| March Madness - Honey, is it all about Money? |
Hey, it's March Madness. The country finally seems to have been realizing this cruel reality. But sadly it is too late now. The infectious desease has striken back in its most horrible form. By now it is clear, the bug of corruption has bit them all, be it bureaucrats, corporates, defence personnel or politicians. The common people is a bewildered lot, and has been left asking one another - honey, is it all about money?
The revelations by the much-talked about Tehelka Video tapes have left the country and the common man high and dry. The chaos is all pervasive. The once bubbly bourses are now on the rockbed, courtesey the mahabharta between bull, bears and woh, the rogues. Amid all this chaos the March Madness has continued unabated. The fallout of this has seen a few heads, from the big bad world of insider trading, rolling down with many more appearing to be in the pipeline. The political jungle too has caught fire with the revealing news of political bigwigs getting involved in a deal where only buyers and sellers existed, with goods being non-existent. Food for thought for crazy minds! Isn't it? From the supremos of the two national parties to the defence minister to some of the lesser mortals from bureaucracy, heads have been rolling down.
The March madness does not stop here. It has got a ripple effect whose reflections could be seen right from the bay of Bengal, TC pulls out of the NDA government, to Chennai, Angry Amma gears up to throw fresh gauntlet at her fond rivals. The stock market too contributes to this madness in its own way. From insider trading to the story of a bear cartel's alleged crusade against the market's big bull to the emergence of a rogue trader on the Jeejabhoy Tower, all sorts of news have kept pouring in. The common man is in a pensive mood. What to do with this muddle?
Politics and corruption go hand in hand. There is absolutely no doubt about this. But if this takes into its grip the defence personnel, which is perceived to be the most honest lot, what will happen to this country? This raises a very serious issue about the safety of the country - In whose hands this country is safe? Needless to say it's an issue about one's credibility. If the bureaucrats, politicians, all are corrupt, this could only lead to a complete moral destruction of our society. Who will be the role model for our next generation? whom will they look at, to draw inspiration? If Operation West End of Tehelka leads to an operation clean up the corruption, only then the whole exercise of investigations and enquiries would prove to be worthwhile, else it would also end up as a mere damp squib like other such exercises in the past (remember yesteryear's big bull is still happily roaming scotfree). The time has come to say to oneself, look honey, it's not all about money, it's all about credibility. Once it is lost, you lose the very purpose of existence.
Amit Singh
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