Monday, October 08, 2007

Lets confess - We are bloody bureaucrats



First Rank in Kerala State SSLC
First Rank in University during Plus Two
Tenth Rank in IIT Entrance Examination
Offered Scholarship in prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rejected it for his moral obligation to the nation.
First Rank in IAS Entrance Examination
First Rank in IAS Training Institute

Most of us know whom we are talking about. It’s about one extra ordinary person who remains stubborn and refuses to budge to the corrupted bureaucracy bludgeoning over him. He created mayhem among ‘officials’ when he widened the sides of a very congested and busy road in Thrissur town. He practically slapped on the face of a local minister who wanted to turn his hospital to a medical college without any mandated infrastructure. There are many more incidents to be quoted through, but you know where I am getting to. This stubborn gentleman who had made/is still making a huge impact among the youngsters in Kerala is none other than Mr. Raju Narayanaswamy. He was transferred a million times and insulted another zillion times by our government, before he escaped as he took leave for serving the UN who were excited to get a person like Mr. Swamy on their rolls.

Time passed by, and a new government under VS - the very last comrade of a generation of inspiring ‘genuine’ Marxist leaders, came into power. Things started to look rosy when VS personally handpicked Swamy, Suresh Kumar and Rishi Raj Singh for handling the Munnar encroachment issue. Munnar might be that ‘one-off’ incident where the government itself supported a motion against corruption to such a large extent. There has been lot of pressure on VS, and he retorted to them saying “I have sent three cats to Munnar, and I don’t care if they are black or white. What matters is if they catch mice — and they really catch them, both big and small”. For the first time in my life I proudly heard a common passer-by shouting in the rain - ‘Leaders should be like VS, without bending his knees to the money of these big-shots’, as I watched JCBs bringing down those encroached structures at MG Road in Cochin.

Things went on well…..ahem…not for long. In a typical case, a land scam involving a local minister would have bitten dust in the collector’s office – but not when Mr. Swamy is the around. The repercussions of the land scam came out loud, and a certain TU Kuruvilla resigned from his post. Quite obviously there were too many concerned faces in the assembly, as Mr. Swamy went ahead strong on his attempt to wipe the system clean. When he started exposing the illegal land holding of PJ Joseph and his kin, the ‘system’ started showing its clever face. VS was jolted on his rib by a hand that came from the back seat of a plane (yeah!! You guessed it right – the same hand that grabbed at a lady), and he suddenly, out of the blue, realised that Mr. Swamy was very inefficient in executing his duty as a district collector. Yes folks, the same VS who brought him back from UN to wipe Munnar clean got an ISD call from God - a divine intervention. VS made the announcement that Mr. Swamy was an inefficient district collector. The best part was yet to come – since he was inefficient as a district collector, they transferred him to be the….errr…..the…. district collector of Pathanamthitta. The mind-blowing solution suggests that all you need, to sort out your inefficiency, is to just switch the district. So all those failed cricketers, inefficient salesmen – here is the new mantra from our government, Just jump on the next KSRTC bus and move to the next district :). And what does the highly knowledgeable PJ Joseph say about Mr. Swamy? “This person has been transferred through 6 districts in 18 months. He is an immature official; he will be liability to whichever district he goes!”. Yes Sir, PJ Joseph! That was a hilarious joke from you and the UN is a bunch of idiots. We know that he was transferred because of only one reason – He is born as a man of ethics and he stands by it, like a man.

These are not scenes from a Suresh Gopi movie. It’s something that has been happening right in front of us – making all of us citizens a bunch of sleepy hoodwinks. Shame on you, old comrade VS. Being a person who still admires the ‘real’ Marxian principles, I had a tinge of hope that you will do the state proud. But, shame on you! We know that you are powerless against the goons that actually rule the state. But I would rather throw the bloody chair and walk, rather than bending my back and my principles. I would hold my head high and take a stroll.

These politicians, irrespective of left or right, just stamp their foot on the face of innocent people and stroll with that pompous charisma – And all of us just stand by and watch like corpses, without a reason. Even when the government puts its hands on the pockets of the poor working class to collect a day’s salary for ‘disaster management due to rain’ while it gives 5 lakhs to Sreesanth (who has enough money in his kitty); Even when the government doubles the road taxes while thousands of common people rupture their spine and die, as they laboriously move through our damned roads; Even when these ‘leaders’ make a mockery of democracy and accuses rare talents like Mr. Swamy of inefficiency – We stand paralysed. We remain as dumb as a piece of wood. We do not have the time or patience to move even a finger. And that’s because we have mutated ourselves to be a part of this system. Let’s confess – We all are bloody bureaucrats……

24 comments:

anish said...

this guy swamy must be really great!! i am sure he will make a positive difference to the lives of people wherever they transfer him.

neermathalam said...

