A POLITICIAN WHO IS AFRAID OF “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”

While doing my journalism course in Mumbai at K.C.College, Churchgate in the early eighties, Mrs.Vakil, one of the faculty members who was in Indian express then, enquired about the favourite journalist of each one in the class. She was a bit bulky, fair and middle aged, a good looking woman.

She approached each one of us with her question of the day.

“Arun Shourie”- I told her without any second thought.

“Why?”

“I like his fluent and poignant style. His commitment to journalistic ethics. His extraordinary ability to hit the bull’s eye. And his in-depth investigations in many a political muddle and bring out the skeletons in the cup-board,”- I told her with pride.

Mrs. Vakil gave me a warm smile and moved towards the next chap sitting close to me.
Mr Arun Shourie was basking in the glory of an investigative journalist then. If my memory is correct, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Indian Express then. Added to it the blue-eyed boy of Ramnath Goenka, the courageous, fearless, dedicated and indomitable newspaper baron of all times.

Whenever I happened to see his articles while flipping through the pages - his articles were always lengthy-I was somewhat eager to read his articles with interest and also with the deserving seriousness. His style was gripping, fluent and as I had already told to Mrs.Vakil, poignant and with the innate capacity to arouse indignation and hatred towards the corrupt, inefficient and power-hungry politicians of India who amassed crores and crores of rupees and led a life of extravagance. He exposed each and every one of them with his acid pen. The infamous Cement scandal involving extortion of huge amount by Antulay was only one among many which he had dared to expose with his untiring efforts and dedication. Abdul Rehman Antulay was the chief minister of Maharashtra then and was ruling like a ‘sultan’. He had to bow out of power as a result of the sensational exposure of corruption in which he was involved by Mr.Shourie.
Mr.Antulay is holding the charge of Minister of Minority Affairs in the union cabinet under the UPA Government now.

Much water had flowed down the Ganges since then.

The man I once appreciated, applauded and felt proud about later joined politics, took membership in BJP- ‘The party with a difference’ -a new ‘avatar’ (incarnation) really and in the garb of a cabinet minister holding the charge of disinvestment portfolio, under the BJP rule of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The BJP ruled India the full term and got prepared to contest for the next term. ie. 2004-2009 with much fanfare and glory with the ‘India shining’ campaign. Through visual media as well as Print media ‘ The India shining ‘ slogan was propagated across the nation. The party’s confidence was at its peak and had already got ready to be enthroned once again at Indraprastha.

The party was squandering crores for propaganda, and distributed sarees to poor women and other such freebies to the down-trodden allegedly by violating the Model Code of Conduct slapped by the Election commission of India on Indian political parties and its leaders.

I was writing about Arun Shourie, the then minister for disinvestment. In the name of arranging the necessary amount for infrastructure development and social welfare, a disinvestment spree followed, without taking into account the protests of major political parties. They alleged the disinvestment spree would only help the business tycoons and the ultimate loser would be the common man, and they warned-off huge loss to the exchequer and their warning came true.

I held my breath and wondered about the strange times, I was confronted with. I do not want to cast aspersions on Mr.Shourie whom I held in high esteem once and his good intentions in the long run.

‘What followed since then is history now!”

The ‘fat cats’ piled up crores and the poor farmers and the poverty stricken, malnourished hapless citizens, found themselves in the lurch. Thousands found solace in death by committing suicide.

(Contrary to their over-confident complacency, it is heard that as the election days approached, those at the highest echelons of the party got the feed back from the intelligence agencies about the not so favourite opinion prevailing in the country as the leaders sensed defeat might be true.) NDA alliance under BJP, bit the dust at the hustings and UPA Government with the outside support of leftists found themselves in power!

The other day I happened to read a news report in the The New Indian Express (dated 26-02-2009) purported to have been made by Mr. Arun Shourie. His indignation was against ‘Slum dog Millionaire’ which bagged 8 Oscars at Hollywood. The film got huge applause and appreciation and was celebrated by Indians across the world, though it was directed by a foreigner. The film is based on the story of the people of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum. Sixty two years have passed since our nation attained Independence and it came under the rule of various parties and alliances. Still the condition prevailing in Dharavi is the same, nauseating, pathetic even without basic sanitary facilities.

Dear Mr.Shourie, your party also held power with support of allies for about five years. Did you think about Dharavi and the worst conditions prevailing there at any moment during your tenure in the NDA government? While you were also a part of the Government and you could have prodded the responsible minister to do something about it? Now you are talking about a promise made by Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi while they visited Mumbai in 2005- a promise of Rs.1260 crore package for Mumbai’s development which remains a promise even now.

While your Government was in the saddle, you could have and you ought to have cared and extended a financial package to Mumbai particularly the hapless Dharavi people. Where were you then?

Now you are shivering with anger against the celebration of “filth of Dharavi” and for basking in the glory of that filth! What is the point in it? Instead of feeling ashamed of the poor image the film is supposed to have brought out before the world, please have the generosity to do something for the poor. It was most unbecoming of you to have cast aspersions on the film and its architects, as you once stood committed to journalistic ethics, principles and integrity.