When one has to suffer a news report of workers fixing a residence for a former Prime Minister, one realises how backward we are as a modern nation state. Nowhere is this farce conducted. Leaders move in and move out of official homes and do not expect governments to allocate accommodation to them for life. It is a joke. In fact, it is something to be ashamed of. Then, for a national news channel to inflict a film of the laying of pipes and drainage pits on its viewers, without any editorial comment in support or against, puts the priorities of the press in perspective!
There are many value judgements one can make on this business of clinging on to luxurious superficiality that would sound politically incorrect and snooty to share here. Better to be restrained. Atalji is no different from Gujral and the rest.
Other senior officers cling to their no-longer-official residences as well but they find rationales…that the new incumbent does not want to move in immediately and such like. They do not want to give up the perks that come with these high jobs. It is an upmarket form of beggary! Why are they not dignified? Why do they not go home to their personal owned or rented homes like all of us? Why are they parasites of the state? How can anyone respect them? Dr Manmohan Singh should bring an end to this gross and embarrassing subsidy.
Then there are those non-classy BMWs that look like vehicles that belong to underworld dons, cars that titillate the upwardly mobile. Another bad taste vehicle is the stretch limo! Such symbols of unnecessary extravagance that our leadership envelops itself in, is what maddens the average Indian. Austerity is classy, it carries far more style and integrity, it endorses the intellect rather than the greed for superficial bits and bobs that separate the leaders from reality. It is all becoming rather skewed.
Then there was the question of changing the Governors. According to the Constitution, the Governors are recommended by Cabinet and sent to the President for endorsement. It is difficult to comprehend why the BJP or any past or future government should get so hyper and agitated over such changes. Surely you cannot expect a UPA government to keep a self-professed RSS man appointed by the outgoing NDA as its Governor. It is absurd to say the least. The fact that Cabinet recommends the appointment of Governors makes the decision political. Why would any Cabinet recommend an adversary? It is all rather absurd and a waste of time.
However, it is different with bureaucrats. In recent years, politicians have begun to bring their favourites into their ministries and institutions for the tenure that they serve. This has politicised the service and encouraged a great deal of victimisation of officers. Wrong. Often, a competent officer is cast aside because he or she has served a previous political boss. This is detrimental to future career prospects. Those who are manipulative and adept at playing the political game, land on their feet regardless and get away with it. In other words, honourable people get had and opportunists have a hey day.
There has been no victimisation of officers who served in the last regime so far…a good start, a corrective. However, there are some who were in cahoots with their corrupt political masters, with enough evidence to prove their tacit involvement, who need to be transferred forthwith if a cleansing is to happen. Tricky. Maybe the time has come to restructure the norms of the bureaucracy.
Thank heavens for Lalu Prasad ? khadi is a wonderful fabric that breathes beautifully, ideal for the Indian climate. It is the most appropriate fabric for sheets on the Railways, for the more they are washed on the bhatti, the softer they will get. Indigo and madder dyed curtains, the colours of India ? no ghastly prints please ? and heavy khadi uniforms for the staff will be ideal. The cloth comes in varying weights and counts and the most stylish people in the world use khadi for their summer suits.
It saddened me watching VK Malhotra scoff its use. He obviously knows no better and is a synthetic junkie! That suffocating smell of body odour which overwhelms us comes from synthetic fibres that middle-class India loves to wear. Sweat and synthetics produce an unbearable stench. It is also a fire hazard ? kills off women in the kitchen. And as for mixed masala tea in a kullar, nothing tastes better. I long for kullar tea at a railway platform. There are two choices for a perfect cuppa ? bone china or a kullar. Plastic stinks and plastic cups are truly dreadful to drink from. Those cups are not biodegradable and should be banned. Well done Laluji.