secrecy is sadistic too

i had taken an vow not to post again on demon till the grand finale . which will be a spectacular event by all counts. there will be chest thumping performance with hair raising dialogues and suspense filled proclamations on the d day. withdrawal symptom shown by the main actor is just deception. he probably is in the final lap of preparations  to leap back into centre stage yet again.

the beauty is that the entire opposition has been taken for a ride. they are demanding mundane things like  his presence in parliament and answers to a few silly queries. which he denies in one of the best strategies ever seen in politics. forcing the opposition deep into this quagmire. in the meantime demon marches ahead unchecked. opposition is led to believe that he is running away becoz he has no answers.  this can't be farther from the truth. every politician in this country is capable of justifying  any thing anywhere.

incidentally that takes us to the immediate provocation for breaking my vow and doing this post. in a recent channel debate a prominent supporter from kerala was asked if  the entire notified currency comes back what exactly  the gain is. he said the money has now come into the white channel and that itself is a big gain.

that is it. the purpose of demon at least in parts was to bring black money into the open channel.  not exactly to burn it or drown it in ganges.

in that case where was the need for secrecy ? couldn't it be achieved in the open domain ?

well, secrecy is engraved in our  mind in such sordid colours that we dare not discuss it. except may be bimal jalan or thomas issac who dared to question it. with minimal impact. the common man and  the intelligentsia alike think it is anti national if not straight treason to peck at  the unbridled right and inescapable responsibility of the state to do things in secret. in a democracy . in the largest of the lot.

secrecy indeed is the dirt in which corruption breeds. apart from that secrecy is probably the secret  nesting place  of sadists. they get the bloated satisfaction that they have the power and opportunity  to humiliate the public thru their exclusive membership in these secret clubs. which is more intoxicating  than the arrogance of power, open power, that is. and this probably is  the biggest support that is guaranteed to sustain governmental secrecy for ever in this world.

crux of the matter is that we can expect a lot of surprising declarations on the d day. and many more secret moves thereafter. moves aimed at restricting our personal space further.

demon scars

that the flight called demonetization, demon for short,  has been hijacked is no more  a matter for debate. even the hardcore optimists who take  b positive  tablets the first thing in the morning are convinced. they however believe that the flight will somehow  land . they have faith in the pilot. but the mute point is whether he is still in the cockpit .
this post however is not to speculate on the fate of demon which will   be known in a few days for sure. this attempt is to draw attention to the damage done to the indian polity which is probably irreversible.

1. crack in the govt machinery
any government or for that matter any establishment has a core segment at the bottom which manages the routine but vital functions.  this segment is responsible for running the govt irrespective of the who is at the higher  level. it is at this upper level which remains volatile that all the political games take place and  the colour  and tenor change frequently while the hard core bottom level remains solid and firm.

it is this solid core block of the govt which shows fissure now . and the symptoms are there for anyone who care to see. and recurring at alarmingly short intervals.

2. polarisation in the society
demon has succeeded in dividing the country vertically. with no space for a neutral view. there is no space even for debates or discussions. opinions on both sides are so hardened and opposite that any discussion eventually becomes a personal attack. with response emotional and nothing else.
how good this polarisation is depends on which side of the fascist divide the viewer is. but what history has shown again and and again is that  polarisation of this kind can never be defused in a gradual peaceful manner. it needs an explosion to settle down. violence is a confirmed outcome of if not a  prerequisite to deionisation   the surcharged society.

before signing off  , titbit of rustic wisdom.  a dialogue which i overheard in a bus plying to a remote village in kerala . in fact there are no remote villages in kerala. remote here means a little away from the main roads.
 " modiji is the weakest prime minister we ever had. he is good runner but hands over the baton before completing even half a lap. he then starts another run not bothering  to see how the earlier run proceeds. he is in fact running away consciously ...  if only our pm stopped being an escapist  and stayed on  track a little longer .... "