:(....
I wish I was born in UP and an illiterate.So that I just don't understand...what is happening...it is sometime better to be illiterate and indifferent..rather than being learned and helpless...
When you feel this kind of agony the way a good soul is treated...Think about what kind of feelings that would be running through his mind...

Alexis said...

Excellent post. Just shows that irrespective of party, politicians will do every thing in their power to save their position. Yes, VS should have walked. He should have stood taller and people would have supported him. Now he has shown that is no different from the rest.

Raju Narayanaswamy should have gone abroad and stayed there.

Anonymous said...

I think i was expecting something like this posting from you, but surprised i saw it only today (16th Nov).
Excellent post Abhi...
Yes, I agree that VS shouldn't have ended this event into a pity -otherwise would have found its way as a great movement in the history. I wonder if VS was helpless (though this is not abt VS). But I still prefer VS -for the reason u mentioned - last comrade who still follows the good principles of communism

Anonymous said...

WE INDIANS ARE BLOODY HYPOCRATES!
SPINELESS.
HATS OFF TO SWAMY

fanofai said...

I can't ignore the cynical attitude, when you say: "We stand paralysed. We remain as dumb as a piece of wood. We do not have the time or patience to move even a finger. And that’s because we have mutated ourselves to be a part of this system. Let’s confess – We all are bloody bureaucrats……"
Whether we do something or not, a cynical/loser attitude towards India will only worsen things.
So concluding a great article in such an inappropriate manner does not serve any point.

Reshmi said...

Have heard tits and bits abt Raju Narayanaswamy, but nothing as substantial as this...

And what a sad face of politics you have exposed in this post...!

OpinionsUpfront said...

Yes, I agree that at the root of all our problems are our politicians. Things take a hell of a lot of time to change in this country because it invariably means dilution of some or the other politician’s powers. And these guys cling to power like wolves that lock their jaws on their prey. If you agree that most of India’s problems have a rural orientation then you’d be able to see that an overwhelming majority of the urban poor are economic refugees from the rural areas while the overwhelming majority of the rural population itself is poverty stricken. State governments control their states in an arbitrary manner through district collectors who carry out their writ in the districts. And it’s here that Mr. Raju Narayanaswamy has stirred a hornet’s nest with his gung ho attitude toward the evil of corruption. But in the present system his situation is like that of Abhimanyu of Mahabharat and I don’t see how he can win. Let’s look at the problem from the roots. This whole business of district collectors is a non-democratic concept as it is authoritarian to the core. It was introduced by the racist and autocratic British rulers to serve their interests which were to loot and plunder this country. It’s downright unfortunate that the first government of independent India chose to continue with the office of the district collector just as it was under the oppressive rule of the foreigners. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that our politicians are little better than the sinister British and to that extent the district collectorate has served them pretty well. We need not loose hope because like the Election Commission, an activist media and the RTI Act other institutions will also evolve to clip the extra large wings of our politicians. It is important for right-thinking folks, especially those who look at the civil services as an avenue to serve the nation, to realize that the abolition of the office of the district collector is now a forgone conclusion. This edifice of colonial oppression has failed to deliver on all counts because its very basis and essence defies logic and reason in a democratic set-up. It was created by an autocratic order to oppress and persecute a subject race and there was no way it could have evolved into something diametrically opposite even under a sovereign democratic dispensation. As destined, it mutated and became the monster that it is today with District Collectors who have become “tycoons”. The District Collector's office is an impediment to development and democracy at the cutting edge level. Therefore it must be abolished and replaced by an executive authority (e.g. District Mayor) drawing its power from a composite district legislature. This is what the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended although the state governments aren’t implementing it for obvious reasons. All the same, my respect and admiration for Mr. Raju Narayanaswamy and others like him will never diminish. I just hope that they agree with me and stop wasting their time, efforts and resources inside this system and find other avenues to channelize their capabilities. They are the assets of civil society and their capabilities should be recognized and rewarded, not mocked at and wasted as is happening now.

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Anonymous said...

The problem is within the people ..not Politicians..Admit it
Why??
Because:Egypt, Libya got what they want..
Nothing comes for free..
If the people really wanted,Anna would have been successful.
No one has time to leave comforts of home and come on streets for rights..
IT has happened, it will continue..
Narayanswami is a Great fighter..
but a loser at personal level..
He didnt think at World level..
Had he been in MIT, he could have contributed to the world and its development...
And then,these Filthy Politicians would have licked his feet..
He Destroyed his Own life...
What a pity...!!

