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Friday, 7 May 2021

LEST WE FORGET

   At the entrance to the Hall of Remembrance in the US Holocaust Memorial, Washington, the following words are inscribed:

    GUARD YOURSELF AND GUARD YOUR SOUL CAREFULLY LEST YOU FORGET THE THINGS YOUR EYES SAW.

The Jews in France have a shorter version of this exhortation: N'OUBLIONS PAS or LEST WE FORGET. The Jews have a long memory. It's time for us to develop one too.

  We need to retain in our collective national memory the near- Apocalypse the nation is going through and the persons responsible for it. There was a time when we stood in long lines in order to live; that was bad enough, but today we have to wait in longer lines in order to die, pleading for a can of oxygen or a hospital bed. It doesn't end there- we also have to wait in line to be cremated or buried, three to a pyre or grave. This is not the tryst with destiny Nehru had promised us, nor the acche din on the promise of which the present incumbent came to power.

  The disembowelment of the economy, the rendering of our social fabric, the defenestration of all constitutional values and bodies, the failure to protect our borders, the dumping of tens of millions back into the abyss of poverty from which they had just clambered out, the lying, hating and sporadic killing- all this in the first six years of this government- was bad enough. But it all pales into insignificance compared to what this regime is doing now.

 Walking the ramp in Davos instead of checking out the hospitals in his own country, preening with peacocks instead of holding meetings of the Covid task forces, preparing for elections instead of the second wave, spending billions on vainglorious projects such as the Central Vista and a private jet instead of ramping up vaccine production, listening to coronil quacks instead of the best scientific minds., reminding us of the NRC "chronology" instead of pursuing the corona's genome sequencing. Anyone could have seen that this was a recipe for armageddon, anyone, that is, but the Supreme Leader and his Sancho Panza, blinded by their lust for power and their troglodyte followers lobotomised by a toxic scalpel.

  We will never be allowed to know the actual extent of the enormous suffering the nation is going through today. The administration is on full drive to fudge, conceal, deny the number of covid infections or deaths. According to most credible international institutes, the genuine numbers are between ten and fifteen times what the government is reporting. That would mean at least 3 million infections and 40000 deaths every day- and we are yet to hit the peak. 

  Instead of accepting this with humility the government is putting out false narratives about similar number of deaths in the USA and Europe last year. Like most of its propaganda this too is a package of lies. In most countries ( except those like Brazil, whose Bolsanero is Mr. Modi's twin in every respect) the people died of Covid, of the virus, not because of lack of oxygen, ventilators, hospital beds and vaccines. And by the time the second wave came they had prepared themselves to receive it. Our government spent that time on patting itself on the back, turning a deaf ear to experts, growing beards, locking up journalists and ramming through Parliament laws that no one wanted.

  India has not suffered so much since the Bengal famine of the 1920s; then it was the British who caused it, today it is our own elected government. A country which is the "vaccine factory" of the world has been reduced to begging for vaccines and oxygen. Mr. Modi has made us a nation of beggars, global mendicants and pall bearers, while he himself demands votes as a matter of right and lectures us on how to become self-sufficient- "atmanirbhar". Instead, we are now " parmatmanirbhar"- left  to the mercies of a God who may or may not reside in in the statues and temples we are spending billions on.

  The prime architects of this cataclysm are, of course, the Deadly Duo who may not be named, who thrive on the misery and pain of citizens. But they are not alone in bringing this nation to its knees: they have been ably assisted by a whole host of willing collaborators, the pilot fish and parasites who  attend on behemoths, picking the crumbs from their insatiable jaws. We must not be shy of identifying them: the three previous Chief Justices of India who betrayed their office and their oath, the Election Commissioners who sold not only their bodies but also their souls for yet another piece of offal ; the officers of the CBI, ED, IncomeTax, Delhi police whose excesses need to be documented; a CAG who is more adept at redacting than auditing; the malevolent monk from Gorakhpur whose sheer savagery would make us question which type of God he worships; the media moghuls and anchors who, for a few pathetic crores of advertising, hid the truth from the citizens and encouraged the rampaging monsters to greater depths of depredation; a Solicitor General who lied through his teeth every time he stood up on his hind legs, whether it be about migrants, oxygen availability or incarcerated journalists; the cringing Cabinet ministers who preferred a bungalow in Lutyen's Delhi to a place in history; the heads of corporate hospitals who spent the last one year in padding hospital bills of dead patients instead of setting up PAS oxygen plants for the surge everyone knew was coming; the complicit bureaucrats who stabbed a nation in the back for an extension or a comfortable sinecure, the BJP spokespersons who continue to spout arrogance instead of empathy on every prime-time show.

