Who the hell wants the Kohinoor?

This entire controversy over bringing back the Kohinoor is something I just cannot understand. What purpose will it serve except provide a grand ego trip for some politicians who have nothing better to do and other misguided souls who believe thumping their chests is more important than thinking about where their next meal is coming from? Aren’t there enough treasures in this country, which we can admire? When we can’t even look after them, we want the Kohinoor? And I have been hearing this for a long, long time.

Look at the manner in which we have let our own ancient treasures go to seed. Visit the Taj Mahal and see its decay. Go to any monument and see the manner in which it has been vandalised. I can name a thousand of them. From the mosques in Kashmir to the temples in Mahabalipuram, everywhere you can see how much we ‘care’ for these priceless treasures. That’s one aspect, and then there’s the other aspect, much more critical.

I mean, really people, I want to ask the two families who I see asleep on the pavement every day during my walks in the morning, whether they have even heard of the Kohinoor, and if they have, do they think it will get them a roof over their heads, instead of the torn tarpaulin cover they use to protect themselves from the vagaries of nature?

Does the Kohinoor have some powers that will halve India’s poverty magically the day it lands in this country? The last time I saw a precious stone exhibit any magical powers was in the Indiana Jones movies. Will chauvinistic and greedy Indian families stop beating and burning their daughters-in-law for dowry? Will girls stop being gang-raped? Will husbands and men, in general, stop thinking that power over women is at the end of their arm? Will it stop little girls from being killed because there are a burden?

This country’s leaders don’t have the courage to get back Gilgit from Pakistan and Aksai Chin from the Chinese; they don’t have the guts to take on Pakistan or the Chinese on any international fora, nor stop intrusions over the border; they can’t even guarantee peace with our neighbours, and they want to get back the Kohinoor?

They cheat, loot, and steal from the treasury of this country and when they get caught they cry that they are being victimised because of their caste and their religion. And when even that fails, they instigate riots over temples and mosques, and caste and religion. They create controversies over meat, beef and pork or whatever we eat and drink, and fool the gullible.

Can the politician first stop people from burning buses and trains over reservations? Oh yes, reservations. There might soon come a day when our country’s lawmakers might have to amend the country’s Constitution and rename India as a SOVEREIGN, SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC, RESERVED REPUBLIC.

We sing paeans to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar at every street corner, but do we care to practice in letter and spirit what he wrote in the Constitution, and what he REALLY wanted to provide for every citizen of this country? Instead, we read between the lines and twist his words to suit our convenience.

The Indian politician is like the United Nations. He can only talk. And like the UN, he has failed to deliver on his promise of a just and peaceful society where every citizen is guaranteed two square meals, the clothes on his back and a roof over his head. Has he even tried to give the poorest Indian the basic necessities of life? Can he guarantee jobs for millions of hopeful Indians? Has the politician, since 1947, been able to “assure its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and promote fraternity among them”? The answer is a big NO. So, when the politician realises that talking won’t work, he drums up a controversy because he believes that is the best way to divert people’s attention from the real issues. That explains the ruckus over the Kohinoor.

What I need is the price of petrol to be halved; the price of a home to be affordable; the food I eat to be cheaper than it is now; and the roads I travel on, built well because I pay for them in taxes. I want power and water without having to beg for them or commit suicide for them. Can the politician guarantee me that first? Until then, who the hell wants the Kohinoor?