My favorite 'CHO Ramaswamy' ends his interview at REDIFF like this:
- Today, nobody is aware of his duties in this country
- Laws are there to be broken.
- Rules are there to be violated.
- Regulations are there to be ignored.
- That's the present mood of the country.
- Why is China advancing at a more rapid rate than us? It is the discipline, which is helping them.
- We are the most indisciplined of all democracies in the world.
30 comments:
His statements are so true... it is a shame that it is..
La,
Thank you.
My take. I was in school when Ms.Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency. I have to tell you it worked really well for the 'Common Man'...atleast in Madras where I grew up.
One Striking example - We had a train 108 Passenger from Rameswaram to Madras Egmore. Usually the train ran atleast 5-6 hours late. During Emergency the train was Dot on time all the time.. How...How ..How...!!!!
There are tons of examples like this.
I know about the Emergency period thru Hear-say and knew it worked wonders..
The million dollar qn now is : WHO WILL BELL THE CAT ??
sir the comparison 2 china by cho is really ridiculous...china's government is an evil dictatorship and anti people...but otherwise what cho says is correct...maybe we do need a benevolent dictator...
sir,i read the one abt the missing palaces...maybe the mughals/british demolished them...but in that case y did they leave the temples alone?...strange...i love reading posts from ur archives...i have lived in madras most of my life...where is perungalathur *embarrassed*?
I like him but not this statement..There are better ways to enforce the discipline and make ppl realize their duties.. rather than losing our democracy
Its high time he advocates that rather than bring in a dictator
1. There is no such thing as benevelent dictator.
2. Frustration at lack of progress is the main reason for supporting emergency.
3. Without freedom, society cannot flourish. what we know about china is what is said to us. Does anybody know it as a matter of fact?
4. Again, it just shows our incompetence and laziness to ask for emergency. Personal discipline is much more important.
5. For strategic and security reasons, emergency is harmful to us than we think. Unlike china we r so diverse that blind enforcement of rules will result in chaos.
6. Finally what are we trying to accomplish through emergency? Prosperity!??...funnny,.. since , absolute power absolutely corrupts.
Hmm.
sir nama anniku pesittu irundhudhu.:-)
i would like to quote me mentor and manager Ramesh Srinivasan here
"Dei Prabu, fear is a great motivator, but works only for a very short duration. its very easy for me to say'I want this to be done tomorrow or else the consequences will be serious'. you will sure do it. but once u go out of this company and work elsewhere, u will be your lazy self.
True motivation and change should come from within."
indha emergency, appuram stricter punishment ellam indha category dhaan. immeditea result theriyum but not enduring.
true change takes lot of time and hardly shows up. this is where we get frustrated. most of the workings are submerged. but once in but its by and large irreversible.
in a democracy it takes longer time to manifest.
I have never experienced the emergency period, but have heard my dad mention about it. He also said things were happening in a prim and proper fashion.
But one thing which I dont understand is: Once the emergency is removed, did'nt all go back to the old self?. So, what is the point?
IIO
Couldnt agree with more.
The thing is though, our people doesnt know what is it to lose this personal freedom, if you see our communist politicians keep talking about China, but they dont tell their listeners the poverty, dictaroship that is there in China, one cannot express anything there, in fact all words on tibet,democracy freedom are banned in their internet browsing, if only our people realize this beautiful gift of democracy we have.
Inspite of its imperfections I would rather be in USA or India and nowherelse.
We are the most indisciplined of all democracies in the world.
Very true. But it doesnt matter. Really..
It would be greater trouble, if we are disciplined
first rendu statementa padicha anniyan patha feeling varathu!!
but whar he says is true.
i can never forget his 'kaizdhai vazhar and kudurai vazhai'
I strongly disagree with the last line. We are the most sensible of democracies for that matter.
There may be chaos, but chaos will only bring different views and provide choices to a democracy like India.
You've termed him as ur fav... so let me stop here. We should be proud of what we are, whatever we may be. Its easier to criticise, and i've seen him criticise all his life, much similar to Subramaniam Swamy.. Who would say he's a visiting professor at harvard? Let these ppl say something constructively first of all.
Very simply put example... India has the best electoral system in the whole world, even though there may be wrongdoings!
Cho exhibits mental instability at times(?). I dint know whether to cry or ROTFL when he said the police must have acted with evidence on the kanchi seers.
I Got this link as email forwards...
www.kaikkooli.com
www.harthal.com
I agree with Cho. I was reminded of G.B. Shaw's words. But I've forgotten the exact quote. It is about democracy and fools...if I come across it somewhere, I will post a comment..:)
The present mood of the country is clearly reflected in Chos comments but what Cho forgets is that pessimism only leads to more...
He has always been a pessimist and most of us are for that matter but we forget to understand that we ourselves are the biggest trend setters. I would like Cho to set the trend instead of criticize.
Folks, Thanks all of you for your comments. Let me summarize and add my thoughts.
Sensible Democracy - What does that mean.?
Cho setting Trend - He has contested elections and lost I think. Would someone ask a commentator to go and play rather than comment? What trend can CHO set?
Pessimism - How can one be optimistic when we have people like Lallu as our Railway Minister..Hello!!
Surya - The Kanchi Case is a big bag of mystery MHO. I would wait and watch.! Are you 100% sure of your thoughts? I am not.!
Best Electoral system in the whole world? - Are we 100% sure.? Umm..I am not.!
What can we be proud of? Agreed there are a lot of things. But..then can we rest in peace? How to improve. How to march ahead. Can we...at the current atmosphere? I am not sure.!
