Pavan K. Varma | Why India world’s ‘happiest country’ but must get rid of that status
3 weeks, 2 days ago

Pavan K. Varma | Why India world’s ‘happiest country’ but must get rid of that status

Deccan Chronicle  

The legendary fourth king of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, ruled for 34 years, until he voluntarily abdicated in 2008 in favour of his eldest son, the current king. If power-cuts last for hours, at least there is electricity for the rest of the day; if monsoons cause misery, this is but temporary; if water is scarce, occasional tankers, or illegal borewells, or water scraped from dying wells, can still ensure survival; if roads are deathtraps, all that is required is more dexterous driving; if rivers are noxious, at least they still exist; if pollution is a killer, did we not survive it last year? If they win an election, it is naturally a matter of great jubilation; if they lose it, the adroit use of party funds still ensures that their personal fortunes don’t dip, and an old Innova transforms into a new Fortuner; if Parliament functions, people happily watch MPs happily shouting at each other; if adjourned the representatives of the people have the comfort of subsidized cuisine in Central Hall. Our judicial system exudes happiness; crores of people approach it for recourse, and crores of cases still remain pending; judges get their salaries on time, lawyers make even more money, and the guilty are assured that justice will be delayed. These opportunities have now happily increased to astronomical sums, while those unfortunate ones who make less are still happy that at least the opportunities to make their usual cut are proliferating.

History of this topic

Pavan K.Varma | Prophets of doom'? We all ignored India's poor
4 years, 7 months ago

Discover Related