Lasting Rose

Wal-Mart, which symbolise capitalistic enslavement for the Indians, seems to be dividing India, world’s largest democracy, in the middle even as the Indian government is bravely defending its decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Retail, a reform which opens a market worth billions of dollars the world’s major chains are desperate to enter.

The controversy is based on the perceived pros of the move, strongly supported by the government in need of urgent foreign investment to cover its budget deficit and maintain the growth rate of the country and the cons, put forth by an opportunistic and  motley combine of communists, communal parties and the women chief ministers of three states with over 30% of India’s population, who have no clue of the complexities of the issue or particular reason other than their bloated egos to object the move, claiming the government is only fooling people.

"To give an impression that FDI in retail will solve all problems like inflation, price rise and unemployment... whosoever is saying this is fooling people that FDI will get millions of jobs. It cannot happen."

DAM 999, a movie released today about a 110 year old dam, built to last for a meagre 50 years using mud and mortar, which bursts during an earthquake, is itself in the middle of a political storm and has caught the world’s attention. The flick is about the Mullapperiyar Dam in Kerala, an idyllic state in the union of India and the last place on earth where people still believe in communism.

At the heart of the political storm is a water sharing agreement for 999 years, irrelevant in any civilised part of the world, which put the life of three million people. at great risk, as it doesn’t take in to account the aging of the dam built to harness the Periyar River. Entered in to before the Indian independence by the British who occupied the neighbouring state of Tamilnad and the princely state of Kerala, the ridiculous agreement does not provide for the construction of a new dam to replace the old one. The problem really is while Tamilnad receives the collected water for irrigation and power the river actually flows to the opposite side to the thickly populated Kerala and will engulf and sweep three million people if and when the dam burst in a catastrophic earth quake as depicted in the movie.

The UAE-Indian film has become controversial as the state of Tamilnad has prohibited its release and exhibition in its cinemas, accusing the producers of scare mongering among the vast population and the state of Kerala for secretly funding the movie. The producers on the other hand are approaching the supreme court of India for the obstruction of civil liberty rights and losses.

For millenniums, India has remained shrouded in mystery. Indian rope trick magician to Anna Hazare, the mystical, philosophical and religious Gurus of India have attracted inquisitive minds. From the ancient Chinese traveller Faxian to the Beetles and even Apple’s Steve Jobs found their inspiration from their Indian Gurus. Now, there is a Politician Saint from India, the world leaders confronted with the Occupy Wall Street, can learn something from.

Mr Oommen Chandy, who installed a webcam in his office for transparency of his administration, will no doubt abhor being called Oommen Swamy or Chandi Baba like an Indian saint, because he is only an elected Chief Minister of the tiny state of Kerala in India, equivalent to the Governor of a State in the US. However, for a large section of the population who is ready to patiently wait till the wee hours of the night for speaking to the Chief Minister, Mr Chandy is fast becoming something of a saint people line up in endless queue for an audience with!

The reason is Mr Candy is determined to take his power as a Chief Minister, bestowed upon him by ordinary people through a democratic election, to the very people, cutting through the red tapes, to order immediate and on the spot resolutions to their problems.

In fact Mr Chandy and his Government with its efforts to run a transparent and corruption free administration is already a role model for other Indian States and his own office fitted with a round the clock webcam has attracted world attention.

Why Mr Chandy may be fast acquiring the status of a Indian Guru of modern politics is his unique approach to solving people’s problems.  Unlike the world leaders who struggle to somehow disperse the masses of a generation, brought by their individual problems and hardship to the Occupy Wall Street venues, the CM actually invites them to assemble with their long pending and unsolved issues to specially organised venues he calls Chief Minister’s Mass Contact programmes!

The entire administration is moved to the spot, ready to process and dispense fiscal and legal succour allowed by government rules and existing law, but denied to the applicant by the web of red tape and corruption. People are invited and encouraged to register with their complaints and paperwork which are processed ahead of the programme, ready for an on the spot decision by the CM. Those who can’t can present on the day and still get answers.

However what makes Mr Chandy endearing to masses is his true desire to be amongst the masses, his patience to hear them out and his genuine concern to solve their issues. It is really amazing to see how he stands and moves around a milling crowd of all kinds of people listening, making his notes on the petitions, giving orders of urgent medical help and issuing cheques till the wee hours, without food or rest. His promise is to meet the last applicant and he keeps it no matter how late in to the night!

All leaders are popular but some are more popular because of their saintly nature!

Article already published in Technorati.com

Meet Oommen Chandy, the politician 'saint' from India, who may have something to teach world leaders confronted with the Occupy Wall Street movement.