As a popular saying goes it takes hundred years to build, but just a minute to destroy. When the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre started destroying one by one the institutions built over the past 70 years by the Congress, people assumed that the prime minister was going to build something new and different.

India is literally counting deaths now. Political leaders who having failed to provide hospital beds and oxygen to the Covid-19 patients are simply making provisions for the disposal of the dead bodies. They have not only increased the number of crematoriums but also assured that their number would be increased further. Politicians seem to be more adept at cremating dead bodies  than protecting their lives. Their message seems to be that  “Be prepared to die, we will make preparations to light your pyres.” Even the media is busy counting the deaths instead of boldly exposing the failure of the Centre and the state governments.

When the Chief Justice of India is set to address an audience on the occasion that marks the birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the constitution of this most diverse country in the world, people are sure to have certain expectations from the CJI.

The coronavirus is back in the news all over the country. The common man is anxious and confused. While politicians are conducting major election rallies, people have been prevented from earning wages for their food. Nobody seems to have a problem with election rallies during the day. But if people venture out in their cars or bikes after 10 pm, they are stopped and tortured. At the same time, the government is relaxing the regulations for the Maha Kumbh Mela. 

Modi wave on the one hand; Corona wave on the other. People are forced to struggle with both these waves. They no longer have the morale to speak up against the Prime Minister who keeps threatening to gift the people with ‘lockdown’.

The specter of lockdown is looming large over the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on television and warned people that ‘stringent measures must be followed.’ Partial lockdown has been imposed in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and other cities. With shops and hotels on the verge of opening, the government issued an order to shut them down. 

This seems absurd. A lecturer pays a bribe to get the top post of a university, an institution responsible for shaping our society. And who does he bribe? A rowdy-sheeter who is involved in several criminal cases. The recent incident in which the lecturer of a science department paid a bribe of Rs 17 lakh to rowdy sheeter Prasad Attavar to occupy the top post in his university has come under the scanner and is being discussed extensively. The accused has already been arrested but people are confused about who should be condemned. A rowdy sheeter’s job is to accept bribes and extort money from the gullible. As is his wont, he cheated this lecturer as well.