Anonymous said...

I strongly object to the statement that "he sacrificedhis marriage.."may i ask the author where he got this valuable info from??let me tell you what exactly happened.everyone has a right to opine, but no one has the right to assume and opine
especially in a bad light about another person.i was married to this selfish mean and cunning person till 2002.I kept quiet all these years because
i was busy picking up the shreds of my life which he had torn to pieces and make something of it.i was still doing my MBBS when he stood
on one leg to get married to me.He was driven to my home by his father;he was sitting in the front seat sandwiched between his parents; and he was
not interested in talking to me.He very sweetly offered his help in official capacity to my father if needed.my father thanked him and politely
refused.I was not particularly interested in this marriage for obvious reasons;i wanted a loving and caring husband period.But then his parents
came and literally fell at my parents feet and the inevitable happened.after that he ignored me so much i often used to wonder why he ever married me.
It became clear that he was using me, he wanted to marry a kottayam girl in kottayam when he was the sub collector there;just to get coverage there,
and he chose the day too;when all the top politicians would be there in town so they could come for this too.On that day the then chief minister
jokingly warned me about this man and it came out to be so true...
Within a few days after marriage, he demolished my father's property wall which had
been previously reconstructed lawfully under police supervision following its unlawful demolition by local goons.let me ask you all; how many of you
would allow a pathway through your property just because some lazy bums want to just cut across through it from one road to another rather than
walking around it in the normal round about way??that property is there in the family for the last 2 generations and my father has not taken
anybody's property forget the government's.we have sufficient proof including the survey dated 60years back.This moron supposedly took the drastic
step based upon a mass petition and his enquiry report on it.I had to attend college face everyone's questions and not to mention the hellish life with inlaws...i was not allowed to talk to my parents or go to my home.after this episode i encouraged my mentally broken father to go to court.My father was not down because the wall was demolished but because the new son in law did that cunningly and 'unlawfully' behind our back just to get publicity.The 'martyr'got transferred in the mean time;and my father had to get copies of documents from the subregistrar's office for the court case.he was shocked to see that the date on the order for enquiry report on the mass petition and the report were well after the
incident;months after he
got transferred from the place!!!he had forged this document;done it at atime when he had no authority to do so ie unlawfully!!.
The judgement was in our favour and the wall is now restored by the way.contd..

Anonymous said...

contd..My father lodged a criminal case too upon my insistence.I was with my father not because he brought me up but because he deserved justice and needed my support.Anyways the cunning fellow sent his parents for a compromise to save his face and his job.As per the elders' advice i too agreed;no one in the right frame of mind get married just to divorce.I wanted to give it a try for what it was worth.But after the cases were withdrawn he never came home.I was with his parents hoping for him to come.One fine day he gave interview saying that he had divorced me and my father broke the marriage when i was still legally married to him.That was enough for me and i finally went for a divorce.Lot of people tried for a compromise including the family court judge;but he was not willing.I pulled myself together did my post graduation and fellowship through merit.I had wasted precious years of my life
hoping that this poor example of a man would improve..I only know how difficult that period of my life was, i had to face the gossip, i had no strength to open up against people like you who support this cunning fellow blindly.I came out of it by God's grace.and I was practising my profession till my childbirth after my second marriage to a very loving and caring person.God is there so I got a loving husband to compensate for all i went
through.At least now my parents are able to sleep peacefully without tears in their eyes caused by thoughts about my future.They aged fadt and became weak before my eyes burdened with untold sorrow.some of you may have sisters and daughters;how will you feel and react if this happens to them? would you still applaud the moron's academic brilliance?what is the use of any education if it fais to have impact and improve one's character??let me ask you how long can anyone live in the past??1st rank 10th and pre degree and IAS agreed but 1st rank iit entrance and final.. bullshit.
his parents by their own proud admission to me used to go and stay with him in iit to help with studies.he has attended school only to write exams.
and he cheated in the practicals.his parents used to help with files and his ' literary works' when i was there.and by the way what has academic brilliance got to do with character?? let me answer that.. nothing at all.and that man is a big big zero in character.are nt there any
other honest officers other than him?? why nothing comes out about them??He is arrogant to aal except politicians (he licks their feet,i was witness) and so called journalists who publish what he pukes.i have often asked my father why he keeps quiet to all these lies and his reply was he would not reply to the barks of stray dog he had better things to do.But now the barking has strated to be bothersome hence this post.if it does not quieten i will go legally with proof to make sure the mouth stays closed.In 2006 this moron gave an interview and his mother had approached my parents for
a reunion saying that he was willing to 'talk' to me and he would commit suicide without me. my mother replied that if a reunion happens then her
daughter(i) would commit suicide:)..and for the record my father is not that moron's father in law.so to all the people out there if something sounds too good to be true it might not be true after all.if any of you has doubt and need proof for this i am ready to oblige.contd..