  We must remember the Bobdes and the Sunil Aroras, the Arnab Goswamis and the Ravi Shankars, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, Dr. Harshvardhan and the ICMR chief, the Amit Malviyas and Tejeshwi Suryas, the Smriti Iranis and Sadhvi Pragyas, and ask whether they bear any culpability for turning the nation into a purgatory. Dozens have already died for want of oxygen supplies, prompting one High Court to say that the government has  " blood on their hands," and another to term it as a genocide. In response, our Foreign Minister, having failed miserably in his own domain on all fronts, dismisses this as democracy at work! The sheer callousness and insensitivity of our 'leaders" is beyond belief.                                                                                                                                            We should remember each and every one, as the Israelis remember those who tormented them. A nation can grow only if it has a long memory, of the good times and the bad. As Ashwani Kumar quotes in an article in the WIRE: " The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting", for that is the only way that the excesses of power is called to account. In an ideal world, when the age of reason returns, these people should be held to account for what they have done to a once proud nation, for the millions of deaths, the biblical scale of suffering they have inflicted on a people who trusted them. That however is unlikely to happen for we are still the land of Buddha and Mahavira. But this must change in the crucible of grief and agony which is the India of today. Their names and their deeds should be recorded for posterity so that later generations never again make the mistake of trusting a Caligula in the guise of a Pied Piper.

We should never forget- or forgive.

116 comments:

  1. The struggle of Memory against Forgetting....The blood boils ..Thanks Abhay

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  2. The struggle of Memory against Forgetting....The blood boils ..Thanks Abhay

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  3. So powerful our angst is mirrored through your thoughts....
    I want to see them in jail and will never ever forget...

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  4. May the gods fury unfold on thr killer duo and the taklu from gorakhpur from the very temples they build to show their strength .

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  5. May the power of this prose translate into a force to destroy the evil we are beset with and to create a humane and efficient socio-political order.

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  7. What sort of a flawed democracy is this where we cannot remove the evil that is thrust upon us? A democracy is supposed to government of the people, by the people for the people.

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  8. We sure are using acid tonight, instead of ink ....

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  9. Thanks for voicing the angst of the Nation.

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  10. Truly said. What is worse is the utter callousness to the sufferings of the people right under his nose and continuing with the Grand Central Vista project. And he that may not be named had famously said "even if a dog comes under my car, I feel the pain". Such a sensitive soul.

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  11. So much we need to never forget......and keep the blood boiling, collectively. We learn history and from history when such chronicles are written. Thank You Sir!

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  12. https://youtu.be/g4Tz7ECNsKw

    What is the reason for this?
    A global pandemic, yes. Every country has been hit. It's not all Modi's fault.
    But setting up doctors for failure and death?
    As a strongman he can prioritize, now is the time to use his near dictatorial powers. It is a failure of leadership. I wish the SOB had left the professionals (doctors and civil administration) take care of this.

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  13. Brilliant piece, would like to add - Monk from Gorakhpur is much concerned about bovines, has set up facilities with Oxymeters and thermal scanners.... absolute mental bankruptcy...

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  14. Avay, I have followed your writings and admired them for the humour and light touch of sarcasm. After the last one, I just wanted to write and convey my admiration for this searingly honest written from the depths of the heart.
    I had written a piece a week ago - Chronicle of a tragedy foretold.
    rakeshsood.in

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    1. "Chronicle of a Tragedy Foretold", very well written piece.

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  15. Dear Avay,

    Your use of the word PURGATORY sumps up all, but what about those who acquiesced in this madness of over-centralization? The gang of four responsible for the 1962 debackle appear to be innocents when compared to the present incumbents. Arrogance can only succeed when fawning courtiers keep nodding to the utterances and actions of the dictatorial diktats of the one and only Maharaj Dhiraj!!

