PACHU MENON, MARGAO
ONE is at loss to understand the ‘charms’ of the political world which allows a majority of the class to have immediate changes of perception no sooner they enter the portals of power! Individuals who never seemed to tire of sermonizing on the virtues of serving the society are conspicuous by their equal disdain for similar tasks at hand the moment they ‘qualify’ as representatives of the people. Quite often the ‘principled’ stand they were seen taking on various subjects endears them to the public resulting in their anointment as leaders of the masses. But their duplicity is quite evident on the face of contentious issues where the ‘clashes of interests’ prevent them from throwing their weight behind any and every socially-relevant movement, unmindful of the fact that these very ‘activities’ had catapulted them to political limelight early in their careers. This eventually results in a mood of displeasure and despondency settling amongst the ‘followers’ forcing them to behave in an arbitrary fashion against the ‘authority’ of their leaders. Hurling footwear and smearing the face of leaders have been the some of the most common vindictive pastimes indulged in by disgruntled youth of the day cutting across the globe, making it amply clear that they do not have much patience to feed on false hopes and promises any longer and wait for the system to improve of its own. Expecting instant results to come off the winds of change that sweeps the country in the wake of such revolutionary activism, a marked disappointment at the new order that they have managed to establish apparently drives people to take such ridiculously harsh steps. The ink attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday by a former AAP activist possibly reflects the mood or anger of a generation that feels cheated at the hands of a class of leaders who in the name of sweeping the country clean of the existing social dirt have only worsened the scenario, spreading the muck more extensively. While there is no denying the fact that such offhand responses to the prevalent injustice at every level of society is least welcome; there is something big amiss in the working of dispensations that needs to be addressed. Is the AAP in this case guilty of promising the unattainable to the Delhi-ites!