The writer is a consulting editor with The Statesman and writes widely for several newspapers in India
The Indian military and paramilitary personnel have been doing a fabulous job, risking their own lives to save lives in rescue operations that have earned the admiration of not just Indians but the entire world. The Indian Army and the air force, in particular, have been working day and night, in lashing rain, not allowing their own helicopter crash to deter them from the task at hand to save persons who had given up hope.
Indians are getting together aid to help the thousands who have lost everything in the floods. Volunteers are preparing to help the people rebuild their lives, even as experts predict large-scale epidemics to break out in the affected areas because of rotting bodies and polluted waters. The scale of the tragedy is unimaginable, with several thousands still stranded in remote villages washed away by the waters.
Against this tragic backdrop, comes the politician, a “Rambo” who flies in and out of Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, claiming to have rescued 15,000 persons from his particular state. A media always looking to be ahead of the news, broadcasts this claim without question, leaving it to the people of Uttarakhand to rubbish it altogether. Later, like all politicians, he claims now to have been misquoted.
Then comes the young man, who actually lost the initial round to “Rambo”. Basically because he was not in the country and returned when everyone started finding his absence a little conspicuous. His supporters let it be known that he has come to Uttarakhand not as Rambo, and not as a VIP, but just as an ordinary citizen.
Then come, the musketeers from different political parties with chartered planes to carry home affected persons from their respective states. Two opposing parties came to blows, hurling abuses and hitting each other, over which aircraft the people rescued by the army would go back in.
In the midst of all this, the horror stories continue. Families washed away as lone survivors watch helplessly; children or parents searching for their families, not sure whether they are dead or alive; people watching one another die without food or water, even as the military struggles to rescue and save as many persons as it can before time runs out. The odds are impossible, but the soldiers are pushing themselves in what can only be described as a Herculean effort of mammoth proportions.
The story would have been different had the politicians, including the state and central governments, performed as well, or even half as well, as the military. Soldiers are quietly complaining of no back up from the civilian authorities in that the rescued persons are being left to fend for themselves after being brought to safety. There is a huge scarcity of food, drinking water, tents, blankets, medicines, with even the Uttarakhand governor moved to criticise the state government’s mismanagement and incompetence.
The moral of the story really then raises a finger at politicians, not just in India but in South Asia, where those fighting and winning elections do not have the compassion or the commitment required to make life more comfortable for the common person. Instead, they are looking to garner votes, to make money, or to attain and stay in power by hook or by crook and that leads to increasing distances between the electorate and the political class, which is certainly not good for democracy.
A democracy is defined by the level of trust between the people and the institutions of democracy, particularly, the executive and the legislature. It goes without saying that the higher the levels of trust and confidence, the stronger the democracy. Unfortunately, in our part of the world, the trust is being eroded on a daily basis because of the anti-people antics of our politicians and this certainly does not serve democracy well. Elections are just part of the democratic process that can mature only through the responsible and accountable functioning of the executive and the legislature. Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of this fact and are allowing politicians to hijack our freedoms and rights at will.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (12)
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@SHAMS TABREZ: raahul is a man of words,,,modi is a dynamic man who will show his dynamism in actions,,,not just useless words,,,
Now I know why media is loosing credibility in India. People can differentiate between paid and real news. No wonder media polls go horribly wrong these days. people are smarter than these armchair authors. Whatever you call him, Modi rocks and Indians love him.
Wanted answers after disturbing editorials on toi so got an answer and this even i can guarrantee is right as the head of gayatri parivar of whom my mom is a member dr pandya was seen with modi during floods(Manish Rohera) Now the editorial not written by me but madhu kishtwar one of the known intellectual of csds(india): Here's my(Madhu) take, one that I know will find many disagreeing: those who call Modi a Rambo or a publicity-hungry politician have no clue what they are dealing with. Consider the following. Gujarat today has a fighting-fit bureaucracy because it was enabled to develop expertise, team spirit and deliver results under the most adverse circumstances.
The Gujarat Disaster Management Authority (GDMA) has become a thoroughly professional institution capable of responding to natural or man-made disasters. It has a 24x7 monitoring system and well-publicised helpline numbers well known to Gujaratis - both in the country and abroad. Modi has succeeded in conveying to the citizens of Gujarat that the government is always there to serve them. That is why the first response of Gujaratis anywhere in the world is to contact the chief minister's office if they are caught in a calamity.
Also, consider this. Modi arrived in Delhi late 17th night for a meeting with the Planning Commission on 18th when news of cloudburst and landslides was telecast on TV. He held an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation since he knew that thousands of Gujaratis are likely to be among the Chardham pilgrims . Right away, a camp office was opened at Gujarat Bhavan and the Resident Commissioner's team in Delhi was made responsible for coordinating with Gujarati pilgrims.
Early-Mover Advantage
On the 18th morning, Modi called Dr Pranav Pandya of the All World Gayatri Parivar to provide space and infrastructure in his Shanti Kunj campus for the relief centre proposed to be set up by the Gujarat government . He chose this campus because of his close knowledge of, and rapport with, this Gandhian institution that can house and feed thousands of people at a short notice.
It has a 2,000-strong community of swayamsevaks on the campus, plus 3,000-odd students of the Dev Sanskriti University. The campus also has a well-run hospital.
On the 18th evening itself, a set of computers with internet connections , telephone lines, television sets and all other paraphernalia required for Gujarat government's relief operation were set up. Therefore, when a team of Gujarat government IAS, IPS and IFS officers came, they could get going within minutes of reaching Shanti Kunj.