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  16. In Bovines is temperature taken from the rear most orifice? If so then it would all be to a piece - that the **** (Eng/UK) is more powerful than the head.

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  17. Would have appreciated if some constructive suggestions had been added.

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    1. That's a flaw in our character. Instead of trying to find a remedy we look for a Scape goat.

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    2. Arrogance and blindness is an illness.You seem to forget the response Dr Singh received.
      Scapegoat??? If 'all goats with beard were wise they would be prophets'

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    3. Yes, merely ranting against failure of the government without suggesting what should have been done exposes the real intentions behind this piece. The idea is to denounce the government and malign all its policies. The author has been hyper critical and unfair in his analysis on earlier occasions too. It seems his objective is simply to tarnish the image of the most popular politician in the country. I agree that the leader ignored the warning and signals from abroad about inevitability of the second wave and his government was in a bit of a hurry to declare victory over the virus. I agree with Avay that the nation is paying dearly for that hubris but now the government’s SOS signal is getting favourable world-wide response. Hopefully things will come under control soon. Let’s forget about our differences and work collectively to defeat the virus.

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    4. Well... that wouldn't be sensational! Nothing gets attention as kindling the fire and making people revolt instead of trying to get them together to be construcvtive

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    5. So much of hatred? It's unwarranted and uncalled for. The author seems to be having some personal grudges. It's just because of the fact that complacency creeped in and all were relaxed. The politicians, bureaucracy, the public, all are equally responsible. Let's not put all the blame onto the Prime Minister. When elections were declared Covid was not there in such form. It's sad that people are loosing life but putting the entire blame on Mr.Modi not right..

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    6. It's not only about covid and the consequent fatalities though God knows these are distressing enough. The bigger concerns are the erosion of compassion and justice, and the indifference to violence, prejudice and systematic vilification of all opposing voices.

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  18. Having said which, the orchestration of indignation that is happening now is a wonderful development in the exposing of moral turpitude the likes of which may not have been witnessed since Caligula.
    I hear the disbelief behind the rhetoric and I feel its shuddering chill. Somehow, someone has to stop this insane aggrandisement. Stop this incredible and evil abuse of the nation. Remorseless and blatant in manipulation. But who will lead that we as sheep may follow?
    Who will explain what treason means? And how it has been wreaked upon us?

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  19. “Supreme Leader and his Sancho Panza, blinded by their lust for power and their troglodyte followers lobotomised by a toxic scalpel”.......nothing more elucidative than that!!

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  20. Hamare sarkar,Blood on your hands for allowing Kumbh & then spreading it All India.
    Elections,the bangaali gods couldn't have given a better tamacha.

    Uttarakhand- a tragedy unfolding.Now in First position All India for deaths in percentile of population.

    A clown prince CM whose clarion call,after phatti jeans was, "Prepare for 4 Dham Yatra!"
    What if it had it gone through!!

    Dilli gang is miles ahead.
    In God we Trust.

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  21. Is somebody doing something about translating testimonies and comments like Avay and Sircar's into other Indian languages ? This is pretty essential for them to take proper effect.

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  22. Mere criticism sans constructive suggestions is only half the story and is unlike Avay Shukla; eagerly waiting to read/hear the remaining half.

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    1. I do not need to give any suggestions. The govt. has no dearth of them, from medical, scientific, economic, administrative experts both national and international. The problem is that it ignores these suggestions and distrusts science. Had it paid heed to sane counsel we would not have been in this position as a nation. But since you insist on my giving a suggestion, here it is: Mr Modi and Shah should concentrate on elections and leave the administration of the country to those who are qualified to do that,and most important, have the interest of the country ( not the party) at heart.

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    2. Another one of those shockingly biased pieces. Almost suggests Mo Sha started the virus. As usual those who are eagerly waiting for such unadulterated biased trash will agree and clap in glee - it's their time under the sun, thanks to the virus, that they can finally pin everything that's wrong on the country and the world on him. But guess what? He will still win 2024.

