Skip to main content

Usne Kiyaa... He Did It... He Did it...

Usne Kiyaa... He Did It... He Did it...


That sound familiar? No? Well, it should. That is what every media vehicle and every citizen scream every single day, Monday ho yaa Sunday. Every day, without fail, regardless of occasion, we can hear this in some form or the other. It is a ritualistic utterance in some cases; insincere in others; and unfortunately sincere in some... 

I am talking about the response to the challenges and problems facing India. From governance to corruption: for every problem, we have a staple response. Usne Kiyaa! He Did It! It Wasnt Me! I Didnt Do It! He Did It! It Was That Person! And lo and behold, the focus of the entire nation shifts to the evil uncultured political class,or the government officers, or the policemen, or... but no. It was never us; we didnt do it. No. Nope. Never. Nada. We are innocent babes, pure as the driven snow. 

Now take a step back and observe. Let us observe corruption from afar - and not that piffling and trivial 10-buck corruption that we encounter ever day. I am talking big bucks. Let us take any major scam: observe how normal everyday Indians act as mute spectators to ongoing corruption. For example, when balance sheets are inflated - as in Satyam - it is painfully obvious that quite a few respectable normal citizens would have been aware - finance managers; clerks etc. When inflated subsidy bills are prepared, again a chain of normal people must have been involved; the people who made the delivery challans, bills, claims etc. For bad roads, an entire chain - starting from the bitumen provider, the granite quarry, engineers of the construction firm, government engineers,  clerks etc would have to be aware. For Land Scams, the clerks of the office as well as others in the chan have to be aware. For any scam to successfully operate - it is a given that the silence of the normal man is also an unwitting cause.  It is also a given that any number of junior functionaries has to be involved for it to be carried forward. 

Who is responsible? Only the Government? Only the crooks? Only the political class? What about the clerk who made the fake challan? What about the sales channel that provided third-grade bitumen? What about the guy who made the balance sheets? What about the clerks in his department, some of who must have realised? What about the guy who made those lovely excel sheets?

Usne Kiyaa???? He Did It? Really? Is our moral compass so bloody skewed that we cannot see where the normal Indian has gone wrong? We routinely offer bribed to cops, to government clerks and officials - even without being asked for. We agree to give - aah - envelopes to important officers without even a twinge, a tweak of our conscience. Dont we know what is inside the envelope? Dont we know that the material is third rate? Dont we know that M/s XYZ Pvt Ltd has only been supplied 4 consignments? Dont we know that the profit cannot possibly be as high as claimed, as we are the people who prepare those damned daily reports, monitor costs and sales etc? Dont we know that the bloody building has a height of 48 feet plus-minus 6 feet, and therefore the claim of 78 feet of insulated wire is just crap? What bullshit are we talking about? Usne Kiyaa? He Did It?





Humne Kiyaa! We Did It! It Was Us! All Of Us! We Are Guilty!

As I always say - Jaago, Sonewaalon~!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PK, The Movie : One Of The Best...

\ PK : A Movie Ahead Of Its Time; A Movie That Is A Very Vital And Current Need! I dont normally review movies; my blog does not lend itself to such an activity, given its positioning as one that asks some tough questions to Indians. I am making an exception for this movie, not because it is a landmark movie {which it is}, but because this movie is also one that asks some pretty blunt, and to some people, offensive questions.  It is rather sad and humbling to see the vigorous protests to this movie, and some cases of active on-street protests and interference in some places. Sad, because there is almost nothing in the content that should excite such actions; and humbling because it is a painful reminder that we as a nation have still a ways to go in our quest for true development! Before I move onto the movie, I have just one question : did the protesters also protest to Haider? If no, you did not find the negative portrayal of The Indian Army objecti

Tarkeshwar Mahadev : Pune Hidden Gems

What do you do when you have something good, something that is praiseworthy, and something that can be an attraction? Answer, if you are in Pune – keep silent about it, tell no one. This is seemingly exaggerated – perhaps it is exaggerated; but I am flabbergasted by a series of unbelievable locations that I have visited in Pune City – within main Pune City, mind you . These are not well known – at least not one single localite informed me, even on asking . At least those I talked. If I didn’t talk to the right people, perhaps I am in the wrong. But – if you expand your vision to TV, Cinema, Popular opinion, hotels – the situation above gets proof. I earlier visited Pune on a family holiday, stayed in a good Hotel. Not one Hotel informed me of these; not one person – Taxi, Tour Guide – even mentioned these . Thus, it seems to me that Puneites don’t realise how lovely a city they have, how mesmerizing are its many, many tourist-worthy places, how rich and unspoiled,

Book Review : Chhatrapati Shivaji

Chhattrapati Shivaji stands as one of the most celebrated medieval heroes in Modern India; it is a name that touches a chord in almost every Indian, and is a powerful force to reckon with even today, three centuries after his death. He is present everywhere you can see; he is one of the few to withstand the onslaught of naming everything in sight after the Nehru family. A Chhatrapati square her, a Shivaji Terminus there – many cities have honoured themselves with some landmark, statue, street or square in his name. Such is his current followership, and so powerful is his presence. This makes reviewing any book related on this personality a big responsibility, a tough task  – and not one to be taken with insincerity, or with bias,  or attitude. I had always thought of The Chhatrapati as a tall personality, a commanding and great Indian; but had never given a thought to the pull, the deep connect and the powerful influence this genius had on me; as I read the current book, as I t