The Meaning of Independence Day Today! (Speech, 15.8.2010)

Exactly 63 years ago, our forefathers waited, fought and went to jail for this day - August 15^th.

Today this is the day a lot of us wait for; but to take make that trip you have been waiting for or for that sleep you have been waiting to catch up upon.

I woke this morning just as puzzled as any young Indian to the significance of this day for India of twenty-first century. As members of the revered “Shining India” era, we often restrict the triumphs of our forefather’s to the History books or the backsides of our newspapers never appreciating the value of this ‘granted’ freedom and instead clamouring for a Tendulkar’ six or a bull run in the BSE. Patriotism has degenerated to singing national anthems in multiplexes and violent measures taken by so called “nationalist” elements in beating up night revelers.

The lines have blurred with the individual taking centre-stage in India as strikes and shut-outs every week are now to make demands to the government, not to seek justice. Petrol prices, Inflation and tax slabs strike up a louder chord than the abject poverty, farmer suicides and abuse of power. Pakistan-bashing or patronizing by celebrities in a dinner party sets the tone for their next successful film. The whim of an Imperial power has been replaced by two; both more obstinate as well as internal – Corruption and Ignorance.

As the heydays of India’s seasoned politicians end and the newer and supposedly “cleaner” ones take their place in our already despised ‘House of the people’, we have to ask ourselves; have we lost the spirit of a nation that fought together an Imperial giant? Have we simply become slaves to ourselves serving our unlimited appetite of desires? Like a ship being handed to its crew by a yard, we shoulder a great responsibility in where we steer ourselves towards. We can make a mess and hope the world cleans it up as a current analogy would suggest.

Apart from showing that he was a great orator on that fateful midnight, Nehru’s speech still holds true for Modern India though its contents still questions much of the vitals of this great nation as it slumbers ahead. He said:

“The future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity.”

- Jawaharlal Nehru

Hence as students and as enlightened citizens, embolden yourself with well intended criticism and greater efforts in every field. Whether it is berating the Commonwealth Games or a Hawaldar beating up a street kid, your intervention or concern is appreciated. It could be your decision to return after accumulating your academia in far-off lands. In August 15^th 1947, it was truly a tryst with destiny and not a date in a coffee shop! And this date deserves better and if nothing else, you have done this be being solemnly present here, this Sunday morning!

JAI HIND!

The American Hypocrisy

On April 20th of 2010, a massive explosion occurred on the now infamous Offshore Drilling platform “Deepwater Horizon”, in the Gulf of Mexico just 64 miles away from the US coast, killing 11 American workers on the British Petroleum’s (BP) leased rig. Ten days later on April 30, 2010 an even bigger explosion occurred in Washington D.C, in the White House as President Obama not only took a dim view of the events but lambasted BP for the accident. Later after ordering an enquiry into the accident he publicly stated that BP would be punished for the biggest environmental disaster in American history and would not use taxpayer’s money of an already weak economy recovering from the financial crisis to clear this spill up. On the face of it one might be misguided into saying that Obama again has stuck to his ‘campaign of change’ in the run up to his elections as he sounded more like a Greenpeace Volunteer than a seasoned statesman. Soon enough this farce was found out to be merely a cry of a frustrated government fast losing the euphoria that brought it to power.

The Deepwater Horizon’s project was sanctioned by the US Department of the Interior in 2008 and after several such explosions and leaks that are common on a rig proceeded to dig a fatal oil well five months behind schedule. The American media has reported that BP officials was putting pressure on the rig operators TransOcean to speed up operation and in the process use riskier procedures that may result in a “blowout”, a sudden gas release from the well which could be catastrophic. All this suddenly seems a straightforward story of a greedy ‘evil’ corporation apparently blatantly flouting the rules to make a bigger profit. Except one forgets who this British company caters to and who are its shareholders; well, 40% is owned by Americans and American institutions. The USA is the biggest consumer of oil in the world and is a country whose demands are constantly pulling the oil prices up therefore pushing non OPEC countries to produce more and more oil from increasingly dangerous places using even more dangerous techniques such deep offshore drilling. There also seems to be no letting up of this trend as Americans are happy to be associated to the phrase- gas guzzlers, with one political commentator quite rightly pointing out, “Heck, your President travels in a 747 when a Gulf Stream would do just fine and be cheaper!”

