Wednesday, April 29, 2009

India Catches Swine Flu

Yeah, yeah I know what you will say “Swine Flu in India? No way!” but my dear friend Swine Flu has really taken its roots in India beginning in February when politicians came out in droves with folded hands, spewing venomous speeches against one another in the air of democracy.

The informal definition of Swine in the Oxford Dictionary is ‘an unpleasant person’. Flu is defined as an acute highly contagious viral disease. Going by these definitions Swine Flu or the flu spread by unpleasant people has already hit the Indian atmosphere and symptoms are starkly visible for the world to see.

The infected hands of politicians that doles out crores of Rupees openly in public; the blind eye turned to the chronic terrorism threat; the limping attitude of ministers in addressing economic crisis; the feverish pitch of hate speeches without any fear of being booked; the brain-dead outlook for the country projected in every party’s manifesto and the blood chilling thirst for power that turns politicians into murderers. Just some of the deadly symptoms recognizable easily.


The Indian Swine Flu is being carried by hosts that are vying for mere 543 seats in the Lok Sabha of a country of over 1.2 billion.

The Indian Swine Flu is known to be caused by hunger for power that leads to corruptible ways of achieving it. This virus is not isolated and has various subtypes that spreads generation to generation. The main carriers are seasoned politicians (usual suspects like Deve Gowda, Lalu Prasad, M Karunanidhi, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Karat, L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, etc), most of whom advocate dynastic spread of the virus.

The virus is deadlier in the female carriers; it hasn’t spared Mamta Bannerjee, Jayalalitha, Mayawati, Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi, who are termed as ‘King Makers’.

While the H1N1 virus causes sore throat and headaches in the victims, the Indian Swine Flu virus has left common man cynical and sore about promises broken. Not to forget the headaches we suffer every time we tune in to the TV to see how low the swines have stooped this time with their level of speeches and actions.

The reach of Swine Flu is unhindered and quick as it spreads from octogenarian politicians to young guns in Indian politics by mere air contact. Varun Gandhi caught the Swine Flu as a BJP candidate when he made his infamous hate speeches in Pilibhit. Any guesses where he caught the virus from?

The Indian Swine Flu has not spared even the internet world where the Swines are spreading their viral message. I got several such emails from candidates trying to woo candidates. Nothing wrong in this method, as long as one reads it with caution and runs a virus scan.

It is found that the Indian Swine Flu virus has mutated over the years. From affecting illiterate politicians to master criminals, the virus has mutated to affect even the elite class of literate politicians. Some have shown resistance to the virus by being upright in their ideals such as Arun Shourie, AK Anthony, and Manmohan Singh, as individuals.

The Indian strain of Swine Flu virus cannot be contained by the likes of Election Commission or Supreme Court. These agencies have caught several swines red-handed for distributing cash for votes (Yashwant Sinha and the likes), or spreading hate speeches (Varun Gandhi). They have even barred some criminals from contesting elections (poor Sanjay Dutt) and tried to bring some order but they haven’t been able to contain the viral spread completely.

What can perhaps (mind you, perhaps) contain the spread of the Indian Swine Flu is the honest vote by every citizen for the right reasons and right candidate. The treatment will not be overnight but spread across several years maybe with the right awareness of our responsibility in draining out the virus. But one cant help but think that our vote could strengthen the virus instead of stemming it out since the carriers are multiplying with great rage every time.

I only pray and hope that this year the Indian Swine Flu comes to an end with the declaration of results in May. But brace yourself for the return of the virus after 5 years, lets hope it is less deadlier.

1 comment:

triply said...

As a regular reader of your blog, I must say that this is the best blog I have read.

Everything you say is absolutely true. I felt that my vote would be wasted, whether I voted or didn't, for the very same reason... swine flu. I voted for the party I always vote for, but I am disillusioned by all of them.

There has to be some change coming soon, since Democracy has become a sham... Dictatorship isn't the answer and neither is lawlessness. There has to be something new that will come.

I also agree that people like Arun Shourie and Dr. Manmohan Singh are exemplery citizens. We need a cadre of leaders like Dr. Singh. Arun Shourie, Vajpayee to lead us, along with an equally educated and relatively incorrupt lower cadre.

Yes, no one seems to have the real answers. How far can something go if it isn't working? Judging by the Indian Democratic System, I'd say it's over 61 years and counting....

I remember a scene in the movie "Satya", in which the Mumbai Commissioner of Police tells one of his Inspectors that the problem is lack of education, not law and order. While the inspector doesn't seem to agree and neither is the audience expected to agree with the Commissioner, I personally think that he was right... educate the people, tell them about their Civil Rights. One informed person may just be a frustrated citizen, but an informed population is the only antidote to the swine flu.