A bright star of Bollywood and a brilliant brain too unlike others, met his tragic end. Charges and counter-charges have been flying around, a subject of incisive investigation yet one scenario is very clear and loud. Unprofessional, unethical hurdles raised for him were solely meant to shatter him to pieces. Unfortunately they succeeded. Then lot many voices emerged against The Gang Of Bollywood, some washed dirty linen of others in public and grave accusations were lobbed.
In fact, almost every profession in the country has same stories to talk about. Entry-barriers are raised for new entrants for no rhyme or reason at all and much higher barriers for women to contend with. Every senior in every profession expects Bhakti of his / her juniors, never allowed to express their professional views on senior’s decisions for the fear of losing promotion or even job. HRD system may be there but who cares when ‘Boss is always right’ is the ‘Bhagavanuca’ hanging all around in offices, that too so blatantly !! There is a business house in the country that ‘managed’ best employer award from Economic Times while managers / white-collar employees have always been like dogs in that group. Is something fundamentally wrong with Hindu DNA, supposedly most cultured community in the world ??
I do not believe that Mughal invasions or British slavery happen to be root-cause. As a matter of fact, those are consequences, not causes. When poets of Bhakti movement in medieval Bharata started singing around, it was meant for some other purpose. With passage of time, this Bhakti movement degraded into ‘boot-licking’ and now it pervades every nook and corner of our society. Dr. Ambedkar had warned in his concluding speech at the end of last session of Constituent Assembly that biggest threat to the Constitution emanated from Bhakti culture in the country. At the height of Watergate scandal, Secretary Of State Dr. Henry Kissinger told his old time bosom-buddy President Richard Nixon that his time was over and he must get out of the White House at once. Can we expect such nerves from juniors towards their seniors whichever profession are they in ?? On the contrary, our polity has degraded so much that even people occupying higher positions do not have guts to restrain those occupying lower positions and reporting to them. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ‘ordered’ President Fakharuddin Ali Ahmad to sign on Emergency proclamation and he promptly complied with as his first priority was not the nation but sinewy life in a sinecure office. When Supreme Court nullified appointment of one Antonio Maino nominee as CAG with strictures and caustic remarks, the then President in Office didn’t have guts to tell Prime Minister ManMohan Singh, “You have tarnished entire nation by dancing to the tune of Antonio Maino, you disregarded opinion of Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj in this appointment and now we all have egg on our faces…you resign just now or I shall dismiss you and you shall go back home in an autorickshaw !!!” For full fifteen years, Bihar was ravaged by a looter-CM then his CM wife (I hate to utter their names), women used to be pulled out of their homes and raped, serial murders, plunder…Tata showrooms used to be broken open and brand new automobiles taken out for joy-rides…From President in Rashtrapati Bhavan to DG Police of Bihar, all were helpless watching like bovines.
If four Mutts in four extreme corners of the nations established long ago by Jagadguru Adi Shamkaracharya had been performing their roles mandated by the Jagadguru, nation might not have undergone brutal invasions and slavery at all. If today’s Katha-Vachaks roaming around the nation and abroad like Maharaja-s talk what they are in reality required to talk instead of talking useless stuff, Hindu-s would have been more purpose oriented and conscious of their enviable history and looming dangers ahead. And this monumental rot didn’t begin with first Mughal invasion. Mahabharata amply symbolises what exactly we had become and which way our ancestors were headed to. When daughter-in-law of the royal family was disrobed, all erudite scholars and war veterans just watched like morons. Even the royal Guru Dronacharya, a Brahmana gifted with divine weapons, could not muster courage to pick up arms and order his pupils to stop all that at once. And none of them even walked out in protest !! Vasudeva Shri Krshna was right in declaring, such a society does not deserve to exist, must be completely destroyed and they were destroyed.
We have turned too egoistic, selfish, self-centred and indifferent to what happens to others, very well conveyed by the popular joke, half of the nation’s population is sad because their neighbours are happy. We have learned the specialised art of adjusting with injustices, immoralities and bully those who stand up to be heard instead of bullying tormenters. That is not acceptable even to the Supreme Entity. If we want change, we all will have to become reformers and revolutionaries ready to sacrifice egos and individual interests. First compromise on principles itself is end of the battle. Life itself is a tale of trials and tribulations, not at all a bed of roses. Do you believe, those who compromised for the sake of success, fame and wealth in Bollywood are the happiest people in the world ? Then why compromise on principles at all ? It is a crisis that every individual will have to confront at his / her own level. Governments are meant to govern the nation and look after larger interests. If conscientious players in any occupation create ‘larger interests’ on the side of transparency, ethics and integrity, Government shall automatically come forward to support. It’s we and you who have to decide whether we are interested in short-term patchwork solutions or a structural Onco-surgery for long term reforms and renewals.
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