About a week after Obama’s rage another event happened right here in India, where a Bhopal Court convicted board members of a erstwhile American chemical company conveniently forgotten by the USA- Union Carbide. This company only brings angry emotions from residents of Bhopal who have suffered for over 25 years the apathy of the Indian government who sees the event as a scar that can drive away future investments and the absolute indifference from the American government. The then CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson looked into the safety of the Indian plant as well during its inspection. Documents clearly show that designs and procedures were altered no ends to cut costs and improve profitability thus making in hindsight human loss secondary to financial loss. It is an obvious notion that Mr. Anderson used his ‘privileged’ position of being an American to flee the country and escape incarceration. Furthermore the Bhopal Gas Disaster is the worst industrial disaster in the world resulting in the direct loss of life of atleast 2300 people, while the Deepwater Horizon disaster cost the lives of 11 men. Oh! Yes I forgot to mention the flora and fauna affected by the disaster on Louisianan coastline. Just to add to the official childish behavior of government agencies the American government has been protecting Oil giants such as Shell, Chevron Texaco and Exxon Mobile from environmental liabilities in Ecuador and Nigeria.

Obama pounded away with his government’s consistent double standards at BP resulting in a British outcry finally after years of unfettered allegiance through never ending wars and catastrophic economic policies. Talk about showing gratitude with statements saying that BP would be made to paid every penny. Back home in the meantime in May as a off shoot of the of the Nuclear Deal, an Indian law was watered down under US pressure exonerating American companies off liabilities incase of an accident. A dismayed Manmohan Singh agreed and the bill was altered with limitations on the liabilities, but now Human Rights groups are slowly raising the banter against American strong-arming. So now all we have to do is pray for a Three Mile Island and not a Chernobyl.

By Mathew George

World Cup 2010: “Celebration” or controversial?

Finally the World Cup came to an end with the pre tournament favourite’s Spain being crowned Champions of the World. It was the first time Brazil, Italy, Germany or Argentina were not present in the finals not to mention the Spanish 1-0(ET) victory over Netherlands resulted in a new entrant in the football elite as the eighth champions. It also gave the Netherlands the dubious and frustrating fact of being three time finalist, never the winner. The finals as a whole was universally deemed an anti climax despite both the Spanish and Dutch being labeled “possession specialists” and “masters of total football” playing out an ill-tempered affair which made the English referee Howard Webb dole an unprecedented 14 yellow cards, one of them a second yellow card offence.

The tournament had stooped to new levels of boredom even before that lackluster final but every other powerful entity in the football world including FIFA and the media were trying to force this World Cup to be a success in people’s minds with the most well funded marketing strategy. They even came with statistics to prove this, claiming the World Cup was watched by over 1.3 billion people all over the world. However after all the hype had settled and international attention meandered away from football, FIFA in a response to an independent inquiry conducted by British tabloid Independent has confessed to over-estimating and-exaggerating figures often especially from the African and Asian continents. Furthermore the World Cup was marred by another depressing statistic which was very poor goals per game ratio especially in the group stages and an obscene number of refereeing errors even in the Finals itself.

Firstly the ball itself a.k.a Jabulani was a ball favouring less technical sides especially the African sides with added pace and unpredictability. Conspiracy anyone? Watching the games itself was reduced to just “seeing football” and not “feeling football” as the infamous vuvuzela’s criminally justified by a few South African interests calling it part of African culture. Originally the vuvuzela is from Latin America but that continent exercises restraint in its use; basically by using it only for celebrating goals. The atmosphere in South Africa resembled the noise from a bee-hive and not a stadia packed with over 50,000 passionate supporters chanting their favourite player’s names. Credit to England whose supporters tried to break this rut in the match against Slovenia, but absolutely no credit for the players for their capitulation against a rampant German side. The same goes to an Italian side that showed no gut at all in any of the matches and was an embarrassment as defending champions who rather ironically was expected to be dumped out in the group stages by Italian newspaper Tuttosport with the blame squarely and correctly on egoistic coach Marcello Lippi.

Speaking of coaches, the name Raymond would not be appreciated by any mother naming a new-born in France. Les bleus was troubled by an internal strife uncontrolled by coach Domenech and a disenchanted squad guilty of “handing” themselves a spot in the World Cup by handling the ball before the goal that dumped Ireland out of participating in the World Cup. News is that the new France coach Laurent Blanc has axed all 23 players that went to South Africa. Argentina might sing their teams praises but Maradona kept his title of being a prima donna with team selection bordering on lunacy causing their rather straightforward exit. And finally Brazil, the eternal favourite for any World Cup imploded on the big stage; the implosion caused by an over pragmatic coach in Dunga. All of this essentially resulted in ousting of all the “Goliath’s” of world football and allowing a “David” aptly led by a certain ‘David’ Villa to their first World Cup crown. You need a Goliath for a David to fell for football romantics’ atleast, but here ‘David’ romped home with no trouble at all.

All this is not an attempt to undermine Spain’s success who certainly have deserved their victory as they have been over the past decade producing the finest footballers with this team being the finest. It would have been criminal had the ‘butchering’ Dutch won just based on the amount of vile tackles made by them. Anyway, here’s to a better World Cup ’14 in Brazil and Africa; you were an organizational miracle but sadly a footballing failure. It’s not your fault.

By Mathew George