Good Bye Scams Year 2010
Dear Friends,
“Conscience doesn't keep you from doing anything wrong, it keeps you from enjoying it”
I guess this adage applied to different times. Today, the wrongdoers not only blissfully dismiss the call of their conscience but also lustily enjoy and revel in their ill-gotten wealth. Coupled with the reticent attitude and hero worshipping of the perpetrators by the masses, probity sank to its Nadir in 2010 with almost a scam a day – IPL, CWG, Adarsh, Mining, Money for loan and the mother of all – the 2G Scam.
Not that we have not had scams in the past. Who can forget the Harshad Mehta Scam of '92, the fertilizer import scam of 1996, the Sukh Ram telecom scam of 1997, followed by UTI, Ketan Parekh and Tehelka in 2001, Satyam in 2008, and Madhu Koda and the mining scam of 2009. These are few that I can easily recollect – but there were many more.
So what's new – you may ask. What is new is the reach of the media these days which takes the story to the remotest parts of our country, with the hope that the mass awareness created will lead to an uprising to bring the perpetrators to book and eradicate this disease – once and for all. Is that hoping for too much? Well, 2011 is a new year and may well mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our nation.
Changing track, the new year began with a musical extravaganza 'Muskura ke Jiyo' presented by Ram Jawhrani and Rohan Kapoor. Ram Jawhrani's SAHYOG FOUNDATION has completed 25 successful and eventful years and SindhiShaan salutes the untiring and ongoing efforts of this great man.
Another occasion to rejoice is that Dr. Nandlal Jotwani, a decorated air force veteran and a distinguished linguist, scholar and educationist has been appointed to the constitutional post of the Commissioner, Linguistic Minorities, Government of India by the President of India. It is a great sense of joy and pride for 'SindhiShaan' that our own 'SindhiShaan' – endowed with a clean image and immaculate qualities of head and heart will be implementing the constitutional provisions and nationally agreed schemes of safeguards provided to the linguistic minorities in India.
So on that happy note and with hopeful hearts –
Wishing all of you a Happy Prosperous and hopefully a scamfree 2011.
Ranjit Butani