I am writing to you because you are who I see as the future of this country, as a person who wants to make a difference, someone who gets pained and hurt; you are my generation.
Dear Rahul Gandhi,I am writing to you because you are who I see as the future of this country, as a person who wants to make a difference, someone who gets pained and hurt; you are my generation. You want to make our country count when it comes to the leading nations of the world, you have, like us grown up on Michael Jackson and Duran Duran, you have lost a lot more to this country than anyone I know, you are us.
Rahul, we are tired, hurt and very unhappy. It's been a year since the November 26 attacks on our country and I am not even going to go into what has happened about it. We have seen the dossiers go back and forth from India to Pakistan, we have seen the Lashkar chaps going freed. We have seen Ajmal Qasab's case go on and on. We understand that these things take time but I am hurt about the reinstatement of R R Patil.
I have nothing against R R Patil personally, but what has hurt me is the attitude behind all this political maneuvering. It goes to say that I am an idiot and what I feel is not important. He said something that hurt us deeply and then was asked to step down and then even before a year is gone he is back again and that means I am supposed to have a weak memory and I am supposed to forget. It does not matter what I feel, what matters is that I have been given a pat on the back and the tag of being resilient and Patil sits here as the symbol of the impotent rage of a nation. Patil is the government's way of telling us, the citizens, that we and what we feel does not matter. We are cranky children that have to be given a candy when we are complaining to shut us up and then we will wipe our tears and toe the line obediently. It's sad.
Change this Rahul. You can do it.
We watch the balkanisation of our state with silence and we see the MNS play the Marathi card to get the better of the Shiv Sena. We see the violence at the swearing-in ceremony and we are embarrassed and we keep quiet.
Rahul, do you remember when we went to school and they taught us the Constitution they told us that we lived in a democracy. We have the freedom to talk in any language. Then why are we scared that MNS workers will beat us up? Is democracy about living in fear? Do you think there is any difference between a man who comes from out of the country to spread terror and a man who spreads terror from within? Terror is terror, right?
Rahul, we are scared of terror from Pakistan, but we are also scared of our neighbours. Should we be living in dread and fear?
My father says I should not write this piece and get involved with politics. He is scared for me and I am scared for the country.
I don't know if this will ever reach you. I hope it does. You are our only hope. I am shooting this arrow into the air and hope that it finds a voice.
Love and respect, An Indian
