India's Un-Presidented Decline

Article 52 of the Indian Constitution prescribes that India must have a President, a nominal head of State who represents the Indian citizen and enjoys the privilege of being First Citizen (fancy house and cars). What Article 52 does not, however, inform us, is the long and tedious procedure that must take place to elect a President, a figure in the Government whose sole authority is causing traffic blockades, inaugurating the Indian Grand Prix and granting pardons to film stars embroiled in long drawn court cases. At least that's what Pratibha Patel, erstwhile President of India will be known for.

For her entire term, people have been skeptical about President Prathibha Patil's ability to hold even a nominal position in the Government, but declined to comment strongly on the issue for two reasons:
1. This is India's first female President we're talking about.
2. President Pratibha Patil makes for an interesting alliteration, doesn't it? I'm actually surprised nobody has referred to her as PPP in the course of her long reign. Maybe that way she would be good for something.
To all the feminists and opinion leaders who believed, 5 years ago, that we needed a female President because India needed pro - women policies and laws, I cannot resist the urge to ask; what have we achieved? Are we better off now than we were under APJ Abdul Kalam? Hmm, Kalam. The name carries a certain sense of respect, doesn't it? The amount of Facebook groups that have come up supporting Kalam for a renewed term as President is hardly surprising, after all, Kalam's first term was as celebrated as any we've seen. Here's something to ponder, though: it wouldn't surprise me at all if a people's poll would reveal Kalam to be the frontrunner for the post. Very interesting how the people of India seem to be more on the same page when it comes to a political figure who has only nominal power, and more importantly, someone we do NOT have the power to elect. Compare the number of Kalam groups to the number of Rahul Gandhi groups and see for yourself. Long live democracy?

Of course, as much as I'd love to, harping on Mrs Patil's presidential term is going to get nobody anywhere. Another observation I'd like to bring your minds to, however, is the average age of presidential nominees this year. Kalam is 80, Manmohan Singh is 79, Pranab Mukherjee is 78. At this rate, I'm waiting for the day where at least some of our political leaders represent the post independence era. The country with the youngest population is being governed by the oldest leaders. Doesn't it sound ideal? Mukherjee serves terms as Finance Minister, Defence Minister, External Affairs Minister; earns reputation as a seasoned Congress stalwart and then can step down from his post only to occupy the First House as President. How much fight does he have left in him? And why do our elected representatives continue to burden the Presidential post with people who look like they might drop dead any minute? Even if our elected representatives, by the middle of their terms, turn into sad, sorry figures, at least give us a nominal head who can inspire confidence? If Article 52 is right, and the President is supposed to be a representative of the Indian citizen, than be it Kalam, Singh or Mukherjee; India is full of bent backs, soft voices and grey hair. And given that we're the youngest population in the world, that's just sad. There is no plan.

'Rave' Reviews

The recent incidents of Mumbai cops busting parties in hotels and homes alike have generated quite the protest. To all those who have taken up arms against the busting of many a house party in the city recently, I respect your dedication and commitment towards keeping Mumbai a suitable late night party destination. I really do. I'll even concur with the fact that the city's police should really be focusing on matters that are much more pressing than parties. Granted, busting rapes is more important than busting raves. However, where I lose the point of the argument is people losing their tempers over the cops using the word 'rave' to describe what the youth would describe as a relatively boring party. With all due respect, most of us do not know the difference between a charge sheet and a show cause notice or a subpoena. If we cannot trust ourselves to use proper Police terms while describing a scenario, why should we expect the police to use 'happening' lingo appropriately?

Where the issue truly lies, however, is the increasing feeling that our freedom in the city is being curbed, especially post 11 pm. The legal drinking age being increased to 25 caused enough uproar when it was announced last year, but the new requirement of  a 'drinking permit' has been met with ridicule. Much of this ridicule turned to anger, however, when the police followed their orders to the letter, busting quite a few people who did not possess this permit. As a person who has always believed that the drinking age limit is ridiculous, I will not speak on this matter. Most people who enjoy clubbing and house partying are barely 21 (the previous limit) and hence any attempts to meet a middle ground on the drinking limit has failed. I sincerely doubt that many of my friends who turned 21 sheer weeks after the age limit was raised to 25 would even agree to set the limit at 22.

There has been no satisfying justification to the entire scenario at all. We do not know if this is the Mumbai Police's attempt to curb late night crimes by imposing a curfew. It is definitely too early to tell if this attempt has worked. All we see is an attempt to make more money - through these permits and through fines being paid by the people who do not possess these permits. Has the youth really become a soft target for the cops to fill their pockets? Because it sure as hell seems more likely than the cops 'protecting' us by parenting us rather than policing us. Can we have an official statement, please, to clear the confusion and allow any semblance of debate? Honestly, Mumbai Police, even the pretence of democracy will be better received than this outright oppression. Or have you not been noticing how democracy in our country has lasted this long? Something to think about.