10 Reasons Why Arvind Kejriwal Must Lose

"I just need my muffler back, and then off I go- The return of the Mufflerman"
Source - The Hindu

I had been in India for only 10 days, when on December 8, 2013, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party (AAP) swept the Delhi's Assembly Elections. It was only over an year ago, but it now seems like a different time and age. The time when we, the commoner, the real  aam admi, felt empowered, emboldened and capable of bringing a change that was long overdue. Even though it was the catch phrase of "the messiah", the one who shouldn't be disregarded on the sacred space of the internet, it felt as if the "acche din", would be brought to us by Kejriwal. The image of my domestic help, a young Bengali migrant in Rajasthan, being excited and hopeful for a Delhi Assembly election, is a hard one to forget. 

However, we are in a different time now and things have changed, for the better, we have been told. 

And this time, Arvind Kejriwal must lose. It doesn't matter who wins but that muffler wearing, influenza spreading, hatch-back driving, Naxal socialist shouldn't come back to power.  It's not that he can't win, it's just that he shouldn't. Period.

And here's why -

1) We prefer democratically elected MPs who enter our private matters to the extent of asking  us to have 10 kids, rather than the ones who ask us to read bills and ordinances. In other words, we would rather have them do our family planning than us play an active role in deciding country's policies.

2) We do not want to think how the national parties manage to afford full page advertisements in all the national dailies, on a regular basis. Or how would a news outlet be fair in reporting, if it has sold even  the mast head to a political party for campaigning. We just do not want to think about it.

3) We cannot see our dynasties fall. We have a rich history of rulers and being ruled. We would like to keep it that way, please!

4) We do not fret about re-electing MPs with serious criminal records, including murder and rape, but would definitely probe the ulterior motives of every candidate who is educated and who should rather be in USA making millions than toil in the rural areas trying to bring a change.

5) We would still rally behind a candidate who has not only switched her political stance twice in two years, but has also retracted her most well known folklore of towing a PM's car. She, being an icon of an independent woman,  has also endorsed the organization that thinks women get raped because they wear jeans. However, as very mature voters, we should look beyond this, towards the abyss that is going to be her political career! But she is so educated that she will go back lecturing in Harvard and Oxford, like she gives a damn!

6) We look at a chaiwalla, meeting, greeting and hugging Obama and bhabhi ji, wearing a "signature-d" suit, worth millions, and we roll in pride of a rags to riches story. It makes a perfect recipe for a Bollywood potboiler - great spectacle with little or no substance.  And what is politics, if not a spectacle! Quite simply, we like the pomp and show, and you got to flaunt it, even if you don't have it or don't want to! Simplicity has no place in the politics of a poor and developing country.

7) We have a censor board for movies. We can't celebrate Valentine's day.  We can't laugh at or poke fun at the "you-know-who" on any public forum on the internet. We can't use the word "Bombay" even in songs and now we can't laugh in or at a You Tube video.  A woman editor of an Urdu daily is in hiding and a Tamil literary laureate has given up writing. Yet, the discussion shall remain how Deepika Padukone flaunted at a party! This is the way it has always been and this is the way it shall remain.

8) We want the black money back.  But only if a certain political party gets it for us.  If anyone else talks about it, they are either not sincere or lying. And if that party totally ignores it, once they win the election, campaigning for it, we are fine with it. Yes, we are!

9) Despite being a country, which is famous for excelling in computers and technology, we have decided to completely ignore the fact that memes, internet trolls and funny internet videos are used as a device for propaganda and , in no way, are a measure of a person's popularity. We still form an opinion by how a candidate is depicted on social media, by anonymous people spewing hatred.

It's trending! Also, it's paid!
Source @babaglocal on Twitter

10) We have a short memory. Not just weak, we are talking, like Ghajini short.  So we have already forgotten how many points were promised in the beginning of this article. Just like how many things were promised in manifestos in 2014.

But we shall never forget how Arvind Kejriwal betrayed the trust of the people by not yielding and resigning in just 49 days.

Never.

P.S. Somewhere I know, this discussion would turn communal and party-specific. Consider that a bonus point # 11 !

