15 May 2006

The Generation Awakes?

Sometime back I watched an amazing movie called Rang De Basanti by Omprakash Mehra. I'm sure many of you would have too. Considering that it was one of the hit films this year catch line rang "The Generation Awakes" and I believed that it was just that. A catch line. Where will any one of us take on our politician?

Well, I guess am not the only one. Come elections and I have seen my own friends say, who will go and stand in the hot sun to vote? What will my one vote do? Elections? I haven't even enlisted myself on the electoral rolls. Let alone waste my time choosing between The Devil and The Deep Sea.

Guess as we sow, so shall we reap. Since we are not willing to clean up the mess, its only getting messier. Though everyone is busy playing politics in his or her own small way, no one is interested in entering mainstream politics that decides the fate of our billion strong country. Thus we ended up with a political "LEADER" coming up with the reservation of 50% of the seats in the IIM's and IIT's.

The furore that this has caused is amazing. Suddenly students everywhere seem to have woken up to defend our coveted portals of higher education. The demonstrations, the articles, the slogans, the interviews its mind boggling. Has the generation finally woken up? Our we going to try the clean up this mess in the corridors of power? Or am I just getting carried away by the media hype that I, oh so recently, criticized? I hope it is the former. I dream that maybe we can recreate the situation in Nepal where the autocratic rule was brought to its knees by a powerful public outcry. Or am I just dreaming ????


P.S. If you would like to check out what you could do to help, u might want to take a look at project coffee

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess we are already one team. Thanks buddy :)

Anonymous said...

Please drop me a mail at anurag.email@gmail.com

I need ur email id.

Kim said...

some IITians have formed a political party & plan to contest elections in Karnataka. They are looking for "educated" "clean" candidates. Will send u the link, once I'm back on my home computer.....

United Students said...

Let's walk the talk.







If your support the students movement

against caste based reservations,

please show it.



Join Delhi RWAs, Trade bodies, civil society groups and various student groups at a Solidarity gathering

at Jantar Mantar

on Saturday 20th May, 2006 at 10 a.m.




The gathering will be peaceful : a silent march by the silent majority



[Let’s step up the pressure]



United Students

Campaign Office: F-4, 2nd Floor, South Extension-I, New Delhi-49

Contact: 9810017868



You can reach US at unitedstudents.india@gmail.com or call :

Aditya Raj 9873297834; Dhruv 9818291909; Anchal 9899942321; Ambuj 9313117010; Devika Malik 9891222630; Honey Arun 9818562417; Karan 9871807378; Shikha 9891333730; Aaditya 9810215675

ego said...

Hats off to the medicos for putting up a brave front.. I guess that the generation has woken up, even though the number of the awakened minds is small..

I just can't help wondering though - What are the engineering and the MBA aspirants doing?? Aren't they really bothered by the fact that the reservations in these sector is going to jeapordise their chances of getting a seat in one of these esteemed institutions??

Or are they only worried about getting out of the country and leading a good life??

Anonymous said...

Friends,
Dear friends please spend some time to read this. U can make a difference.

As u all guys know that there have beeen lot of protests going on against the raise in reservations. All of us stuggle for months and years to make our dreams come true; No body in the government is bothered about that. This new policy of govt ll be a major road block in the
development of our nation and creation of a caste free society. I want to share some developments occurring here with respect to this issue.

Abt 2 weeks back the Students Union ( SU ) of AIIMS ( UGs and
Interns ) started the protests. they held peaceful march. Their main demand was to meet Honbl. Arjun Singh and to express their concern regarding the hike in reservations. What they got in return. Water canons, tear gas
shells and Lathis. Some of the interns who were beaten were my friends and i could see their injury marks. Worse, some were girls. Sad isnt it ? Well next few days due to their constant struggle they could get to
meet Dr Arjun Singh. No positive response was obtained. He however
promised that before sending the bill to cabinet, he would inform the SU. The students continued to boycott their classes. Other medical colleges of delhi also joined. We Resident Doctors of AIIMS however were not actively participating. We wore black badges and attended few rallies.

12 th May saw a new beginning. Our medical students were brutally
assaulted by Delhi police. Injured were brought to AIIMS. Fracture hand bone, head injury, blunt trauma abdomen with intra-abdominal bleed; 300 students were manhandled including girls, stuffed in buses and taken
to police station. I remember the dialogue from RDB. This incident will prove to be a final nail in coffin for our Congress Govt. At around 3 pm the Resident Doctors Association ( RDA ) of AIIMS announced an indefinite strike. All Junior Residents ( Acad or Non-acad ) & Senior Residents boycotted. Protest rally was organized that day.

13 th may was the worst day in the history of our Indian
Independence and so called Democracy. Medical Students of Mumbai were beaten like animals. Infact animals also are never treated like this. Every body
would have witness the brutality of the Mumbai Police.17 - 18 year old medical students were beaten up. Future of our country treated like this? And these are the same Police Men who come to our OPD and ask for peferential treatment. Shame on them. And listen to what Bhujbal said on TV.
I thought we need a real RDB now. This incident triggered the
suppressed fire in each and every individual. We at AIIMS went on INDEFINITE HUNGER STRIKE from 14 th morning joined by medical students from MAMC Delhi, Lady Harding, RML Hosp, Rohtak Medical College . Slowly the fire
spread to diferent states of our country. You know what happened in Blore. Calcutta, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Gujrat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala boiled in protests. Students of Delhi University ( BSc BCom...) also joined the strike

The hunger strike in AIIMS continues. More than 100 students and residents are sitting in the heat since 14 th morning just on plain water. Believe me we slept in the open last night empty stomach. Its only when rain started pouring we had go inside the audi and slept there.

The IMA has announced comlete medical bandh today ( 15 th may ).
Doctors from all over delhi have come to AIIMS and are holding protests. IITs and IIMs have joined the strike. Even patients and their attenders were of full support towards this cause. One man said," My father is
admitted in NS department and is fighting for his life and death, but i declare that i have no objection with ur strike. I support ur movement and the cause for which u re fighting. Our country needed this."

All of us know what is right and what is wrong. Having said that i feel that each one of us should follow our conscience. I ve written this message because i felt there are many of who might not be aware of the exact situation. I request each one of u to please forward this to all ur
friends, Medicos or Non-medicos. Every common man needs to be aware of the injustice and should be involved in this effort.

This Movement will be a revolution in our independent country and will be the most significant event after the British Rule. It ll be the
cause for the rewriting of Indian Constitution where just and meritorious people are not singled out and put to taste the adversities and someone
else enjoys the benefit.

The government cannot hide its inadequacies in providing equal
opportunities to the under priviliged in rural areas by increasing the reservations. They have ruled the country for so many decades and if in this time they are not able to provide equalilty in primary and secondary
education for in dian citizens they cannot mask their failure by
providing reservations at each and every level. Its ridiculous. The whole issue of reservations was a political gimmic of the present govt to garner votes.

Its time that things are not taken for granted by any one. Let it be a senior minister police or anyone else. Whole of our nation needs to get aware of the amount of hardwork and sacrifice we put to achieve our dreams. We should not allow anyone to make a mockery of our struggle in future.

Thank U Friends.

Dr Kiran,

Junior Resident,

Internal Medicine,

All India Institute Of Medical Sciences,
New Delhi

Anonymous said...

Insightful, good job :P