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MORPARIA’S PAGE E-mail: [email protected] Contents FEBRUARY 2014 VOL.17/7 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ THEME: Morparia’s page 2 The Comman Man The Common Man Speaks 5 V Gangadhar The Common Man is surging 6 Managing editor Prof. Yogesh Atal Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde The ubiquitous ‘Common Man’ of India 8 P. Radhakrishnan Editor R.K Laxman: An Uncommon Common Man 10 Anuradha Dhareshwar V. Gangadhar The rise of the Aam Aadmi 12 Dr. Bhalchandra K. Kango Sub editor Right to Information – path to Swaraj 14 Sonam Saigal Shailesh Gandhi Aam Aadmi crusaders Design 6 Baba Amte 16 H. V. Shiv Shankar Adv. Varsha Deshpande 18 Rajendra Singh 19 Marketing Dr. Anil Joshi 20 Mahesh Kanojia Adv. M. C. Mehta 21 Anna Hazare 22 OIOP Clubs Know India Better Vaibhav Palkar How Beautiful is My Valley 23 Gustasp and Jeroo Irani Face to face: Shashi Deshpande 36 Subscription Features Nagesh Bangera Youth Voice - Urvish Mehta 40 Will Aam Aadmi Party survive as a National Party? 41 Prof. P M Kamath Advisory board 23 M V Kamath Khobragade episode triggers a much needed Sucharita Hegde correction 43 Justice S Radhakrishnan Dr. B. Ramesh Babu Venkat R Chary A memorable day 46 Lt. General Vijay Oberoi Printed & Published by Cultural Kaleidoscope 48 Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde for Navigation in ancient India and social taboo One India One People Foundation, against overseas travel 50 Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, B.M.N. Murthy 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Columns 52 Mumbai - 400 026 Nature watch : Bittu Sahgal Tel: 022-2353 4400 Infocus : C. V. Aravind Fax: 022-2351 7544 36 Young India 54 e-mail: [email protected] / Shashi Deshpande Great Indians 56 [email protected] Printed at: Graphtone (India) Pvt. Ltd. A1 /319, Shah & Nahar Industrial Estate. S. J. Marg, Lower Parel (W) Mumbai – 400 013 visit us at: V P Menon Vasudeo S.Gaitonde Farooque Shaikh www.oneindiaonepeople.com www.facebook.com/oneindiaonepeoplefoundation oneindiaonepeople2020.blogspot.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Valour of our soldiers always highlighted It is such a pleasure to read One India One People, as this is a unique magazine that never fails to highlight the heroism and valour of our great soldiers, many of who laid down their lives defending our country, yet get no recognition except a small newspaper report and a posthumous medal. I was particularly happy to read about Colonel Venugopal Vasanth in your January issue, since I recently had the occasion to be a part of a camp organised by his wife A New India manifests in OIOP Subhasini, who runs a Trust for the welfare of wives and children of award winning soldiers who died in ‘peace time’ I have been a regular reader of ‘One India, One People’, over the past few years protecting us against our enemies i.e. and always feel a patriotic fervour on going through the infiltrators and terrorists. It was a joy to see those families pages. It is almost as if a New India manifests herself in building up their lives, coping with their sadness and the magazine! The various columns and sections engender a loneliness, and moving forward, thanks to a select group of ray of new hope towards a brighter India. These pages are a officers’ wives who themselves lost their husbands and rose testimony as to how India has progressed throughout these beyond their grief to reach out to others. years, and how India is preparing herself for the dawn of the coming era. – Dr. Ali Khwaja, counsellor, writer and life skills coach, Bangalore – Urvish Paresh Mehta, Mumbai Letters should be addressed to Mumbai - 400 026 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, Foundation, One India People The Editor, 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] www.oneindiaonepeople.com 022 - 2353 4400 Fax: Tel: 4 One India One People February 2014 SATIRE The Common Man speaks In an exclusive interview with the Common Man (CM to friends), V. Gangadhar fi nds that the CM is uncomfortable being in the limelight all the time, and is also sick of the lies and fl attery that he has to resort to on many occasions. An exclusive interview with the Common Man (CM to his Sardesai and bellicose Barkha. And all of them arguing on friends) what is good for me. Just leave me alone. That is all I ask. Q: Over the past few weeks it was next to impossible to Q: But still it must be good to be in the limelight. meet you, let alone seek an exclusive interview with you, CM: That’s what you think. The worst