Anonymous said...

contd..And finally for the record Mr Swami is a mean selfish cunning person with no moral scruples whatsoever in using people as stepping stones and discard
them with no compunction once their purpose in his agenda is served.He is a downright liar and cheat who cheats himself and others.But he cannot cheat
God who is watching everyone.And just because he tells lies to 1000 people and fool them,his lies do not become the truth.
He has to face God for his
sins and various misdeeds, he is doing it so he has not come up in life and never will because he can never be happy or contended without God's grace.He lives in his past ;i feel pity for his present and future if he still has any.And lastly i am not lashing baseless
accusations at him i have
actually lived in hell and i have proof for that to produce before all who want it.i wont be keeping quiet till i try my best to bring the actual story before everyone;no one can pull the wool over everybody's eyes all the time.there is an end to bad things too..Mr swami is cheating himself and others.but he cannot cheat God.speaking about spirituality, why cant he devote his life to service of the humankind and be a true diplomat and human being without crazing after power and popularity??why cant he unburden himself of his mammoth ego?being a diplomat he should know how to tackle the politicians.that is what he is paid for after all.why is he cribbing then?so dear fellow bloggers Mr Swami is no different than the so called
politicians whom he make out to be his tormentors and the cinematic style villains.in fact he is even worse because he uses even them for publicity while licking their feet in private and sometimes public foe coveted posts..
thanks

Anonymous said...

So it seems Mr swami is no abhimanyu.he turns out to be a combo of duryodhan and shakuni..:))

Unknown said...

yeah dear lady, if what you say is true then he shouldnt have been in the sorry state he- if only he had known to lick the feet of politicians and media and been a true diplomat ( he is paid for that??- he is paid for the service of the people) if i may correct this ignorant lady! whatever be the personal issues - you cannot question the man on the service he's done. Why would he scheme against your father for no apparent reasons, why would he insist on marrying someone and then be not interested in saving the marriage. Your story has a lot of loopholes please make a more convincing one lady and please be brave enough to at least put your name! btw parents coulnt hve written the IIT and IAS papers- there are many of his seniors and classmates who would vouch for the character' remark sweetie.-- shalini. Nair

Anonymous said...

yeah dear lady, if what you say is true then he shouldnt have been in the sorry state he- if only he had known to lick the feet of politicians and media and been a true diplomat ( he is paid for that??- he is paid for the service of the people) if i may correct this ignorant lady! whatever be the personal issues - you cannot question the man on the service he's done. Why would he scheme against your father for no apparent reasons, why would he insist on marrying someone and then be not interested in saving the marriage. Your story has a lot of loopholes please make a more convincing one lady and please be brave enough to at least put your name! btw parents coulnt hve written the IIT and IAS papers- there are many of his seniors and classmates who would vouch for the character' remark sweetie.

Azmat Khan said...

I am indeed surprised to read Mr. Swamy's former wife's post. It's really difficult to know who is right and who is wrong. Reading about Swamy's public service is impressive indeed. At least I am. In such a scenario, it is difficult to read anything contrary to my opinion about the man. However, reading his former wife's post gives a totally different perspective. Especially when she has gathered the mental courage to put to words what she says she has gone through. How true it is that we can never take anyone at face value. People are so different at different levels. Anyway, I sincerely hope and pray Mr. Swamy continues to do good work for the nation. And more than that, I pray that his former wife and her entire family leads a really good and happy life.

Radhnar said...

Thank you mr Azmat khan for your kind words. Now I would like to address ms shaking nair, I gather from your name that you are a woman, if you /your sister/close relative had to go thru what I did , I wonder what your response could be??you have to ask mr swami few reason for his strange behaviour in the marriage;believe I was baffled and hurt to say the least.and which colleague and class mate are you talking about??please ask Rajeev sadanandan/krishnamoorthy to name a few officers for mr swamis character and behaviour.as I explained he unlawfully demolished the property wall and narrowly escaped punishment for forgery becoz of my fathers generosity.even after reading my article if you have the gall to call me ignorant and repeat your stupid questions ;I rather think the boot is on the other foot.agreeably mr swi has secured first ranks from kindergarten , but in what way common man is benefitted from that?the sole beneficiary is mr swami himself.and FYI my name is radhika, please feel free to contact me @naren_radhu@hotmail.com dearie shalini,people like you who get in to blind adulation without getting your facts straight encourage the corrupt politicians and the likes.my dear if you need proof for your idols forgery please mail me ,and don't insult me if you can't get thru your pea sized brain the facts I have lived thru and survived thru Gods grace

Radhnar said...

