Devil's Advocate

We've had a recent spate of events wherein the Common Man has taken up a stand. A stand wherein he has taken off his shoes and hurled it at our beloved (?) political leaders. Yes the same leaders who blatantly abuse each other at public forums without an iota of shame on their battle hardened faces, the same leaders who would not think twice before throwing mikes at each other, the same leaders who would field in Prime Ministerial candidates who are in their 80's in a country where the median age is around 32 years, the same leaders who will field in a certain candidate who is ready to pay money to anyone who gets him the head of a certain Danish cartoonist.

 

Is the Common Man wrong in taking such a stand?! Probably yes, probably no.

 

I'd say he isn't wrong. Cause and Effect, yes this theory is my best bet to defend myself on this count. You may say that we are a democracy and this is not how we should express ourselves. Agreed. But try and ask what democracy means to a person who is working in an Anganwadi (National Scheme) earning a measly Rs. 3.33 per day if the number of students is less than 20. Ask yourself-  are you proud of the fact that you live in a country which wants to call itself a 'super-power' and where malaria still exists, where infant mortality rates would put a third world African nation to shame.

 

Consider all these facts and then ask yourself whether hurling a shoe is worthwhile or not. It works for me if a person blamed for evoking Anti-Sikh emotions in Delhi leading to the 1984 Delhi Riots is not given a ticket for contesting the Lok Sabha elections because a 'flying shoe' woke up 'the grand old party of India'.

 

Long live the shoe.....