Suggested Reading -

About Shireen Dalvi - The Silenced Urdu Editor
About Perumal Murugan - The Tamil Literary Laureate 

The Prisoner

I silently stood behind 50 odd boys in the line. One thing that this place makes you habitual of, is standing in lines. There are lines for everything - to eat, to use the bathroom, to take a shower, for a chance in the playground etc. Sometimes there is a line to get to the main line too. They say it imparts discipline - a trait lacking dearly in all of us, punctuated by the very fact, that we are here. The warden tells us that in the most distinguished  boarding schools too there are lines for all these things. Even the army operates in the same way, he adds. But I  simply think it's because it's an insanely overcrowded place. Mostly the bigger and the stronger boys get their way every time.  They will probably justify that by saying it's the valuable life lesson where the mighty would always win. I will remember it, once I am free.

This is the New Delhi Juvenile Correctional Facility. Today is the day of my release  and I am in the line to collect my clothes and belongings. All that stands in the way of my freedom are a few people ahead of me, also awaiting release, and, some papers to sign.

Yes, sign. I can do that now.

I have spent the last 3 years in isolation. They kept me separate on the pretext that me getting attacked and killed by fellow inmates was a very real possibility. Honestly, I don't believe it. Even if it was true, it still beats the purpose. This is not a prison. It's a Correctional Facility designed, by definition, more  for rehabilitation than penalization.  How do they expect me to rehabilitate outside if they won't even let me blend with the other convicts? Even though I wasn't sentenced to it, I got Solitary Confinement.

But I don't think too much about it. I have tried to make the best of this time. I learnt to read and write. I revived my hobby of painting, the loss of which, came as a collateral damage with the move to the city. One of my paintings recently won an award too. Of course, I couldn't go to receive it, but I will get it once I am free.

I am fifth in the line now. Closer to freedom.

My counselor tells me that I have no trace of anger in me and that's a good sign before release. Actually, I have never had any anger. I  was always more amazed being the subject of universal hatred.  I was caught, tried and sentenced promptly. I never denied my crime. Everything went by the book. Still, there were strangers on the roads asking for my head. I became the poster boy for the media with the veiled face. People who had never met me or known me wanted an exemplary punishment, for me, even more severe than death.  How did I become a bigger criminal than the ones accused for matricide or patricide or child molestation? Or even the same crime that I did.

However,  nothing changes the fact that I committed a heinous crime. I destroyed a young woman's life that night. An act, so repulsive and irrevocable, that others  got death sentences. I did unspeakable and unimaginable things to her. The fine details, like I was accompanied by 5 adults whom I had known since childhood or that I had to be a drunk to fit in with all the adults or that they provoked me, are meaningless. Intricacies hold no value for my demonic act.  I realize it more than anyone else but nobody would ever believe so.

That's the last of the papers that I had to sign. I have seen this walk way , from the office to the main gate, everyday through my small window. It didn't seem so long.

I was never scared of coming to this place because deep down I knew I deserved it. Being surrounded by dangerous convicts wasn't intimidating because captivity is a big equalizer. But I am frightened of freedom now. As I walk through this final passage, I know there's a world outside that hasn't forgiven me. It might have forgotten me but the society doesn't believe in rehabilitating criminals. And as anonymous  as I might be, she  would always know me. I might be one among thousands but I am the one for her. And I shall always remember it.

I am the prisoner of my destiny. I am the prisoner of the society. And I shall accept my fate.

But there has to be a reason why they don't send 17 year old teens like me to jails. They must believe we still hold some hope for future. I think so too. I want to start afresh. I have always been a captive - of poverty, of illiteracy, of responsibilities - but now I want to be relieved in all aspects.

I am outside. I am free.

With my hands spread, as I take a deep breath, the earth's scent smells different than it was inside. This is how salvation must feel like.

I feel as if I am reborn.

..............................................................................................................................................................................................................

I was shot thrice. Once between my eyes, once in my throat and the last one in my chest.

As I collapsed in the arms of the guard I saw her in my fainting vision.

She shot me. 3 in 3. She must have practiced all this while.

She had been a prisoner of destiny too.

Now, we both were free.

My rehabilitation was complete.

* Suggested reading and inspiration to this post - Washington Post article on December 16th Juvenile Rape Convict

* My earlier work on a related topic - Faces

**Image Courtesy - blog.cleveland.com