason if the VIP is a religious scholar or a great personality, but why on earth the temple should allow someone because he happens to be a cine personality?
I feel that the recent flood alert is just a warning from the deity himself on the growing atrocities in the temple. The day of punishment is not too far away for those who had been earning the hatred of common public. Srirangam is no more a temple for the public, but becoming a private temple with no one to question the management.
Paying tax and filing returns
Dear Mr.Chidambaram
I fully agree to your point that it is the foremost duty of every citizen to declare their income and pay up the taxes properly. It is very heartening indeed to note the steps being taken by you to uncover the black money. But do you honestly think this make the people realize and declare their proper income every year and thus make a better India?
Have you ever thought of asking your politician friends to declare their income which would suffice this nation for at least another 5 years without collecting any tax from ordinary and salaried citizens? If the politician b****** (starting with letter ‘b’ could also be bigwigs) are coughed up, the revenue to the government would be to such an extent that it can catapult India’s treasury.
You are only targeting the salaried individuals who do pay taxes properly and often they are the ones who are burdened with additional revenues to the politician pockets - in the name of relief fund for floods, earthquakes and natural calamities. You don’t mind asking the state government when they request 1000 crores as relief fund (on how it is proposed to be used) for natural disaster aftermath. Has the government at least once tried to find out how the funds have been used and whether the affected people have been really benefited?
Every time, a disaster strikes, the relief is always sanctioned in the order of crores without evaluating, because the people who approve very well know that they will get sufficient commission and strike a handsome deal. By the time, the money is on the verge of reaching common man, it would have got diluted by so called peoples’ representatives (in the name of ministers) acting as middle men for swindling money for their own personal use. And no government dares to question the use of the sanctioned money because everyone in the line got their lions share.
Oh how ridiculous was the proposed policy to levy 10% of transaction fee for every 10000 withdrawal from savings account? Mr.PC - only the common man has their savings in bank account. People who swindle money do not keep them in SBI or other nationalized or private banks. God luckily gave you that insight and at the last minute, you changed it to current account. But pray, among all the people, what made you hit upon that strange idea of 10% will be a mystery for ever.
As a first step, can you please make your politician friends to declare their income and pay up taxes and also reduce the amount of luxury you people enjoy being ministers and secretaries? Starting from air traveling concessions, you people enjoy almost everything to telephone bills, and electricity bills. And it doesn’t stop when you are in power. The president of India, after retirement from office, still enjoys the best life and comforts and his house is excluded from any CBI raids. Wonder why there is no retirement age for politicians which will at least stop the money swindling to an extent.
There is no way you can expect the people to be honest when you politicians, self-claimed as “honest and clean”, start discharging the duties that were promised during election campaigns. You can’t make a better India when we have politician, with many of them with criminal records and still get re-elected every time.
- View of a patriotic, sincere and tax-paying Indian
I fully agree to your point that it is the foremost duty of every citizen to declare their income and pay up the taxes properly. It is very heartening indeed to note the steps being taken by you to uncover the black money. But do you honestly think this make the people realize and declare their proper income every year and thus make a better India?
Have you ever thought of asking your politician friends to declare their income which would suffice this nation for at least another 5 years without collecting any tax from ordinary and salaried citizens? If the politician b****** (starting with letter ‘b’ could also be bigwigs) are coughed up, the revenue to the government would be to such an extent that it can catapult India’s treasury.
You are only targeting the salaried individuals who do pay taxes properly and often they are the ones who are burdened with additional revenues to the politician pockets - in the name of relief fund for floods, earthquakes and natural calamities. You don’t mind asking the state government when they request 1000 crores as relief fund (on how it is proposed to be used) for natural disaster aftermath. Has the government at least once tried to find out how the funds have been used and whether the affected people have been really benefited?
Every time, a disaster strikes, the relief is always sanctioned in the order of crores without evaluating, because the people who approve very well know that they will get sufficient commission and strike a handsome deal. By the time, the money is on the verge of reaching common man, it would have got diluted by so called peoples’ representatives (in the name of ministers) acting as middle men for swindling money for their own personal use. And no government dares to question the use of the sanctioned money because everyone in the line got their lions share.
Oh how ridiculous was the proposed policy to levy 10% of transaction fee for every 10000 withdrawal from savings account? Mr.PC - only the common man has their savings in bank account. People who swindle money do not keep them in SBI or other nationalized or private banks. God luckily gave you that insight and at the last minute, you changed it to current account. But pray, among all the people, what made you hit upon that strange idea of 10% will be a mystery for ever.
As a first step, can you please make your politician friends to declare their income and pay up taxes and also reduce the amount of luxury you people enjoy being ministers and secretaries? Starting from air traveling concessions, you people enjoy almost everything to telephone bills, and electricity bills. And it doesn’t stop when you are in power. The president of India, after retirement from office, still enjoys the best life and comforts and his house is excluded from any CBI raids. Wonder why there is no retirement age for politicians which will at least stop the money swindling to an extent.
There is no way you can expect the people to be honest when you politicians, self-claimed as “honest and clean”, start discharging the duties that were promised during election campaigns. You can’t make a better India when we have politician, with many of them with criminal records and still get re-elected every time.
- View of a patriotic, sincere and tax-paying Indian
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