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  23. Very Boldly and factually scripted Sir!
    The outpour is of millions of us who have failed to give ventilation to core feeling out of sheer fear.

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  24. A very well written piece expressing the agony our nation is passing through. The least the terrible duo can do is set up a "Hall of Remembrance" in the Central Vista.

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  25. Very hard hitting,thought provoking!

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  26. One of the best summarization of this government and the state of affairs in the biggest democracy of the world!!! Bravo Abhay

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  27. Very well said. But Bhakts think India got independence in 2014, it's dictatorship that has come in force. Still time for the blind followers to wake up.

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  28. Much as all that's stated is true beyond any reasonable doubt, in that Truth speaks facts that Lies seek to hide, there IS a time and place for all things, and that Time of Calling to Accountability WILL and SHOULD CERTAINLY COME: But my Dear Fellow Citizens, Countrymen...this is the time to pull together...as A Nation...ONE NATION under The Tricolour Flag: That alone, will lend meaning to the immeasurably humungous Sacrifices made by Frontline Soldiers in a fight against what chinese communist party (ccp) unleashed on the world as 'ccp'virus and now with impunity sits back and sneers at India's current misery..perpetrated by the power-hungry Modi-Shah regime in Delhi that left the same people who "entrusted" a mandate to form a government of by and for the people of India, instead, to pick up and writhe in ashes of many a funeral pyre lit in most undignified of settings.

    2022 isn't far away, when, on Aug.15th, it would be the 75th Anniversary of attaining freedom from our conolial masters. That's when Indians should stand up and commit to INDIA's NON-VIOLENT AND PEACEFUL SECOND STRUGGLE OF INDEPENDENCE, this time, from home-grown "masters" who specialise in perfecting the arts of governance left behind by the colonial masters...JaiHoe!..'n Jai Hind!!...GOD Bless!!!

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    1. Yes we must pull together provided we are ably led. Else which direction are you planning on

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  29. The Israelis remember the torment. What about the torment, deaths and destruction levied by them on the Palestinians. Denying them a Homeland by constantly destroying Palestinian homes and building their own without any accountability. Shame on Israel and those who support them

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  30. Far too many remain who've drunk the Koolaid and give the leaders a pass on every score, no matter how horrific or funereal. This period will pass: and there must be a reckoning for which the press (world opinion being pivotal) should rise to the occasion and make the case. Will they?

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  31. While it seems true that the Government has blundered but this article has been written is such “Shudh Angrezi “ so as to make it beyond comprehension. Seems like essay by a PHD Professor in English language with generalisations drawn from WhatsApp messages. Would have been much better if some real facts were added 40,000 deaths per day seems incorrect.
    But nevertheless the number of deaths is alarming.
    The Govt had sanctioned setting up of 850 oxygen plants across the country but took 8 months to award the contracts this is unpardonable.

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  32. Yes, all very well scripted.
    All these villains make your blood boil. Nevertheless it is worrysome to see the blindfolded population of enamoured bhakats in our surroundings, who tend to justify this tyranny by making vague references to history. On what dose of opium are they hitched, needs to be evaluated. This population is the basic foundation of Nero's Rome. How soon can the perverted and flawed psyche of such bhakats be rectified & reoriented will form a watershed in timeline.Their egoes are not allowing them to take a dispassionate view of this national disaster as that will tantamount to indicting their ownselves for pushing the nation into the jaws of these criminals. They need to be provided with some sort of safe passage through which they can retract back from their posturing without getting their egoes bruised.

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  33. All Haters assembled at one Place...Here...!!

    So called Educated...Bookish Education only
    Brain is trained...so called Librals .

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    1. If you find the fresh air and oxygen here too stifling to bear you are welcome to bow out.

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  34. Once this over, I hope people with visibility like yourself document what govt told us, what experts told the govt, how the media mediated, what institution did and what opposition was doing.
    E.g. When USA and European countries were booking vaccines in June 2020, media was helping the govt distract the public using Sushant suicide case to help NDA win Bihar.

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  35. Once this over, I hope people with visibility like yourself document what govt told us, what experts told the govt, how the media mediated, what institution did and what opposition was doing.
    E.g. When USA and European countries were booking vaccines in June 2020, media was helping the govt distract the public using Sushant suicide case to help NDA win Bihar.