part is to be so Mr. Common Man. insincere. Tell all those lies. This is not what is expected of CM: Yes I know, I am sorry. You see, it is that time of the the Common Man, but in real life this was what I do all the year when everyone wants to meet me, click photographs, time. and interview me. I have no time to spare. Q: What kind of lies? Q: What is this special time? CM: For instance, I don’ t like that blighter Sachin Tendulkar. CM: I thought everyone knows it. Election time yaar. Just But when the media pester me, I am supposed to give now the four state assembly polls were over. We are waiting flattering replies. O, he was the greatest batsman in the for the Biggie, the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. I am overworked world, he was the incarnation of modesty, good manners, and I must be careful about my health, particularly the charitable disposition and so on. I know the truth. He was a digestive system. big bore, a slow coach, played only to break records and not Q: Why? a single charitable bone in his body. Expected others to pay for his luxuries, including customs duty on his imported gift, CM: It is the entire national poll, yaar. The state that ‘Ferrari’. But as the Common Man, I had to keep quiet governments and their chief ministers are busy offering and blabber out only flattery. Made me sick! sops -- rice at ` 1 a kg, cooking oil at ` 2 kg, special prices for dals, masalas, chillies, mass reductions in vegetable Q: And during elections? prices plus home delivery, discounts on ice cream and so CM: Don’t ask me that. So much blabbering about how the on. You travel from state to state enjoying these sops, and CM (not the Chief Minister but the Common Man) prefers this then see what it does to your health and waistline. Thank party or that, and the political leader to lead the nation. Who heavens the Lok Sabha polls come only once every five is the Common Man’s leader? Of all the people, Narendra years. It is an ordeal for me. Modi? Humph! Who is the modern Gandhi? Arvind Kejriwal Q: I agree it is quite an ordeal for you. But suddenly you who turned down two five-bedroom flats only after much have become very clever. So many questions on different public pressure? Why drag the Common Man into all this? topics are asked but you come out with brilliant answers. Q: Life is so different. I thought you are happy and proud to I never knew our Common Man was so brilliant. National, be a Common Man and have your views splashed all over regional, local or international…… you answer questions on the media. all these subjects without any difficulty. You have become CM: My troubles never seem to end. So a genius, yaar! far, I was just the Common Man. And CM: Hard work, yaar, and some luck. I burn midnight oil now there is this new Aam Aadmi. He is swotting newspaper editorials, magazine cover page articles collecting most of the rabble but unlike and so on. But the worst part is watching and listening to me, he did not have any class. Okay, I the TV debates. Loudmouth anchors screaming, dumbo have two more interviews lined up after panelists stuttering answers and so on. Once the polls are this. over, I will keep my distance from the rampaging Arnab, silly The writer is a well-known satirist. One India One People February 2014 5 THE COMMON MAN The Common Man is surging The recent happenings in the political arena have changed the very perception of the Common Man. He is not the beggar waiting to receive the doles or relief; he has begun to demand what is his due, says Prof. Yogesh Atal. HE one appellation that gained currency in the last when the ruling party was virtually swept out. Recent Assembly two years is The Common Man. As more and more elections in Delhi mark a repeat performance. The Common Tcountries emerged out of the shackles of colonialism Man is now in a mood to challenge the status quo to cleanse and opted for democratic regimes in independent republics, the system and bring about innovation to enhance transparency they became democracies for namesake and transformed into and block channels of corruption. gerontocracies, or democracies in appearance but dynastic in In the early years, the largely illiterate populace did not its form. The most popular, and apt definition of Democracy, cherish the hope to take the reins and felt satisfied with the given by Abraham Lincoln, seems non-applicable to current little crumbs showered as charity to the downtrodden. The day democracies. The demos have receded in the background winners earned votes from those who could hardly and the new ruling class seems to be reaping the benefits.