The BCCI was too keen to offend the lodha Committee recommendations, which bar political leaders from entry into the wealthiest sports outfit on the planet. Similarly, college campus authorities have never bothered much to enforce recommendations made by former no-nonsense Chief Election Commissioner JM lyngdoh in 2006 to make student elections clean and violence-free apart from being able to keep the mainstream political parties away. Both were mandated by the Supreme Court to dissect thoroughly and diagnose all ailments and make best possible recommendations to cleanse the cricket body and campus elections of filth. The government hasn’t done much to ensure that the apex court is not ignored. After much grunting and grumbling, the BCCI is just beginning to realise that it cannot cheat the world anymore. But the campuses have been let free since 2006. The political parties are still around in the campus passionately engaged in spoiling young students and degrading campus culture.
Historically, the sole objective of campus elections has been to make sure ‘student welfare’ on all fronts is improved remarkably; only truly popular ones are chosen; capability in buying off voters with money, food, fun or alcohol provided with dirty money of lowly politicians should not matter. Since ages, the big job is to ensure quality of faculty, timely completion of courses, living and other critical facilities including toilets, common rooms, libraries, canteens, playfields and, above all, a joyful environment with cultural activities have been the biggest concerns. Similarly, affordable course fees, teacher-student relationship, free facilities for the deserving poor are objectives too. Conventionally, the future leaders would have to display or spell out their manifesto with regard to the facilities that students are perpetually seeking in vain. There is not much beyond these for which student leaders would have to bargain collectively after being elected. So, there is absolutely no reason why mainstream political parties should crowd out there and spoil lives of scores of bright young people. Politicising campuses bring in violence and corruption. Political leaders are plain crazy to turn campuses into publicity grounds by violating the Constitutional spirit and court orders. Most State Governments have corrupted the local-self governance system already. Now, these bodies are occupied by branded rogues and rascals only with party affiliations. Good people from the neighbourhood can never enter rural or urban civic bodies. The popular Chief Minister of Odisha would be deified should he make the elections free of political parties and symbols.
The Odisha campuses have begun showing signs of violence even in women colleges, which is the direct result of political interference out there. Naveen has to send the right signal: ‘Offend lyngdoh and get thrown out!’ Similarly, the forthcoming panchayat elections should be free of mainstream political parties, at least for once for experiment sake. Only Naveen can do this because people trust him like mad.
z Two days ago, most people of India forgot to observe the Martyrs’ Day on September 28, on which Bhagat Singh was born in1907 in now what is Pakistani Punjab. The ruthless British had hanged him with two other fellow revolutionaries when he was only 23 years old. The youth of today do not care to know him or what patriotism means. Bhagat was a student at the National College in lahore, established by lala lajpat Rai. Bhagat was very fond of extracurricular activities particularly acting in stage plays. He founded an Indian nationalist youth organisation called ‘Naujawan Bharat Sabha’. Bhagat was also a prolific writer who edited several Urdu and Punjabi newspapers published from Amritsar. Further, he wrote for the Veer Arjun newspaper published from Delhi and Kirti, the journal of the Kirti Kisan Party, using pseudonyms only.
After Mahatma Gandhi called off the noncooperation movement in the wake of the Chauri Chaura police killing incident of 1922, Bhagat Singh became disillusioned with the philosophy of nonviolence. He had begun to hate religious ideologies after the Hindu-Muslim riots broke out after Gandhi disbanded the Noncooperation Movement outfit. The young Bhagat was greatly influenced by Bakunin, lenin, Trotsky, all atheist revolutionaries. He wrote an essay titled ‘Why I am an Atheist’ in 1930 while in lahore Central Jail after killing Sanders, the Superintendent of Police. Singh ran away from his house to avoid marriage for dedicating life to the noblest cause of attaining freedom for the country. Subhas Bose had considered Bhagat a symbol of a new awakening among the youth. Nehru too had acknowledged that the popularity of Bhagat was leading young people most selflessly for the sake of the nation. Bhagat Singh and comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru were sentenced to death by hanging. The schedule of execution was preponed by 11 hours. They were to be hanged on March 24 at 630 am. But they were killed at 730 pm on March 23, 1931. Reportedly, no magistrate of the time was willing to supervise the ‘hanging’ as there was fear of violent mob attack.
In his last letter, Bhagat wrote, “I have been arrested for waging a war to protect my nation. So, there can be no gallows that would frighten me.” He was only 23 when dead. Students his age today would not even know the meaning of freedom, political, cultural or economic. They would not remember him because campuses don’t sing his praise; they remain servile to powerful political outfits for petty personal gains.
Rule of law in a civilised state is the only way to ensure universal joy. It should be known well that a single non-lyngdoh campus is certain to breed countless crooks and devils. The governments must beware and monitor campuses accordingly.
z Routinely, Odisha observed the International Tourism Day on September 27. As usual, officials harangued how Odisha has everything to offer including tranquil beaches, towering temples, serpentine rivers and mighty waterfalls. All this big talk was crap. Throughout the year, they remain glued only to the so-called Golden Triangle comprising Puri, Bhubaneswar and Konark. The damned triangle is more dangerous now than the mysterious Bermuda triangle haunted by some supernatural spirit devouring only airplanes and ships. The Odisha triangle devours everything that gives peace and joy to a tourist. The proverb ‘Tourist is God’ is the worst bluff Odisha hosts flourish with. Right from the porter through the taxi driver to the hotel and tour operator, the entrepreneurs are essentially an exploiter, arm-twister or blackmailer. Beaches are dirtier than sewerage matter, and no one knows clearly where the mighty waterfalls and serpentine rivers are located. Yes, there are crumbling temples around Bhubaneswar which historically boasted of seven thousand intricately carved heritage structures in the past. There are less than seven hundred now, many magnificent ones having been worn out with ravages of time, but the rest having been unlawfully pulled down to make room for human habitations. Successive State administrations have never bothered to take notice. Archaeological interventions are limited only to planning on paper. More painfully, the west and south Odisha tourist sites have not been popularised as yet. Odisha tourism means the overhyped golden triangle which now is garbage set of angles only.
The number of foreigners visiting Odisha does not exceed 65,000. Rajasthan witnesses more than twenty times the figure. The only reason is lack of affordable facilities and good behaviour. In Puri, the founding monarchs had put up 752 mutts and religious outfits only to cater to the poor and needy devotees and pilgrims with food shelter and other hospitality services. Today, they talk of star facilities only as if only millionaires visit shrines; the poor do not. Some imagine international flight operation from the Bhubaneswar airport will boost tourist flow beyond control. Incidentally, Thailand is cheaper than Bhubaneswar or Puri in hotel tariffs and street costs. lack of proper connectivity to remote ecotourism sites, inadequate stay facilities and no amusement scope for poor section tourists have caused a big setback in the tourist inflow to Odisha. The great Budhist sites and numerous ecological wonders are yet to be explored. Pilgrimage is limited to Hindu shrines only where the servitors are criminally inclined in conduct and attitude. No one considers Muslim, Jain and Buddhist pilgrimage seriously, which is a pity.
Most Indians tend to believe the Naveen administration can work wonders. It can easily ensure civilised campus elections and strategise tourism promotion activities by creating a band of truly tourist-protecting youths all across the State. The monopoly status may not remain for always.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)