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  36. India badal raha hai.My maid is getting pension,money is reaching the purpose intended for.Checked with.Families have got money for puccka roof. Toilets have come upin each and every place. That's another point , most don't use. Seen women squatting under a tree and gossiping,three toilets and a river flowing.So no excuse that there is no water.
    Seen AIIMS coming up in himachal and other states.So medical infrastructure is coming up.
    Last mile connectivity,good roads coming up in village areas.Gatkari is doing a tremendous job.
    Despite a caller tune,which says "mask hai zaruri",most places people wore out of fear of the cops.Journey beyond NCR,no one wore a mask in Rajasthan and other hamlets.
    We just can't blame the govt for everything.We as people too need to change. Sad to see people hiking up prices and trying to make money out of a calamity. Be it ambulance wallah,hoarders of medical equipment and other essential services.
    In times of crisis, the opposition needs to support the government of the day.Here in India, the opposition's not endearing itself to the people by spreading Fake news and lies.
    Besides,health is a state subject.When money given for setting up Oxygen plants,why was it not utilised?

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    1. What half baked truths. Who opposed Aadhar? Or GST? Or interfered in a national war being conducted in Mumbai in 2008 to get brownie points? Who was waving to no one inside a tunnel knowing the bought out media will play it in an endless loop? This guy is a nitwit. He cannot raise his head from gazing at his own navel.

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    2. A common man uses conventional views to see things, he isn't influenced by #fakenews or Western media.

      His education gives a hint of #VocalforLocal

      Modiji has empowered common man, common vision, our tradition.

      #AtmnirbharBharat means it.

      Present calamity can't be linked with Central Leadership of India but petty street politicians who have parties in opposition.

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  37. When the environment is so vitiated and most of us dumbfounded and stunned to express our anger or try to forget, it is admirable that Abhay has the patience and passion to go on penning the saga of blood. From demonetisation to demonisation of the polity. But we may bring them back in 2014.

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    1. It is all in the perception which has been used to cover facts.

      We must accept facts that are a global phenomenon.

      We must update and learn new things with a positive approach.

      Good vs Bad means, we must stand with Good.

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  38. Yes, we did not forsee the intensity of the mutated virus in its second wave, but to assume govt should have done it is downright silly. It's not called a pandemic for nothing. But thank goodness for the virus, it shows how divided we are as a people, and why this so called 'Idea of India' is so much balderdash. No wonder China calls it ' India's experiment with democracy'. We need someone with a whip, and be told to behave. And as long as this exercise in futility carries on, one can't blame political parties for using religion to divide people. There's a reason why partition took place, and the world knows who initiated partition as well.

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  39. Purile. Timing suggests Soroz financing. It will not be long before the awakened Hindu decides to reply with his hands. Them all tails will get tucked between legs. Those who insult deliberately have no self respect

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  40. No, we should neither forget or forgive! The pain is too raw in my heart.The collapsing health infrastructure took away my mother's and husband's lives. I wish those who are left with some objective thinking must raise their voice!

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  41. Those who can, do something to alleviate the sufferings of people.
    Those who can't, help by blogging from armchairs.
    Both types make up India and are equally Indian

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  42. Winning an election does not to make a justification for burying the nation into the gutter. Restrictive thinking with blinkers on is like Gandhari, not born blind but preferring blindness to sight.

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  43. Dear Ajay,
    Ur stooge of Congress n speaking the same words.
    If ur so firm pl give ur views once the Congress or any other Govt would have taken steps to curb this pandemic.
    Pl give out ur views instead of blaming Modi ji n his cabinet.
    Hope ur so pessimistic that giving account of six years of Modi ji as PM of our country.
    Mr Modi ji the way he is working with such a plg that u can't see as ur email es r closed. No PM has worked as hard as him today the Global lobbies n China has created this Pandemic there is no word f ur side.
    The opposition parties of our country raiding the Global pressure on our country.
    My e mail is colbpsingh50@gmil.com.
    Pl reply on the s mail.

