Michael Jackson, R.I.P.
What a week or two it has been! The news channels just kept it rolling starting with the elephant statue controversy in Uttar Pradesh.
At the speed Mayawati's sculptors are churning out those elephants, Thailand should be worried considering that the country is going to lose its sobriquet of the Land of White Elephants. I am sure, that Uttar Pradesh now has more stone elephants than the real ones. OK, they look good (elephants are undoubtedly very graceful creatures), but, is it a coincidence that these animals are her Mayawati's political party’s symbols? Probably not. Because the statues of Her Mightiness are also standing at various 'chowks' and centers of her state/fiefdom. And all that money to fund those pachyderms comes from the taxpayer. I’d be happier if the money was spent to save some real lions and tigers or even given away in charity. Hope Her Mightiness spared some pocket change on them from her own millions that she has pocketed over the years. Proclaiming herself to be a leader of backward classes, she sure is bringing equality among the caste-ridden society in her own little way. And that is by making the entire state go backwards into decades and maybe centuries. So the moral of the story? if you can't chart any progress for your people, do the next best thing, hit the cruise control. In reverse. Result? Everyone's backward and everyone's exploited and everyone's happy because everyone is now backward and exploited. Mission Social Equality achieved. I had last heard of such excesses only during the times of Roman emperors and in the modern times, in some small African countries (some guy built a church with a dome larger than the Vatican in a famine ridden country, don’t remember who or don’t remember where). Wheels in retro do move faster than wheels in progress. Uttar Pradesh, you are headed south. Politically and socially, that is. And I just hope that the Supreme Court verdict puts brakes on this elephant rampage.
What a week or two it has been! The news channels just kept it rolling starting with the elephant statue controversy in Uttar Pradesh.
At the speed Mayawati's sculptors are churning out those elephants, Thailand should be worried considering that the country is going to lose its sobriquet of the Land of White Elephants. I am sure, that Uttar Pradesh now has more stone elephants than the real ones. OK, they look good (elephants are undoubtedly very graceful creatures), but, is it a coincidence that these animals are her Mayawati's political party’s symbols? Probably not. Because the statues of Her Mightiness are also standing at various 'chowks' and centers of her state/fiefdom. And all that money to fund those pachyderms comes from the taxpayer. I’d be happier if the money was spent to save some real lions and tigers or even given away in charity. Hope Her Mightiness spared some pocket change on them from her own millions that she has pocketed over the years. Proclaiming herself to be a leader of backward classes, she sure is bringing equality among the caste-ridden society in her own little way. And that is by making the entire state go backwards into decades and maybe centuries. So the moral of the story? if you can't chart any progress for your people, do the next best thing, hit the cruise control. In reverse. Result? Everyone's backward and everyone's exploited and everyone's happy because everyone is now backward and exploited. Mission Social Equality achieved. I had last heard of such excesses only during the times of Roman emperors and in the modern times, in some small African countries (some guy built a church with a dome larger than the Vatican in a famine ridden country, don’t remember who or don’t remember where). Wheels in retro do move faster than wheels in progress. Uttar Pradesh, you are headed south. Politically and socially, that is. And I just hope that the Supreme Court verdict puts brakes on this elephant rampage.
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