Team Gujarat had two officers from Uttarakhand - Assistant Director General of Police Bisht and Forest Service officer SC Pant - who had close knowledge of the terrain to guide both the stranded pilgrims as well as rescue teams on the safest possible routes to take. ADG Bisht went straight to Gupta Kashi from where the rescue operations are being launched.
A team of seven doctors trained in handling such emergencies, led by an orthopaedic surgeon, not only put in place an efficient first-aid service but are also attending to those severely injured.
I saw them go around to other relief camps and railway stations to attend to non-Gujaratis as well. The mandate of Team Gujarat in Uttarakhand is: take good care of rescued pilgrims as they arrive but send them home at the earliest possible in the most comfortable manner . Don't worry about expenditure or numbers. Smooth Operators
As always, officers on the ground have been empowered to take onthe-spot decisions, to decide how many buses or taxis they need, how many pilgrims need to be sent by air and what kind of aircraft to order. I saw senior IAS officers working 24x7 alongside very junior staff in one single room as a close-knit team. When Modi landed in Dehradun, Team Gujarat was already in control . Far from attacking the state government , he offered all possible help.
Upset Congress
In addition, he synergised resources , energised BJP workers to get going, not just for immediate relief but also long-term reconstruction work. All his officers were provided phone numbers of BJP functionaries of all 190 blocks in Uttarakhand and vice versa. As usual, he worked to guide and streamline the operations . There was genuine spirit of cooperation and teamwork.
The Congress party is understandably upset because its chief minister has proved a disaster, its party machinery is in disarray, Congress Sewa Dal workers are nowhere in sight, Rahul Gandhi's Youth Brigade is clueless even in routine situations , leave alone know how to face a crisis like the Uttarakhand deluge.
That is the reality of the Uttarakhand relief operation led by Narendra Modi.
The writer(Madhu kishtwar) is founder, Manushi, and professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
once again this so called rambo shown the way of his narrow minded thinking. how rediculous it is for a man who claims to be the next Indian PM (yet in his dream) and his mental level still stick around Gujratis. any one may criticise RAHUL BHIAA for his late entry in this dilemma but no one even doubt on his good intentions towards the flood victims and i happy to say that his sooth efforts are not only limited for the gujraatis but for whole victims.
This would have been quite a good article if you had not let the ' Seema Mustafa does not like Modi ' bit get in the way.
Seema Mustafa, As a cub reporter, you would certainly have been cautioned against letting your personal bias seep into your reports. Sadly, at your ripe age, this prerequisite of a "decent" journalist seems to have been jettisoned out of the window along with your balance in reporting. If there is an iota of intellectual honesty in you, please provide the link on this public platform where all of us can SEE Rambo aka Narendra Modi claiming he rescued anyone, forget 15,000. If not, have the grace to confess that you have committed the cardinal sin of a reporter relying on hearsay. Also, please use the same brush you have attempted to use on Rambo while working on your "young man's" portrait. Instead of mildly rebuking him, let your readers know that he was holidaying in Europe for a full 8 days after the tragedy unmindful of the desperate calls of his mother, mentors, advisers, hangers on, et al to show some sensitivity as a leader. My Pakistani friends will feel a sense of deja vu in what the "young man" did and what your President did during the awful floods in Pakistan couple of years back.
some one up there was happy prasing rambo. yeah this rambo was also a part of innocent peoples massacre.
Agree to most parts of what the author has to say except for the cheap dig taken at this mysterious person who goes by the name 'Rambo'. It was really heart wrenching to camouflage your disgust for this so called 'Rambo' by waxing lyrics about the great work done by the Indian armed forces in the same breadth.
I can only urge the author to desist from second guessing the motives behind each and every move done by 'Rambo' cause a host of Indians including myself are very grateful for the organisational skills and quick thinking of 'Rambo' and his staff that got a lot of people to safety while the local authorities were caught completely off guard. You could even say this act by 'Rambo' is a harbinger of things to expect should 'Rambo' eventually come to power in 2014 however unlikely that prospect maybe.
Credit needs to given where it is due else it ends up looking like a classic case of sour grapes.
"Then comes the young man, who actually lost the initial round to “Rambo”. Basically because he was not in the country and returned when everyone started finding his absence a little conspicuous. His supporters let it be known that he has come to Uttarakhand not as Rambo, and not as a VIP, but just as an ordinary citizen." But you forget to mention that he went there with all his detail & also took joy ride in chopper + landed whenever Rambo did not use helipad. As Ranuka Chaudry claim that he went there to oversee 135 truck flagged off by mommy under glare of all camera. (Even those truck were parked in Haridwar due to road were closed. You must smell coffee before you take some jibe at Mr. Modi. ET Please...................
Ali Baba you are absolutely right.
Bravo, Ms. Mustafa! For once you wrote a balanced article. I am reminded of The Unreal Times . However I must say that he institutions of democracy in India are generally working fine including the ECI, Armed Forces and scores of others. It is only the politicians who need a kick in their backside which I am sure they will receive next year. . Let me correct you one one thing though. Democracy is defined as the faith that the people have that the government represents a majority of the voters even if they didn't vote for them AND a seamless transfer of power. Faith in the functioning of the executive and the legislature has some representation in the Freedom House scores but has ZERO bearing on the the fact that a country is a democracy nor does it define the democracy.
@Seema Even Rambo didn't rescue 15k in his all movies . But this Rambo is a bit different . Try to find some leisure time to visit his den , Gujurat and pick up any lame goat on road side and ask. You will get an apt reply. If he is Rambo ,then we are the viewers who made him Rambo and He has been Rambo for last 3 terms of election . I have never even seen such a macho Rambo in sub-continet's history since demise of Sardar ji.