Pankaja Munde And The Selfie Controversy

The grave problem of drought in Maharashtra has been becoming much of a topic for controversies these days. While there was news of lush hotels wasting a lot of water to maintain their lawns and keep them green, there immediately followed a news that claimed a massive wastage of water for maintaining politicians’ helipads. And, while the government has been making attempts to send water to the drought-hit areas by sending water trains, here comes another controversy!

Pankaja Munde, the Minister of Rural Development, Women and Childcare in Maharashtra, has now been accused of clicking and posting selfies in the drought-hit areas of Marathwada. The BJP politician posted a series of selfies to her Twitter account which sparked the controversy and invited criticism from not only the opposition and the ally but also from people all over the country.

Again, just like any other controversy, this issue has divided people into two categories- the supporters and the non-supporters. As explained by Ms. Munde in her disclaimer tweet, the selfies were taken to make people aware of the anti-drought measures being undertaken in the Marathwada region and to acclaim the great job done by the minister’s department in the region. And, while there are people who support the reasoning and the minister’s act of clicking selfies in the region, there are the others who feel the act is a mockery.

According to me, no, there is nothing wrong with clicking pictures of a place where your department is doing good work for the people and anti-drought measures are being implemented at full pace. However, I do not agree with clicking selfies for the same. I mean, why does the minister have to be in the picture to show that work is being done in the affected areas? Is it a proof that she actually visited the place to keep a tab on the work going on there? Or is it a mere selfie craze that has been rising manifold among people over the last few years?

In my opinion, one must understand for themselves where to click a selfie and where not! People nowadays have been going crazy over selfies and it has become a rage among youngsters, adults, common people and even ministers. However, the rising selfie craze can be dangerous for anyone and everyone, also including the Pankaja Munde selfie controversy. People nowadays want to click selfies everywhere and do not think once about doing the same. And, while this craze has been taking many lives since the last few days, it has surely put Ms. Munde into problems now.

If the only motive of Ms. Munde was to make people aware of the good work happening in the Marathwada region, she could have simply clicked pictures where the workers were working and anti-drought measures were being implemented. There was no need for her to be present in the pictures to prove her visit to the region. This, although her intention might not be what it is now thought to be, has put her into the controversy that she wanted to show off. She is also being accused of making fun of the drought in a way.

The rising selfie craze among people needs to stop now. If the situation continues, we will have more people losing their lives to performing dangerous stunts for selfies. And, although it sounds a bit weird and funny, there will also be a time when governments would collapse because a minister clicked and posted a wrong selfie on social media!

An ANGEL For Several Families - We Salute You NANA PATEKAR!

Have you ever seen God or Angels in real? Most of us worship idols as Gods while some only believe in the existence of this supreme force. But yes, on reading this, I believe that angels really exist in reality or maybe they simply come to help us when need taking the form of a person. That’s NANA PATEKAR for several poor farmers and their families right now!

Of course, I do not need to explain anyone the current situation of drought that is prevalent in different states of India, including Maharashtra. With the rainfall in these regions reducing every year, the droughts have now become more grave than ever, leaving farmers with absolutely no source of income. If we have a look at the statistics, they are surely shocking and disturbing. Figures reveal that as many as 32 farmers have committed suicide in just the first week of September owing to the drought which is nearly double the figure in 2014. In 2014, about 17 farmers were reported to have committed suicides every week on an average. Clearly, the situation is worsening in the areas of Vidarbha, Marathwada and many more places in Maharashtra and the government surely needs to do something about it.

In such a grave situation, where there is not time to wait for government action or efforts, there is this man who has now become an angel for countless families in Maharashtra. If you had been respecting Nana Patekar for his brilliant and natural acting skills till now, here he gives all of us another reason to love him and respect him from the bottom of our hearts. While most actors remain in media glare for their controversies, Nana Patekar recently made headlines for his generosity and kindness towards the farmers and their families. He has donated Rs.16 lakhs to the families of farmers who committed suicide in the month of August as well as September.

Nana Patekar is one actor who is best known for his acting skills, his simple living and for his unforgettable roles in numerous movies. Looking at him, no one would ever think he is such as respected and reputed actor in Bollywood; such is his simplicity. This generous ‘angel’ for the farmers has actually made a move himself to help the poor farmers in our state, stating that ‘if farmers don’t live, we would have to die too’. All of us have heard about the phrase ‘Charity begins at home’ but, this is the man who actually proved it and went a step ahead to donate his money to the ones who desperately need it.

All of us find the situation of the farmers heart-warming, but how many of us actually go ahead and help them? Neither you, nor I! And, when the entire world is busy worrying about the state of farmers getting poorer day by day and posting and tweeting about it on the social media, Nana Patekar has surely set an example for all us with his act of generosity, concern and kindness!

HATS OFF, SIR!

IRONY At Its Best...!

A woman sets herself ablaze because she couldn’t feed her children and, on the other hand, a woman sets her daughter ablaze because she didn’t want to feed her!

The Farmer Suicide Case:

The value of every penny is different for different people; for some, a hundred rupee note can be casually spent at a restaurant every day while for some it is a monthly earning! Life isn’t fair with all and this incident quite literally proves it. A woman famer in the Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, which is currently an adversely affected drought-hit area, set herself ablaze on Saturday because she was unable to feed her five children. The farmer was striving really hard to get something to eat for her kids but drought couldn’t be crueler. The family of seven was so poor that they did not have any grains, oil or flour in the house. The Marathwada region of Maharashtra has become a victim of the adverse drought for the third year in line and farmers are finding it impossible to shoulder the burden of their families.

Maharashtra has been witnessing the suicides of farmers in huge numbers for a quite long time now with their toll being between 1306 from May 2015 to May 2016. The drought in the state and especially in certain parts and villages has been so severe that already more than 600 farmers have taken away their own lives failing to nurture their children and feed them.

The High Profile Indrani Mukherjea Case:

While Maharashtra is witnessing the grave issue of farmer suicides who are unable to feed their families and children, here is the most talked about case in the media – The Indrani Mukherjea case! Personifying irony, this is the case of a woman who killed her daughter and set her ablaze because of a motive that’s unknown but thought to be a financial dispute. The rich in our country are so rich that they can easily have their future generations sit and do absolutely nothing to earn a living while leading a lavish lifestyle. And, on the other hand, the poor have absolutely nothing to eat; they cannot even afford grains or flour and are having to kill themselves to escape the situation. If even 10 percent of their annual income is donated by the super rich to these farmers, they will be able to buy high tech resources and technology that can aid them in farming and bringing out better crops with better market value.

But people like Indrani Mukherjea, a former media tycoon, don’t even wish to share their finances with their own children, forget about making donations to people. And, who knows, how much of the money belonging to politicians and media barons is actually their ‘hard-earned’ white money?

The two cases that have now made considerable headlines in the media are true ironies and perfectly contradict each other.

In terms of helping the drought-hit farmers and poor families, many people have actually come forward and made trusts for making donations. Also, the recent ‘dahi handi’ festival celebrated in Maharashtra also witnessed some organizers and prize winners promising to donate their prize money to these people who are actually in need of it. Just a hope, may these donations really happen and prevent any further suicides of farmers!