Rebelution

Not many know Khaled Saeed. Even fewer will know Mohammed Bouazizi.

For those who don't know-these two men are the reason why the middle eastern dictatorships and kingdoms are falling like nine pins. The revolution in Tunisia began when Bouazizi immolated himself due to institutional atrocities. The fire that claimed his life went on to consume the dictator Ben Ali too. Similarly, Khaled Saeed's death(murder by the Egyptian Police actually) instigated the downfall of Housni Mubarak.

These two lives contributed to the beginning of the "Jasmine revolution". The deaths united the millions who were tormented by the state machinery in the countries where monarchy and dictatorship have always been the flavour of the season. All of a sudden, every kingdom or quasi-kingdom faced protests on an unprecedented scale. The shouts for freedon grew louder and louder. The message was clear-"We have had enough". The tyrants went running for shelter.

The power of the people went back into the hands of the people. A dawn of democracy is being seen at the horizon. The middle eastern kingdoms still under the tight leash of autocrats may not remained untouched by the cries for independence for long. Those who have always used power to crush the aspirations of the burgeosie have had fear struck into their hearts. We will continue to see charge and resistance for assuming and maintaining control for some time.

But what was critical to the initiation of the revolution, particularly in Egypt, was a facebook page--"We all are Khaled Saeed". The war against tyranny actually began from the virtual world and ended in the real one. People joined forces online. SMS and internet were used as channels of propogation by the revolutionaries. If the STATE had bullets, the people had BYTES. And their 'byte' really was fatal for the uncrowned king.

The success of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and Egypt has triggered hope amongst the people of all countries that it is possible to overthrow regimes without bloodshed, without killing, without bombs and guns. The whole revolution was free of massacres or deaths except when the state machinery tried to push the peaceful people on the back foot. But unlike the past, this time, there was no going back. The resolve was palapable with more hands joining the chain everyday.

But the success also suggests the power that can be wielded by a common man through cyberworld. Information, communication and other jargons are now out of boardroom discussions and can be seen in action, where they are actually transforming the world. For long we had been told that the internet and the information deluge that it will bring will empower people to do wonders. And finally, it has happened.

The name of a mild flower perfectly suits the spirit of the revolution. It was a peaceful revolution fuelled by the spirit of the common man to gain his freedom, to get his life back, to create a new future. And the surprise was the swiftness with which all this happened.

30 years of tyranny could not stand 30 days of revolution!

The implication of this mass uprising will have an impact on the future of the world. Democracy will be strengthened world wide. We already have seen Chinese government's promptness in blocking SMS and any information related to Egypt and Tunisia(and Jasmine too). Other countries with unelected governments are facing severe agitations. Mass media is the leveller now.

The Jasmine Revolution has reinstated faith amongst those who had become despondent seeing force overpowering freedom all around them. Kudos to the people who did it. Salute to their srength,courage and determination. Those who have lived this phase will be remembered for they contributed to not just a nation but to humanity.

Note: A new WMD has been discovered and this time, its in the right hands. It's called "INTERNET".

Goof ups and government

Whats going on with all the speech goof ups by our government executives?

The ignominy of our foreign minister reading out Portuguese minister's speech had yet not been forgotten and we have another epiosde where communists have alleged that the Honourable President's opening lines were from last year's speech!

The foreign minsiter later tried to push the issue to the sidelines in DY Patil style.(Remember his statement after 26/11 which led to his ouster from office.) He said it wasn't a mistkae and such mistakes tend to happen.

Similar explanations may be offered for the Presidential speech blunder. But the question is that if people at the top are getting it all wrong with speeches(which probably is a politician's bread and butter) or the writers of those speeches, as in the case of President, are running short of ideas then what action can be taken?

Error prone governenance is unacceptable. Error prone leaders are also unacceptable. And silly mistakes are also unacceptable. Not while you are addressing the world at UN assembly or when you are addressing the session of the Parliament.(Probably the speakers and writers need training in Six Sigma approaches to get it first time right).

Not only does a poor or incorrect speech on such huge stages make the speaker stand in a bad light, it makes the citizens lose the faith in the institution called government. And at the crucuial juncture where we stand today,where people already feel disoriented with politicians, such mistake will further exacerbate the situation.

Not long ago, there was a news about a calculation mistake in the budget required rectification. The error value-55000 crores! I agree that to an economist, its just a figure which may be a tiny percentage of the budgetary target, a mistake between real and nominal values or factor cost vs market cost, but to a common man its still 55000 crores worth of mistake.

In our nation, the government, no matter how much we criticize it, is the supreme force. It is revered, feared, followed and tracked. So a goof up by any of its elite members affects the mind of every individual who still feels that the government is crucial for the running of our country. Lets hope that these mistakes are one-off incidents of agony.