whither art thou, democracy?

we are a democracy of a billion people. and pride ourselves on that fact. it's a cornerstone of a billion people's lives when they wake up in the morning.
in fact, it's a boasting point when we meet our neighbours(rare as that may be). but after 60 years of democracy, what we have been left with, is pretty much the same problems since independance.
poverty, uneducation, famine, floods, corruption are still with us. while development occurs with 33 % of the population, it happens at the expense of the 15 % of the populace, below poverty line.
what have been the major achievements since 1947?
we brought about a reservation system, ostensibly, to undo the damage caused by centuries of malpractices where birth was awarded more than ability. however, in the end result, what has happened is the opposite. more than ever now, if u wish to get into the elite colleges, despite having scored a modest 75 %, you had better be one of the oppressed people.
this takes place right from school, to college, to now, even jobs( if certain political parties had their way).
secondly, in a democracy, where any one has the right to stand up in an election, we have the absurd demand for 33% reservation for women, is this an acknowledgement by them, that they are unable to fight against the men, who subjugate them? is not the ballot more powerful than the gun? yet, politicans never lose an oppurtunity to pose for photos with women MPs and then proceed to hinder the progress of the bill.
thirdly, is it just me, or is there a visible lack of participation from the educated middle class in politics? all i see are a few good people, amongst a sea of rogues( harsh words, but true nevertheless). unless politics are cleansed of the dirt accumulated over the years, i don't see a change happening anytime soon.
our country need less of the raja bhaiyyas, and more of APJ and Manmohan singh. will that ever occur though?

dressing down?

hi people. this is my first post. i always wanted to listen to what others had to say, but was searching for space where i could have my say. the point about this blog, is that it is not theme based. i am going to put up my views on issues taht affect me, or ar to my liking.

let me start off, with the dress code that my college, ANNA UNIVERSITY has come up with.

on the surface level, it seems so sane, that you would think only an idiot would oppose. to quote the VC" the students were found wearing clothes that proved to be distracting not just for students, but teachers as well." or, sample this:" to bring about a professional attitude, students have been asked to wear only formal shirts and pants."

no problem, except for this: right down the street, lies a little college called IIT, where i see students roaming in capris and cargo, and( god take pity on you) half pants. not that it's a sight to behold, but fact is, on any given day, a student from IIT commands greater value than ( much as i hate to admit it) Anna University.

professionalism is not about clothes you wear. rather, its about the attitude and skills you have acquired. and instead of working on making our students more employable, our VC is misdirecting his energies in needless directions.

let's face it, from LKG to 12th, we spend all our time in uniforms. college is the one time we get to wear clothes we like and can experiment with looks. granted, results arent amazing most of the time, but what the heck, if it cant be done now, when can it be done?

and the buck stops not there. as some of u may be aware, in anna, right now, a guy speaks to a female only at the risk of getting himselg suspended. that's right. its an offence right now.

my beef with that is, many students get in here, from schools, where guys and gals are seperated, or from unisex schools. restricting or preventing interaction between girls and boys, is an unhealthy trend. especially when you keep in mind, that when u get out of college, to ur workplace, u will work with women.

we seem to be regressing with each passing day. our college now has a patrol van, which checks for conformity with dress code, cell phones( more on that next week), and guys talking to girls.

students who were found giving interviews to the press, have been suspended.

all this atrocities, in the supposed land of democracy.

i wonder.