After all that hyperventilating by the opposition against Sonia Gandhi, office of profit, impending ordinance et al, the jing bang lot of opportunist elected representatives has decided to redefine the term to suit their ?profit based politics?. Better and better for Sonia Gandhi, who, amidst her fraternity, appears to be one amongst the handful of moral persons in the public space. Karan Singh was absolutely right when he said the Congress had mishandled the entire episode. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi reacted in a churlish way when he claimed Karan Singh was a ?philosopher? and therefore could get away with criticizing his own party, and the press was being predictable and superficial saying that the Congress was speaking in two voices instead of finding out the facts of who did what and confronting them on the small screen. That?s the laziness of Indians on the job.

The Meher Bhargava murder has brought to the fore, yet again, the close nexus between the police, the politician and the criminal elements in our social fabric. How are we going to expel this sick mentality from among those who rule us? How are we going to curb the overwhelming greed that dominates all levels of life and living? Why have our rulers lost their sense of probity, dignity and appropriateness? What brings on this kind of degradation of morality? What triggers the desperate need to rape women, much like raping mothers, sisters and wives? What prompts strapping men to kill because someone has said something to them that they do not want to hear?

It seems as though it has got to do with the brain and the mind, the complete lack of intellectual acumen, a shredded cultural space, a corrupt political and bureaucratic class. Only the prime minister can set the new standards and hope generation next will compel a cleansing to ensure that they are part of a civilized, thinking world and not one dominated by hoodlums.

Living nightmare

What is the point of a boom in the economy if living has become a nightmare for decent people? Nothing is safe. Your mother could be shot for telling a vegetable vendor that he is charging too much; your sister could be raped while she is taking a walk in the park; your child could be brutally assaulted by vagabonds who stalk the streets with the cops as their ?friends?.

Across this planet there are freaks who indulge in inhuman acts but the tragedy here is that the escalation has happened because the ?authority? is in cahoots with the ?bad elements? making India into a bad land. This betrayal of a country by its political class will have a violent reaction sooner rather than later. In this kind of breakdown the pent-up anger will explode and target those who make the rules and, the next moment, break the rules to further their illegalities. It will be our bloody revolution, our trial by fire. When this eventuality can be seen approaching, why doesn?t a section of the political fraternity force the correction?

It is sad to see the strengths of India diluted by a political class that only has its limited personal interests on the agenda. To see some of them chucking tables across a Vidhan Sabha chamber, screaming and yelling with raised fists, only smacks of the uncouth, crass and brutish persona of the majority of our elected representatives. The people are watching their leaders get away with murder, they feel they too can break all norms of decency, follow the example of their leaders and get away with outlandish and uncivilized behaviour, settling scores regardless of right and wrong.

In this polluted environment, Sonia Gandhi has, yet again, shown the way to restore dignity, to endorse right against wrong. It is for that reason alone that those in the opposition are venomous when addressing her and her presence in the national political fray.