The Great Indian Circus

"Think small-think as small as um..calling them bad names!" - squeals the balding man, his rotund figure hugged by his polyester kurta. He's one among the many paunchy men seated around an oval teakwood table-strategizing. In a parallel universe, my friends and i gather round the TV with bowls of popcorn in hand-the blubbering politicians are being telecasted (on a channel dedicated solely to comedy shows, mind you)-their discussion accompanied by a young commentator with a deep, husky voice-"Who falls lower on the dignity scale? Tune it to your local Indian assembly election to find out!" he booms, and we let out a collective giggle.

In the recent years, Indian politicians' speeches have become an all-you-can-eat buffet for comedians. Arguably the most powerful tool of a politician-his words- have lost their value. The recently concluded Gujarat assembly elections is a prime example. For instance, when modi addressed the gau raksha controversies-the ever eager congress was quick to hush the prime minister by calling his speech "too little,too late". Soon enough, senior congress leader ghulam nabi dubbed it as "yet another publicity stunt". In another instance, congress leader mani shankar publicly labelled modi a "neech aadmi". Other than the maniacal accusations, there were doctored sex CD's, defective VVPAT machines, and mocking television advertisements thrown in the mix.

Whats wrong with openly criticising in a democracry?, you may ask. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that the attention is being drawn to the wrong fragments of the issue. In the wake of nation wide protests and public outrage, leaders brandishing each other's actions like a game of "tag youre it" is the last solution to peoples' woes and griefs. In today's world of goebbelsian lies and pseudo freedom, it has now become our, the general public's, responsibility to persevere for justice while our leaders brawl among themselves.