Democracy or Mobocracy ?

Literary Great
or
Blaspheme?

As the famous words by Churchill go, "democracy is the worst form of government except all others that have been tried".  A dysfunctional democracy is no less better than an autocracy. We are going through a period in our democracy where our polity is out for a toss and the general liberty of the populace is also under threat. The point of discussion in this article is the treatment that India's most distinguished writer Salman Rushdie gets from the ruling government. Rather than welcoming him with grace and with a tinge of pride, the government works to ensure that he is unwelcome in the country. Citing security concerns, the Rajasthan CM searches for ways to block his entry into the Jaipur Literary Festival. And, of course, the impending elections in major states with a sizable Muslim population doesn't help the ruling government either to welcome Rushdie with fanfare. After all who wants to 'offend' the Muslims when they can be a vote bank. In this context, the rabble-rousers and 'protectors of minority sentiments'  take advantage of the polity's uncertainty and resoluteness on the issue. I fail to understand why the centre cannot take a stand whether Rushdie is welcome or not. Why play this ''I didn't say no but I don't mean Yes'' game. 

Doomed?

As is well known, the novel "Satanic Verses", due to its supposedly inflammatory  and blasphemous writings about Prophet Mohammad and Islam, is already banned in India since 1988. I don't get the point then, why is there so much hullabulla about Rushdie coming to India then. Protests by a few people should not infringe on the rights of millions who want to welcome the literary great to the country. The bigger issue here is not the coming of Rushdie to India but rather the kind of regressive society we have become as a whole. The falling tolerance levels of our society is a cause of concern for liberals like me. But clearly, without a clear political will these issues will always remain in the collective psyche of our society while also empowering the so called ''sentiment saviors of the minorities''. That time is not far when every writer or politician or person in this country will be jailed for 'hurting the sentiments of some person or a group'. We cannot emulate China on growth and development parameters but we surely are headed for their societal control norms. 

-Sunny Gusain. 

Customer is King Diaries

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit three different public sector banks in dehradun viz. Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India. Although, all the three banks are classified as public sector banks, the atmosphere in these banks and the general demeanor of the staff reflected the focus and management style of the Top officials of these banks. Needless to say, the customer service orientation of these banks is nowhere close to their private sector counterparts. Let me elaborate the scenario a customer is witness to as and when he enters each bank.

Corporation Bank

General : If you are lucky enough to get yourself in through the 1970's iron grills. The moment you enter the branch at Raj plaza, you are witness to shoddy interiors. Cobwebs are so ubiquitous that for a moment it seems as if the bank is an active member of some Spider Conservation programme. Floor is witness to the worst form of cleanliness I have ever witnessed. Having served as a Site Manager for a MNC specializing in Food and facility management, I find myself appalled to see the state of anti-customer friendly atmosphere in these banks. A simple cleaning checklist was absent from the view and I am very sure that it didn't exist either. The interiors were designed in a haphazard way and were unattractive to look at. Not that anybody would go to a bank for aesthetics but when the private sector banks including some really progressive public sector banks are creating banks that would not only provide them banking services but also give them that well meant feel good factor, it is imperative to have some good aesthetics in place. 

Staff : Now let's talk about the staff employed at the bank. It was good to see young people manning the counters. There was a young gorgeous women attending to the cash counter. What stuck me most was that she didn't seem to be welcoming the customers with a glee and the aura of her beauty seemed to fade once she spoke a few words. To sum it up, it wasn't a typical bank-customer friendly behavior. The only saving grace was that it was much better as compared to the antagonistic behavior of Syndicate bank cashier. 

Ratings: 2/5

To be continued.......

- Sunny Gusain