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    1. Modi is squarely to blame. The Gandharis of this nation will never agree because they have preferred to tie a bandana around their God given faculty of sight. No hope for them or from them.

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    2. Make. Believe arguments don't hold water.

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    3. Sir, All right elections are done and dusted, it was a mistake , though not acknowledged. Even now the output which comes out of cabinet meeting is of commercial interests ( IDBI) & no word on something that affects every common citizen

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    4. We,, if I had a personal aeroplane worth 8000 cr and was constructing a palace for myself worth 3000 cr and it was all paid for by someone else, I too would have to work hard. Money only grows on trees if your PM Cares-Only-For-Himself.

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  44. Usual for you to point a finger and do nothing, on pretext that there are many around PMO sould be doing this.

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  45. When will we cease to relegated to the category of the unhappiest countries of the world below Pakistan and Bangladesh. Will our incredible diversity ever become a source of richness or will we remain wallowed in inequality and incrimination. Leadership matters but can we rise above our differences.

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  46. Lest we forget the emergency,bhagalpur blindings,Sikh riots and the atrocities during Congress era. MF Hussain, the artist was hounded out of the country, during Congress era.Recently advertising agency office ransacked at Mumbai,Sughanda and Bholse had their marriage ceremony at Punjab. Case registered against the actors who did the advertisement.Shows how intolerant the Congress is to any critism.An out of power Congress is more dangerous,instigating people to hit the streets.

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    1. How many people have hit the streets, and who has called them out?

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    2. Lest we forget the pogrom of 1000 Muslims in 2001 Ahmedabad. There are only two arguments defenders of the regime are capable of -1. even the Congress did it. And, 2. what is the intention of the critic. They never ever offer any explanation for the action that is criticised because it is invariably brazen and indefensible.

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  47. Keep up your incredibly worded pieces that act as a million cuts of intellect on these perpetuators and the bozoned followers we see around us ..and let suitable karma .for each as per our swadharma we follow .be the ultimate moksha. We are destined for.... Tat sat. ..

    Let's never fail in our dharma .

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  48. We need a task force led by military logistics to move men and material on a war footing, not politicians and officer babus twiddling their thumbs and pointing fingers. Lack of oxygen is a statement of the poor industry capacity of the country, not something a PM created or destroyed in six years. It is highly likely that this spike resulted from a mutation that made the virus more infectious and deadly. Our acceptance of filth in our streets and the air we breathe and general lack of civic pride are more to blame than anything else. Pray we get through this soon and then each one take responsibility to clean up our neighborhoods beyond just our homes.

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    1. I agree with you, differences in visions are being used to create confusion.

      Targeting Indian PM because you can't understand his ideology is unfortunate.

      Nobody is talking about the root-causes degraded environment, air pollution, deforestation, unnatural lifestyle for #Covid19 Explosion.

      They want Modiji to shift attention from preventive development & management to cure, artificial care.

      India is an Old civilization, its tradition, culture & lifestyle has always been self-curating.

      Yoga, Ayurved, Home-remedies are still proving efficient although pure organic would have been much better.

      Yet, we are just ignoring our traditional approach, self-discipline, self-restraint, self-control was neither exercised nor encouraged by some for their vested interests.

      We must learn from present situation to take a positive decision at least now for our future generations.

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  49. We can never forget this disaster created by the present dispensation. This is absolute cruelty . Ajay my salute to you . God bless you . Keep up the good job . No promise has been fulfilled . What took 70 years to build has been destroyed in 7 . Looking forward to more such articles from you . Thank you !

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  50. Democracy bordering fascism

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  51. Mr. Shukla, I am an avid reader of your blog. Do you know if any of the power wielders in the country get to read your blog?

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  52. Very well elaborated sir. It is the true reflection of our times. We must never forget this treatment to the nation by small minded bigots......

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  53. The savagery of this post is praise in comparison to the suffering of the Indian masses today. Keep it up, Shuks. Sharing your post widely.

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  54. Mr.Shukla, what you have written in the blog is a reality. I comliment you for describing the situation inthe Country with an open mind. The country is passing through.trying times. I have never seen such an autocratic dispensation right from the days the country attained Independance.I am afraid we may have to face this situation unless the present Political Leadership comes forward unitedly and tacle the situation objectively.

