An Open Letter to Mr. Arvind Kejriwal

Dear Mr. Arvind Kejriwal,

I am confused about what is happening. I do not have answers but a lot of questions that needs answers. Eight years ago I came across the word Communism accompanied by Socialism. I believed in it and it made perfect mathematical sense to divide an agricultural land into four equal parts for four peasants. But, I never realized that there could be more to it that that 1/4^th land would be further divided in 16 more parts and hence the geometric progression. People who proclaimed to be Communists or Socialists were not practicing it. Years passed on and I came across Capitalism and then Communalism and then Neoliberalism and so on. The –isms continued but the fundamental question remained the same – Have we made it large?

Yes we have! Our fiscal deficit has ballooned, black money in tax havens compounded, number of corruption cases rose, number of protests and the numbers participating in it have increased, number of civil/criminal cases against politicians has mounted and so has number of such articles. Articles written to condemn everything that goes wrong with the help of thesaurus.com but incapacitate to capture the emotions.

Everyone talks about 2002 Gujarat riots and a few who had strong evidence against the riot-makers in a flurry of cases were brought to justice. What about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots? George Orwell who was born in this very own country predicted that cometh 1984 and the world will change. It did and where? Half way down the globe, Steve Jobs unveiled Macintosh and here during the same time we were targeting a particular clan of people to vent a political anger. What about 1993 Mumbai riots? What happened to those who were affected? I am not in support of one political party (earlier they were founded on ideologies) over another. In fact, I am left with no option to support. My heart goes out for you, my fellow IITian.

As most hostel-debates-over-mess-tables, a fellow classmate wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible. I tried convincing him that the best is yet to happen for this country and India will shine once again and asked if he didn’t want to be a part of that rebuilding. His reaction was, “This country will burn and I don’t want to be a part of it while it burns. I want to see it burning from outside.” Although what he meant was that he did not want to be a part of the destruction of his own country. I do not blame him because it is this country that made him realize it.

Sir, I am a coward and you cannot change the nation with such cowards, after all, I am after big bucks. Because, I have a family and I must earn for them. I have mothers and sisters, whom I would like to protect and for that I need money. Because, I have realized that I cannot expect the government to protect my family and I cannot be the government.

Retd. Justice Santosh Hegde asked us to keep vigil and one day the country will change. But when? We are losing our patience. Alvin Toffler said that the Third Wave generation will change the way the systems work. Egypt tried changing, but was back to square one; Libya moved from puppet-turned-dictator to another puppet regime; Sri Lanka carried out a miniature version of Auschwitz and ended the conflict; Salwa Judum was actually not peaceful but made many of them rest in peace; protests for justice for rape victim is on and there goes my last hope. Do we really have to beg or plead? Don’t we deserve to live a peaceful life? We are the third wave generation and like Abhimanyu of Mahabharata, we know how to get into the Chakravyuh, but I wish there was an Arjuna who guided us at the right time to break it and conquer.

I am educated enough to read the definitions of the terms, but I am still confused between Capitalism, Communism, Socialism, Communalism, Neoliberalism, life imprisonment, capital punishment, rightism, leftism, mid-centrism, redlight, yellow light, green light, right, wrong, partially right, partially wrong, democracy, autocracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy, you, me and the billion others.

Please help us. I won’t be able to live in this country as a non-corrupt person anymore. One last time before I give up and start living that mundane selfish life of my family, my life, my organization before my country.

Yours faithfully,

The Confused Third Wave Indian