Also ms shalini ,in mr swami has now reaped what he sowed,so he is solely responsible for the supposed sorry state he is in.even while licking the politicians feet for power he apparently cannot fulfil what they expect him to do, so he shud mr luck their feet in the first place for power atleast then his dignity would be saved to some extent.but that cannot alter the fact that he mercilessly used innocent and naive people to get cheap popularity among blind people like you quite shamelessly.and shalini for further clarification and proof you will have to mail me as there is no provision to upload files here.my family is proud of the way I have battled this thru.i can never stoop to resort to lies and cheating come what may and so I am writing this with a clear conscience that is not even clouded by hatred towards the person who used and cheated me and my family along with people like you who refuse to face facts

Radhnar said...

Also I am not writing this out of self pity.i don't need pity because I am now happy and contented and at peace.as I have mentioned in my previous posts,I was silent for 2 reasons1)I had no knowledge mr swami was again using my family for cheap popularity ;that too lying without any compunction 2)I was busy picking up the pieces of my life and mending it.ms shalini,you shud be in my shoes before you could even begin to understand what I have gone thru,let alone criticise me.God forbid it shud nt happen to you or anyone. Also I would like to mention here that I have seen the same article as in this blog in various other blogs and e publications(naariyal paani,sulekha,r21club,techsang,Wordpress,mathrubhumi,malayalam news,etc to name a few),under different names without do much as a change of sentence or even a word.it is pretty obvious that this nasty piece of work is authored by the redoubtable mr swami acting as a ghost writer.it is saddening that the so called responsible journalists who supposedly stand for the truth allow themselves to be used like this and irresponsibly publish such rubbish with their ne under it without bothering to check the facts.i tried to contact them and offered the proof but in vain. Another publication from delhi dialogue India also had published this rubbish but corrected their mistake and published the truth after checking on the proof I gave.i have seen this article do often in the net it's sight is now a sore to the eye and bore to the mind. There are genuinely pressing issues faced by the nation requiring our focus rather than a bogus sob story of a hypocrite.i have no respect for such a human being. I only reacted now to put an end to this farce and drama as keeping silent is automatically construed as being guilty. As I mentioned pl feel free to contact me for proof ,go thru the facts before pointing accusing fingers.got it dearie ?

Radhnar said...

Ms shalini nair I apologise for addresding you as ms shaking nair it was a typo error of my I phone which presumes the words and types them.i didn't notice it before and it was unintentional .my offer to provide proof still stands.thanks

pophabhi said...

Dear Smt. Radhika,
I have been off the blog world for quite some time, and quite unintentionally tramped back into my post that I had given long back. I went through all the points that you have shared.
I had created this original post in 2007 after going through many articles in newspapers and websites. There was a sentence that came from the old wikipedia about Shri.Raju which had a mention about the sacrifice of family life, and it is my mistake that I had written a sentence of similar meaning without knowing the reality. My sincere apologies if those words have hurt you, and I had removed it from the blog if it may be untrue from a 'sacrifice' point of view.

However be rest assured that this particular post was done by myself, and I have not personally met or has never communicated in any means with Shri. Raju. His name used to be one that was added as an example by my father when I was studying, just like many other parents who may have thrown his name as example for studies. That is background and probably is in the back of our head since we grew up hearing his name. There is nothing more to it, and I have still not met / communicated with him.

The intention of the article was just to use the name of Shri Raju as an example, for the pathetic state of our Kerala in the hands of our politicians and bureaucrats. The message was in that lines, and it was never intended to end up as a personal message on Mr. Raju.

At the end of it, I hope that the knowledge that Shri. Raju has received through the immense learning that he has pursued actually disseminates for the good of nation. I hope that people of our state and nation gets the services of good politicians and government officials. I wish the very best to you and your family and is happy to know that you find peace in the life you are going through now. It is not right for me to get into or convey thoughts about your or Mr. Raju's personal life earlier, but I hope that life moves on with happiness for everyone.

Thanks,
Abhi

Manjot kaur said...

Thank you for your nice post .

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