Accompany me in building a better Bharat

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How easy is it for a common man to sit in a group, have a cup of tea/coffee and slam the corrupt politicians? How easily can one condemn Sonia Gandhi for deploying Manmohan Singh as the puppet Prime Minister? But has the same common man ever thought of bringing about a change and making a difference? A govt official working in a municipal corporation may get allured to accept a bribe for taking out a fake birth certificate. But the same man wouldn't hesitate in accusing A Raja for his indulgence in the multi-crore spectrum scam. After all, this is India (world's largest democracy) where everything is tolerated. I don't say criticism is wrong. But according to me, a person doesn't inherit the right to criticise until he/she performs better than the ones being criticised. One of my school teachers used to say that....

Rise of people's power - one year, many instances

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5 April 2012 was time for a flashback! A year earlier a group of civil society members under the leadership of Anna Hazare started an agitation at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The theme was anti-corruption. Social activists Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh, Justice Santosh Hegde, Lawyers Prashant & Shanti Bhushan, spiritual guru Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and several other activists attracted their followers to the agitation ground. Conglomeration of these social activists brought sufficient crowd to the rally which received media coverage. The location was the heart of the capital, easy for media to send their cameras. Patriotic posters, veer gaan, waving tricolors filled the air with a feel of freedom movement. Good photo opportunity provided on-air space. People saw the spectacle on their screens, got fascinated and reached Jantar Mantar in large numbers. More people brought more cameras. More cameras....

State protecting the corrupt and killing the honest

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IPS officer Narendra Kumar was crushed to death by a tractor on 8 March 2012 in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district. His fault was taking action against the illegal mining mafia. His widow wife is expecting a baby. His father says he has no trust in the state government as they are a part of the conspiracy. Where should the family go for justice? Who will punish the culprit? Can we allow these mafia to loot our minerals and murder those trying to check it? What are we waiting for? Till when will we submit to state-supported crimes? Politicians are using the incident to gain political benefits. Police officers have a share in the game. The judiciary will conduct the probe and the hearing of the case will go on for years. How many more honest officers will be killed for fighting corruption? When will....

Right To Reject

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Right Not to Vote/Right To Reject/Negative Voting/None of the Above is a campaign for inclusion of 'None of the Above' button in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). It aims to provide all citizens, the right to reject all candidates so as to document their distrust against politicians. Why Negative Voting? Article 19 guarantees Freedom of Speech and Expression. Universal Adult Franchise provides freedom to make a choice amongst a list of contestants during General and State elections. But, the present system of EVM fails to lend the right to reject. Reject all candidates if no one deserves the parliamentary or Assembly seat. If Freedom of Expression has freedom to make a choice, shouldn't the same freedom also guarantee freedom to reject? Isn't refusal of right to reject an indirect violation of our fundamental rights? How will it be implemented? A 'None of the Above' (NOTA)....

People's queries for people in power

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I am a 23-year-old educated youth in the phase of understanding the scheme of things. As we pass through this eventful year of 2011, there are hundred and one questions boggling my mind. If those in power are listening, please respond to these queries from a common man. Questions to Political Leaders When the nation is asking for a strong Lokpal Bill due for the past 40 years, why is the executive diverting attention by throwing cards of Muslim quota within OBC reservation and FDI in retail? Is institution like Lokpal a platform for providing jobs that some of our leaders are demanding reservation in it? Why are crucial Bills like Lokpal, Citizens' Charter not made accessible to common Indian through govt Websites while they are being tabled in Parliament? When govt can publish long ads explaining its version of Lokpal Bill during....

My ideas to repress corruption

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Corruption is a virus swiftly reaching the roots. It's a menace which has entrapped almost all sections of the society. From the peon till the CEO, everyone shares a slice of the cake. Eradicating this menace is a tough but possible task. I believe technological advancement is the best way to curb corruption. Five years back, all government data was to be registered in paper files and folders. Ten years from now, everything would be memory cards and chips. So, if all administrative policies will be formulated, adopted and implemented via computer systems, it will be very difficult for a crook to cheat. One can enter bogus data in paper, but it's hard to fool the computer machine. Unlike others, this is not a utopian idea. Technology has modified man's way of living. If we notice recent changes, we will find that schemes like....