1. Medicos spark off a nation wide protest against reservation policy in India.
2. BSE crashes by 800+ points, the largest fall in history.
3. Nepal Government moves to curb Royal power.
4. People demostrate in Turkey against the extremist killing of a moderate court judge.
5. Widespread demonstrations in Egypt in support of a few judges who are considered symbolic of Egypt's judicial independence and reform movement.
What do the above news stories have in common? To me, they represent signs of sanity in this insane world.
First we go to India. I am an avid follower of the reservation discussion - both pro and anti. And so far, I must say that the anti-reservation group seems to have come up with the most cogent, sensible arguments as far as I am concerned. The pro-reservation groups have turned me off with unimaginative slogans, emotional outbursts and some mundane nonsense. I am also pleased to see that this time around, the protests are practical and based on solid economic arguments. I see people debating instead of disrupting public life, setting themselves and probably others on fire to claim their 30 seconds of fame and generally acting crazy like they did during the previous protests under V.P Singh's rule. Well, there might have been a few small incidents of violence, but definitely not the kind witnessed last time.
And about the BSE, in one of my previous posts, I had questioned the reasons behind this historic rise of the Sensex as I was really worried that people might have taken this 'India Shining' bullshit seriously. The Sensex had a mighty fall, in fact the biggest in history which is reassuring to me. At least some people are in their right senses. And rediff in their original idiotic style reported it as if it was the end of the world. Well, if the market had its biggest ever rise, it will also have its biggest ever fall! Duh!!
In Nepal, after all the protests, street marches and stone pelting, sense seems to prevail. And I am glad that the people are seriously thinking of putting an end to a royal farce called 'King Gyanendra'. This guy is one 'royal' pain in the butt and he even comes with factory fitted 'sinister looks'. Everything about him including the way he came to power and tried to stay in power is creepy. The earlier they throw him in jail the better for their country.
A poor reformist judge was shot dead in a courthouse in Turkey when he pronounced a 'strict ban on head scarves'. It's heartening to know that people have come out on to the streets in support of his reformist view and against the dark forces of religious extremism.
In Egypt, a few judges were arrested after the poor guys spoke up against official corruption during elections making them symbols of Egypt's judical independence and reform movement. They were sentenced to five years in jail in a political-legal drama which was widely seen as an act of political vendetta. People are vehemently protesting this farce.
As I read all these news articles, my faith in human intelligence is being very slowly restored.
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