** I know with this post it would be the second one so far that has just been extracted from the internet and shared with my reader. I truly apologize, but my finals have the best of me and I honestly believe that there is far more to be heard then just what I have to say.
Nibor Dooh: The Bane of India
By Saibal Mitra
As any Indian, who loves cricket, I rejoiced when India won the IIC World Cup after almost three decades. Living abroad, I got up at 3 am in the morning, drove twenty miles with a child and dog in tow to my friend’s house so that I could watch the action live. My cry of anguish was heard by all in that room when Gambhir lost his head at 97 and hoops of joy filled the room when Dhoni hit that winning sixer. It’s all stuff of history, no doubt.
I knew that the players would also hit a well-deserved financial jackpot. Endorsement deals, prize money would flow. What I was not prepared for the Nibor Doohs of India -our politicians - would raid the state treasury to transfer wealth from the poor (the Indian taxpayers) to these rich, pampered players. For starters, the state of Uttarakhand has announced that it will give a plot of land or a house to Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Not to be outdone, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has promised a residential plot in Bangalore for each team member. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister has announced that the state government will honor players from Maharashtra Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan with a cash prize of Rs one crore and a citation while two members of the team's support staff will be honored with Rs 50 lakhs each. Most state governments have offered their home-town players cash gifts of between 10 million and 20 million rupees.
As the legend goes, Robin Hood robbed the rich and gave the loot to the poor. It was his way of fighting against social injustice. Nibor Dooh, dear reader, is Robin Hood spelled in reverse. The Nibor Doohs of India raid the state treasury, money that belongs to the people of the state, generally poor and barely living above subsistence level, and then give it to the rich and powerful. The Nibor Doohs of India have been bleeding the country for quite a while – consider all the scams. They take what is not theirs and line their own pockets. What is more scary than this open corruption, is that the Nibor Doohs have directly assaulted the viability of Indian institutions. The police, the courts all have been affected. I am hard pressed to think of a single Indian institution that has not been untouched by scandals and scams. So it is indeed a small step for our Nibor Doohs to raid the larder and grab what is not theirs and give it away to those who are nowhere close to the poverty line. It does not even jiggle their conscience. They have, indeed, become, the bane of India.
This raises some very broad questions. Is this how the government spends money? Essentially by fiat. Are there no checks and balances? What about the press? Isn’t part of their role is to ask hard questions? What about the citizens themselves? Are they so blind that they neither see nor understand that they are being taken for a ride?
When I read these news reports, I cannot but presume that all potholes in Karnataka are fixed, all children in Uttarakand are being educated, that hospitals around the country are clean, safe and people have access to them, and that drinking water is safe and so on. That would be the India of my dreams and I keep dreaming.
So where does one go from here? The only way to stop this abuse is to sue the state governments and the Nibor Doohs (perhaps personally) and ask the courts to intervene. It is time that the corrupt heard the voice of the people. This would take time, money and, above all, commitment. I know there are plenty of people out there who are as frustrated as I am. They just need to step forward.
Congratulations Team India! To the team members I say, I wish you luck. Make all the money in the world. But let it all be private money. And if you have the heart, the will, and the character then please, when offered, very politely refuse to accept public money which should be for public use. Please don’t take what is not yours – that would truly make you world champions.
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