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  55. Inspite of all evidences that prove the culpability of the duo, I see some bhakts still bleating about their pathetic protests. It would do good to take a look at the opening lines of this blog

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  56. Just because someone does not agree with the views of the original post does not make him a bhakth. This bhakt nonsense has been going on for too long, since 2014 infact and has a condescending ring towards anyone who is not critical of the current dispensation. Irrespective of the views of a few self professed liberals and self professed ' intellectuals', it does not hold water for a vast scathe of educated, well placed middle class ( not uneducated villagers from the hindi heartland - as the liberals would want the world to believe) Indians. Infact I firmly believe that it was good a strong, assertive govt is in power during the pandemic. I shudder to think if a coke snorting scion of a family which includes an Italian barmaid had been in power. The state of health infrastructure is what it is today due to the rule of these imbeciles over 70 years, let's not forget.

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  57. I STAND WITH OUR PM and not by any political affiliation. I don’t support any political party. However as a proud Indian I support my head of the country during this hour of crisis. Let’s stop criticising his vaccination policy / his oxygen distribution policy so on so forth. It’s a state of health emergency and let’s stand by him and not make it difficult to deal and tackle this unprecedented crisis. I would rather pray and have been praying everyday for the safety of our countrymen and do whatever it takes to come out from this period of crisis.

    Our PM Narendra Modi is dealing with an exceptional crisis. *No PM has had to face such a situation that has impacted every part of India and every aspect of our lives*. If a family member is seriously ill we get shaken. Here, 130 crore people are at risk. Some say lockdown should’ve been earlier. Some say Army should’ve been called. Some are saying intelligence failure while still others say that he is trying to appease by announcing certain measures.

    *Everyone has respective opinions in our plural society but NONE are ready to bear the responsibility of 130 cr people. Only he has to*.

    If the lockdown doesn’t succeed then he gets targeted. If it does, still he gets targeted because the economy is hit.

    *He has always been at the receiving end by the opposition and it's cronies & followers who have their own axes to grind*. These people keep saying that he has called for a nation of 130 cr to stop work; for the poor to risk going without food. The rich are crying that their earnings have stopped and their lifestyles thwarted. While the middle-class criticise by saying: ‘you’re not doing enough to help us financially.’

    *A 70-year old man is bearing the weight of 130 cr people and their expectations without flinching, without digressing, and without giving excuses to the Nation*.

    And here, some people who sit at home and try to become obstacles in his endeavours his position demands!!

    But then, *he too is human and the pressure is enormous*. Despite all the criticisms leveled against him he is doing his job with single-minded devotion & focus. *

    The Covid -19 is the toughest of all problems Narendra Modi has been faced with.

    *His strong will and efforts to overcome this unique, daunting problem will also succeed*.

    As law abiding citizens of Bharat let us all send him positive vibes, instead of complaining and criticising him. *Let us all pray for our PM's Good Health and wish him all success in his fight against Covid-19.*

    *I stand with my country and my Prime Minister....

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    1. "HIS vaccination policy..."! "HIS oxygen distribution policy...."! You've hit the nail on the head. There is no government any more. There is only a despot ruling the country.

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    2. "A 70-year old man is bearing the weight of 130 crore people...." Sigh! Folks, haven't you heard this and other such drivel being repeated ad nauseam all over social media? These are the templates created by Amit Malaviya's IT propaganda cell and dished out to eager bhakts to parrot and vomit out at every opportunity.

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    3. That is what the Germans said when Hitler was being criticised. They stood with their leader.

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  58. That was brutal. And brilliant.
    May even penetrate the protective rhinoceros-thick skins of the Diabolical Duo, the malevolent monk and the coterie you correctly named. They can even now accept their complicity, their grave errors, and make U- turns.

    I thank you for this honesty and agree with you. If you are indicted for this, as you maybe, those of us who completely agree should be indicted,too.

    No, we must not forget.

    And we will work, and hope, and pray, and speak for better things.

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  59. Absolutely the country which is the largest manufacturer of vaccine is reduced to begging for vaccines... I thought our dear PM had a solid plan when he was donating vaccines to other countries...this is not simply stupidity but murder

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  60. Another dumb left liberal dumbass!