In fact CHO is not the only one who compared CHINA. A lot of my friends who have companies here in the US ( Software) went to CHINA and were amazed at the Infrastructure. Only minus point, English.! But then CHINA is fast catching up. We have to be careful.
In Democracy it takes longer time to manifest....How long ? another 100 years? Let's draw a line.! What has happened all these years. Where are we. Can we do some accounting here?
MY last 2 cents - As long as the society depends on POLICING and as long as the POLICE and the ruling bodies are corrupt...It is very difficult to do anything.!
Do we deserve Democracy.? Is it truly working. Will be suffer under Emergency. Are we better off now? Sorry folks...I have to say...that I agree with CHO.!
Yeah even I agee with you, there should be emergency so that they break the knuckles of people like Cho. Mr. Narayanan , you have two kids [ I think you had mentioned this in your previous blogs] , why would like it if someone from the Government comes and says you should ahve more than one. That is the kind of discipline they have in China That is the kind sof discipline you want - a discipline that mars your personal life. You have the freedom to choose in a democracy. You don't have that in China. You are criticizing these ructure is good.Governmental policies. If you do the same in China and you are caught, you will probably be executed.
If at all, you are interested in knowing more about China and the ways they have advabced their programs, please read The Coming Collapse of China by Gordon Chang rather than Tuglaq
Anonymous - YOu are welcome
1) I wouldn't mind if the GOVT says , 1 kid only ..!!. Hey..how are you going to control the population? Can we support the population growth.
2) Do you have 100% freedom ( press etc)in India. Are you 100% sure.?.
3) Thanks for the book reference.
who is responsible for lallo and all the other politicians being in power? Isnt it the people. Optimism is very important for development. If we sit back and listen to Cho we will never grow. Cho might have contested elections and lost but he always sides with bad politicians and political parties. He has not been a trend setter with his political affiliations. He weilds the power of the pen, he can make or break an argument. What he fails to do every time is follow up with action. History will tell you that Cho has always made bad choices.
Narayanan
1. It is a shame that you are ready to abide by whatever the Govt. says for even your personnel life decisions. I am not surprised you live in America- a country governed by Republicians who have little preference for personnel choices. China again forces these population decisions on families and they have an adverse impact on the life-term of the mother. If this was the way we have to control population at the expense of the leath of the people living there, then let our population grow. Also, how often has the Government really tried to educate people about the ill effects of having a number of kids. Have you ever been to a village health hospital. The villages, from where the population explodes, have no clues about sex education. The Govt. needs to step up efforts there to control population.
2. Whatever little freedom the press has now is because of democracy. If you have vietnamese people living working with you, stop at their ffice and ask them what dictatorial rule means and how freedom of speech and writing is curbed.
3. Please read the book and post another post.
- The same old anonymous
Anonymous, thanks again. I'll certainly read this book.
You said - 2. Whatever little freedom the press has now is because of democracy...!
That sums it all.!! We are not a democracy at all.! A biggest mockery ...in the name of Democracy.!
it is sad to face the reality
how we are going to overcome this, is the question? poonaikku yaar mani katruthunu thaan ippo kelvi?
Narayanan
I am not sure what do you expect out of a democracy
Ok let me make the problem easier for you.... what is democracy according to you? instead of being a cynic, why don't you pose some solutions?
One more question, Which is the world's greatest democracy according to you? If the answer is United States, then I rest my case and leave others to decide whether we ought to be a democracy like United States
- Same old ANonymous
Let us for one minute think not about what makes democracy (the for the people, of the people, by the people statement). instead, lets focus on the founding principles of democracy in India. They are
1) Spirituality
2) Tolerance
3) Flexibility
4) Unity in Diversity.
If anybody has anydoubts about the above 4, please get the CD of "Dayananda Saraswati" Bhajans sung by Maharajapuram Santhanam in which the preface will begin with the above 4.
So, to the anonymous -- having said the 4, how many of the 4 are we really good at? Can we start with Lalu prasad yadav? or Fodder scam? or the TANSI case with Jayalalitha? Oh, in the mean time, lets talk about Gujarat.....and then lets talk about communism still in Kerala....how about naxalites?
Do you know a newspaper called "The Wall Street Journal"...in that every year, they publish what is called "index of economic freedom"....do you know where India stands in that?
The question posed by Narayanan is not aimed at shaping India better by giving suggestions, its something that he posted to get your opinion. So, instead of asking him for suggestions, ask yourself how you can make India better.
Anonymous
"how many of the 4 are we really good at? Can we start with Lalu prasad yadav? or Fodder scam? or the TANSI case with Jayalalitha? Oh, in the mean time, lets talk about Gujarat.....and then lets talk about communism still in Kerala....how about naxalites?"
I agree with Gujarat and it being a slap in the face of democracy. Communism in Kerala - Whoever it is , communalism is wrong with respect to the constituition, communism isn't. Even Mr. Naraynan and Cho's pet favorite China is communist.
Jayalalitha, Laloo are all exceptions to the case. Did you spread your knowledge. Weren't Tendulkar, M.F.Hussain, Sania Mirza, Arundhati Roy, Manmohan Singh, Abdul Kalam, bred by the same system?
I am presuming you were from Tamil Nadu- did you ask the people you know not to vote for Jayalalitha. How many times have you passed on your knwoledge of this TANSI case to everyone you knew and asked them not to vote for Jaya?
I am making India better in a very small way I can and I need on it expound on it in this forum of democracy haters. I hate to see people like you just lapping people like Cho and just critcising the very fabric of the society.
100% true. Shameful, too!
Democracy in our country is redefined as "off(of) the people, buy(by) the people and far(for) the people"
Regards,
M.
The guy is a "whacko" and eccentric and you want to blog on this? Pardon me... I did not mean to offend you.
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