On Shashi Tharoor's Politics

The news says Shashi Tharoor is all set to enter politics, batting for the Congress. He is, of course, a great admirer of Nehru. He has worked as a baboo for the UN all his life but could not make it to Secretary-General. Hence he resigned from the UN, returned to India, and began dabbling in politics. The report says that Tharoor would make a good foreign minister. He will be contesting the next Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum, Kerala).

In the meantime, an editorial in Mint says that the new legislation against terror, and the new agency created thereby, are “certain not to work.” The following quote says it all:

“NIA, once established, will have no power to investigate a case without the approval of the Union home ministry. The Union government will have 15 days to take a decision in this respect.”

This is not an effort by our The State to take any kind of preventive action, nor is it an effort to ensure a quick, coordinated response to a terror strike. It will take some weeks before the new National Investigative Agency begins its work.

Weeks!

So there is no alternative to the citizenry demanding the right to keep and bear arms.

Note that Ratan Tata is doing just this: Here he is saying that he will create his own anti-terrorism mechanism. All of us must do so too. That is the only way we can be secure.

And what song is Shashi Tharoor singing? Why, “The Diplomat’s Song” of course. Here he is asking for more diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Good thing is that he is not beating the war drums. Diplomacy is still better than war – but it is inherently statist, and comes from On High. It has nothing to do with our insecure lives on the ground.

And never forget that 275 people, on average, die every day on our unsafe streets. To fix this requires no diplomacy. These deaths are not rooted in Pakistan.

Will our The State ever do what it is supposed to do?

What do you think?

Keep the comments flowing, dudes.