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    1. And what may we call you then??????

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    2. Well, another Bhakt unable to either accept or argue with logic. Insults of the Didi-ooooo-Didi kind is all these fellows know.

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  61. A brilliant piece of writing. Everything that needs to be said. Everything that needs to be heard. Everything that says it like it is.

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  62. More like everything you want to read and hear, brilliant or not is a different matter.

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  63. Simply brilliant & the voice of so many of us. But, unfortunately, not still the voice of all of us. But with such incisive pieces all will be held accountable. Let us not forget.

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  64. Well said. The problem I have with such pieces is the timing. It's like it took a virus, hardly understood by the most brilliant medical minds, for them to finally find their time under the sun to rave and rant against one man. Blatant hatred and aversion towards one's own culture and beliefs are something unique to Hinduism, which was never an organized, proselytising faith. The liberals want even more loosening and accomodation, which unfortunately only is available in advanced caucasian ruled nations ( who will soon discover the futility of it - France, Belgium keep watching what happens) What's all this got to do with the current PM? If you don't have an idea, then you have no idea.And that's why the Dumb liberal label.

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  65. SC must summon Central Govt and start Suo Moto trial for Crine Agsinst Humanity.

    When even the criminal Navneet Kslra foresaw Covid 2 coming and started importing Oxygen cylinders in Jan 2021, how our HM and Centre Govt failed to see it.

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  66. A vicious narrow minded attack, due to political affiliation on the elected government. Followe by idiotic comments of making national initiatives into zero sum games. Thoughtless and shallow reassignment of government priorities, which are multiple for a large nation. India is not dead, it’s millions strive hard to survive. Zero sum Congress lackeys must understand India can walk and chew gum at the same time. This writer and his cohorts want India to be paralyzed for some reason or the other just because their feeble mind cannot grasp complexity. Finding fake faults and whining against the government is a foolish and unproductive exercise many armchair writers undertake for money or political affiliation or both. Ajay Shukla is one such cowardly intellectual Pygmy

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    1. Typical of the Bhakts - vituperation without substance. Leavened with lots of brazen, continuously repeated, lies. Challenge the points made. Don't accuse the accuser.

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  67. Lol! Bring it on. We need more of it.

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  68. Here's a retired bureaucrat standing up to be counted. Standing apart from a particular set of his ilk who take refuge in the safety of numbers and mechanically append their signatures to those periodic letters addressed to Modi which, without doubt, are consigned to the circular file without being read.

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  69. Supreme leader and his Sancho Panza! Avay you are being kind to the *%#^* s.

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  70. The author was in service during the Congi revime. Must have a lot of ' savings' from stint given it was a complete free for all. The FM of the kingdom himself is out on bail, after some time in Tihar! I would gladly suffer a complete dictator rather than such cheap scum ruling my country. Imbeciles!

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    1. Considering that the current PM presided over a pogrom that killed 1000 Muslims, a bit rich coming from a Bhakt.

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  71. What a stirring, stinging, sterling, sparkling piece! Words fall short. Sir, where do you summon so much guts, pluck, wits, words and metaphors from??? Perhaps you would have served the world, particularly our beleaguered Bharatvarsh now under siege, in a hugely better way, had you been a whole time writer than a bureaucrat! Hats off to you once again! More power to your virile pen!

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  72. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

    Frederick Douglass

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  73. I really didnt know that IAS officers can write so well.. pretty impressed. AND for someone unknown (to me, no fault of yours) to impress me by their style of writing... well, all I can say is, it's a strange feeling. Not experienced for a long time.. stay safe.

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  74. I am impressed that there are more BJP trolls in this blog's comment section then there are at The Wire. They must really be smarting.

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  75. Ironically people will will forget everything!!

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  76. My reaction in 2024 three years after the endemic is not irrelevant. The comments made in the wake of publication of the blog were either pitched in anger and our helplessness or challenged the author to suggest measures for correction.. The latter type of reaction is like a football umpire blowing whistle to point out a foul being asked to play the game! . Hats off to Avay for his bold and brilliant writing

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