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Opinion
Blooming Bothaism
by J. Ajithkumar
Former South African President P.W. Botha, the Architect of Apartheid,
is dead and gone. His CAHU (Crime Against Humanity) was that he
formalized racial discrimination as a state policy. There is no sympathy
for him from any quarters but the big question remains as to whether
Apartheid is also dead and gone. If we look around and analyze our
immediate surroundings and the world at large, there is absolutely
nothing to feel happy about. Ways of our world are always like that.
Once in a while the whole world gets together, identify someone as a
criminal who perpetuated CAHU and proceed to condemn and if possible
kill him. We easily forget the fact that the world leaders who are
arranging the trial for CAHU are very same who created the villainous
leader in the first place and nourished him with weapons for serving
their own ends. Once their purpose is served, they proceed to ‘call the
dog mad and kill it’. Hitler, Botha, Osama and Saddam are a few of those
who were blue eyed once but turned black sheep later on.
Discrimination on any basis other than merit is wrong in the absolute
sense. We come across so many types of discrimination in our every day
life and we ourselves indulge in many other types of discrimination to
get things going. In short there is so much of discrimination in our
atmosphere that it is difficult to find anyone who has not done it at
all. But clever as we are, the human hypocrisy has found a way around to
justify our own deeds. We consider all types of discrimination that
suits our requirements as good and others as bad. Thus we have
classified the quota system for immigration into US/Europe/Australia,
caste reservations for jobs in India and different salary levels for
different nationalities in the Gulf as good forms of discrimination,
whereas racial discrimination remains the lone villain. The rich and
powerful in the world are perpetuating so many forms of discrimination,
but there is no problem until and unless it is not formalized as the
‘foolish’ Botha had done. Whatever way one looks at it, Apartheid may be
dead but Bothaism still remains a thriving practice the world over.
International Racial Profiling
In all the countries that have flourished and are continuing to flourish
by attracting the best human resources from all over the world, racial
profiling is part and parcel of their internal security affairs. That no
leader wanted to admit it is only because they are not foolishly candid
as Botha was. But Sep11 has given an opportunity for one and all to drop
their pants and walk naked in arrogance. Just as everything is justified
in love and war, anything and everything that are done in national
interest are easily justified. International bodies are toothless when
it comes to dealing with human rights violations in the rich and
powerful nations. A substantial part of their annual reports are always
spent on the insignificant internal matters of developing countries like
India and Indonesia for obvious reasons. The extent of racial
discrimination and Apartheid being drafted into the internal security
manuals and laws of developed and rich nations should be a warning for
all champions of world peace if they truly are.
Separate queues for separate nationals are a common sight in many
airports. It could have been Botha who introduced it as part of his
apartheid regime in Railway stations. But why are such queues growing
after the death of Apartheid and now Botha also? If the current trend
continues, such queues will not only grow but spill out into the bus
stands and even supermarkets of such countries in no time. The rich and
powerful nations will have two sets of norms for judging human rights
violation and racial discrimination - one for themselves and one for
others. And even within those norms, there will be separate sub-norms
for their own citizens of different descent. All pigs are equal but some
white, brown and black pigs will continue to be more equal in the Animal
Farm that we are developing into. We will be missing only the pioneer
Botha who was foolishly impatient to formalize discrimination ahead of
its time.
Indian Reservations
What else can be the reservation policies that are rampant in India on
the basis caste and religion, if not Apartheid in another form? Instead
of positively supporting the deprived sections of the society by way of
free food, clothing and education till they climb over a certain
ceiling, the whole idea of reservations in India is to punish those who
are above the ceiling for whatever reasons. The logic of punishing all
those whose forefathers belonged to the so-called higher castes is
absurd and illogical because anyone’s birth is purely accidental. A
clear cut violation of human rights is involved in all such cases of
reservation based on parameters beyond the control of any individual.
And by repeated denial of opportunities to those who have already
survived natural handicaps, the social process is effectively indulging
in degeneration and evolution to the negative side. How can we expect
another Sankara or Tagore or Raman or Ramanujan from such a society? Or
is it precisely that what the modern rulers of India want to avoid?
Those who are controlling the wheels of reservation bandwagon in India
are doing a great disservice to their own progeny. For getting a few
thousand votes and tidbits of power, the wicked and weak politicians are
playing reservation games with the future of our nation. History has
shown us many times that it is positive encouragement of the weakest
that takes a whole crowd forward, and not the negative hurdles put on
the front runner. Those who are running at the front are presenting a
positive role model for those who are behind. And it is the duty of the
society leaders to generate a feeling of fairness and positive
encouragement for all those who are performing well. More and more types
of reservations will only impede the development of our country in every
sphere. It is time we understood the reasons why Independent India is
not producing even a handful of great men as we had during British Raj.
Both Apartheid and its father Botha died a natural death. But the
original thoughts and theories that guided Botha are very much alive
even today. By all indications it is bound to continue and develop
further into more and more areas of human activities. Some great men had
prophesied that human race will eventually evolve into a brownish upper
class and blackish lower class, very much like the Devas and Asuras in
our puranas. The 20% Devas will control 80% of wealth and use all the
Asuras for their own purposes. In such a situation, Bothaism will be the
rule rather than exception. The only way to avoid this frightening
scenario is to encourage merit and avoid discrimination in all forms.
Let us try to create more and more Devas and not ‘asuric’ Bothas in our
midst again.
November 19,
2006
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Opinion
The Week of November 19, 2006
After Nuclear Deal Will India Enter A New Phase?
by Rajinder Puri
Abject surrender? A tale of Subversive
Anti-nationalism by V. Sundaram
Blooming Bothaism by J. Ajithkumar
The SEC-Hypnos, Not Argus
and in need of Tchai by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
A National Program for Organized Looting by
V. Sundaram
Does Advanced Knowledge give Power to Solve
Human Problems? by TA Ramesh
Is Life an Illusion? by Arya Bhushan
Money Making Education in the Offing by Kusum
Choppra
Delhi's Two Children, Two Freedoms by Col.
Rahul K. Bhonsle
Remembering a Brave Lost Generation by V.
Sundaram
How to Make your Will? by Rajesh Talwar
Adonis: The Avatar of Avant-Garde Arabic
Poetry by PGR Nair
A River Walks Through It by Attreyee Roy
Chowdhury
Sita: Dheere Chal, Ham Haaree E Raghubar by
Satya Chaitanya
Landslide Spells Doom for the Land of Seven
Sisters by VK Joshi
If Only ... by Julia Dutta
The Daydreamer by Dibyendu Ghosal
Nasty Note by Ashwini Ahuja
A Long Way from Freedom by Hasan Mansoor
Keeping the Faith with Children by Barbara
Lewis
Gizmos for the Other India by Chitra
Balasubramaniam
Mommy Blogs: Cyber Support by Neelima P
Theater Therapy by Fehmida Zakeer
Drowning in the Oil Spill by Ma Diosa Labiste
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