Lest We Forget

Lest we forget...

Soon after a new era started in Indian history a little known hospital in Gorakhpur had its oxygen supply cut off. The vendor said the Dean wouldn’t pay his dues. And 68 children died in one night. Did we see a case against the Dean or the vendor? No. We saw the arrest of the doctor who worked through that night trying to get oxygen to save the children. Because he had a different name.

And that is how began the story of #NewIndia.There have been so many things to remember…I’m writing them down lest we forget.

Do you remember our money became invalid within 4 hours of his announcements. Do you remember the queues for ATM, to deposit money, to withdraw your own money, we stood in line for 50 days. We were told black money would come, but all that we got was middle men making money changing notes while we stood in long lines and people died, and people cried. But it made no difference. And now we watch over the years the interest rates on our savings fall. Down, down, down.

Do you remember certain cooperative banks failed. They let a Modi fly away to UK. They gave an NOC to a Choksi to become a legal citizen of Antigua. And to all the people who had deposited their hard earned money they said all you’ll get is 25,000₹ whether you need it for a child’s wedding or your own surgery….it matters not. People died, and people cried but no one lost except the common man of India, who’s money went down,down,down.

Do you remember they brought a new tax without anyone having a clue how it would work. They had the Parliament release it at midnight, and then ensured businesses lost their sleep. 5 forms to be filled EVERY month. Small businesses shut all over the country. Why would they create the most complex taxation system in the world? One that is unfathomable to even a reasonably computer literate person? The states stopped getting their share of taxes. And they were asked to take loans to make ends meet. The economy went down, down, down.

Hate grew and criminals were garlanded. Little girl’s rapists were supported with Tiranga Yatras and Bharat Mata ki Jai. People were killed over meat in their fridge. And beards and skull caps. And names. And children beaten up for drinking water from temples. And then some ladies sat and blocked one road. And sang songs and said hum kaagaz nahin dikhayenge. And it shook the government’s ego so …. They used a pandemic to settle the score. And just like that CAA NRC bills went down, down, down.

With 4 hours notice mitron, we were locked in our homes. For 54 days. And then the poor started trickling out of cities. They were beaten with lathis and stopped on borders and sprayed with disinfectant and made to do sit ups. They trudged along rail tracks and got run over. They carried their children on arms, and shoulders and pulled them on suitcases. They died of starvation and thirst in trains which were randomly sent to wrong stations. And they cried, and they died but they wouldn’t count the dead. They posed with peacocks and gave their Mann ki baat. And humanity in India came down, down,down.

We had a year to prepare for the Covid pandemic. We didn’t increase hospital beds, ventilators or oxygen plants. We did election rallies, and Kumbh melas even as bodies started piling in crematoriums. We gasped for oxygen beds and then for oxygen within those hospital beds. But he declared ₹20,000 crore Central Vista an essential service. While hundreds queue up for Vaccination and thousands try logging into slots from morning to night abandoned to fend for themselves. They fudged numbers of dead by one tenth but hundreds of pyres burned in parking lots. People cried, and people died but no one listened to our Jan ki baat.

Humans tend to forgive and forget. I write this down so we will read and remember. A nation that was a vibrant democracy, a developing country, a power to reckon with has now seen a fall in all its indices. We are now a partly free nation. Employment opportunities, malnutrition, pollution, personal liberties, media freedom have all gone down, down, down.

We need to learn from our mistakes. And promise to never make them again. This regime has to end.

Step down. down..down.

Dr Sarika Verma

AAP spokesperson

South Haryana

https://drsarika005.wordpress.com/2021/05/10/lest-we-forget/