Thursday, March 19, 2015

Good Killed to Protect the Evil: Governance at its worst.

D K Ravi, an IAS Officer in Karnataka State, known to be honest, upright, efficient and with lot of social concern especially towards the downtrodden, dies in a mysterious circumstances. The Government did not stand by him both when he was alive and even after his death. When Ravi took on the land and sand mafia along with the mafia's politician and bureaucrat nexus in Kolar as its DC, getting great relief to common people, the Government not only did not support him with security (whether he asks or not) and commendation but also allowed him to suffer the threats and pressure from mafia nexus. Instead, Ravi was transferred under the pretext of his father-in-law's request without realising that the request was wholly based on the tremendous pressure his son-in-law is facing in Kolar. Government did nothing to ease its honest Officer's pressure but punished him with the transfer, thereby demonstrating that Government stands by the side of the defaulting mafia.

When Ravi was transferred as AC, Commercial Tax Department, Bangalore, he continued his good work here too: raided many firms, unearthed many tax frauds and evasions by bigwigs and accrued huge amounts to the Government  Exchequer. Even here, he received serious threats and pressures, yet, Government did not give him any support including security and moral.

When he died, his body was hanging from the ceiling fan. Government immediately without any proper enquiry issued statement that it is a case of suicide for personal reason. Government's intention to hush up factors contributing to the death begins from here that is continuing even till date. All those who are known to Ravi swear that Ravi is not that type who would commit suicide for any reason. It is said that the houses Ravi raided included Minsters and top bigwigs in realty and some of them contributing to the death cannot be ruled out. Yet, Government orders COD investigation, COD comes under the control of the Government, Government alignment with the mafia rather than Ravi is demonstrated both when  Ravi was in Kolar and in Bangalore. One should not only be fair but appears (demonstrates) to be so too. Government on its own should have handed over the enquiry to a third party such as CBI, in honour of one of its own honest Officer, a great asset to any good governance, and thereby instil confidence in all the honest officer in the State. Instead, by ordering enquiry on its own lapses, commissions and omissions by its own officers, Government's bonafides in securing justice is questioned, besides demoralising its own employees. Even the Government's plea that it would refer the case to CBI if need be after two weeks after seeing the progress made by COD may also be a ploy at concealment of truth as by that time Ravi's body would be decomposed and the CBI would not get anything if it decides to exhume the body for reinvestigation.

The Government which does not protect and promote goodness and punish and prevent the evil - shishtha rakshaka, dushtha shikshaka - is an enemy of the Society.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

A Personal History: IT IS ALL WOMEN WITH WHOM I GREW UP AND BECOME WHAT I AM

I was five year old, I am told, when my mother died. I have a very vague memory of her. I am also told that I was a very tempestuous child - a far cry from what I am ever since my memory! - more so with my mother which she used to put up with broad smile and enormous love. I even once seems to have told that if she dies I would get different mother who would give me what I want; it haunts me ever although have said it when I was a naughty baby. I never got one like her since, how could one ever get. My temper must have been toned down irretrievably and forever ever since having missed a mother like her. Afterwords,  I was with the care of my grandmother, a step mother of my father, and my mother's mother little away during my school vacation. The males in the family were too busy in reconstructing a life after the division of joint family just then, hardly had any time for my care. When I was put in a distant relative's family for four years for my "Middle School" (as it was then called) days I was again under the care of a woman, a widow, who was the head of the family. In all my student days, although I was fortunate to have exceptionally good and intimate friends in Giri (M.N.Hegde) and Sada (G.S.Sadashiva), all my other true friends, many in number, were all women with whom I mingled with no thought of gender in the mind. The place I worked/taught with my subject, the vast majority of my colleagues and students were women whose friendliness I can never forget.

When I got married and set up the house in 1968, I was the lone male living with two women in the family: my wife and her mother/my mother-in-law. Soon, another female arrived, my daughter, my only child. I lived with these three women in the family for the next 33 years and then loosing (in death)  all the three  one by one during 1995-2009, first my mother-in-law, then my daughter and finally my wife. Later, it was a woman again, a student of mine, who, along with her brothers and mother,  related to my situation, of being alone, and offered help, and her care and concern remains to day even though  now she is married and living in abroad.

My memories of love and affection are all women related: Mother, Grand Mother, Mother-In-Law, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Friends. I know, Good and Bad, Love and Hate, Brilliant and the Bore are not gender specific, may be equally divided among the sexes and yet I cannot get over the feeling, call it biased if you think so, that women are far more superior, far more intelligent, far more sensitive and far more caring. I grew amidst women and have become what I am because of them.

I am 73 now. It is agonising to see women put to such indignities even in recent times.

My salutations to all women on this Women's Day.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

All are welcome to participate in this noble project
bone marrow donation registry
YOUTUBE