The Grateful Dead

This is not about any rock band of the same name as the title. I have been writing about the way people have chosen to ignore the war dead in this country. Many Indian soldiers in the heavens of warriors must be grateful they are dead. They have been spared of the ignominy politicians have been heaping upon soldiers, insulting the memories of their dead comrades. This piece is bout one more such instance.

In Bangalore, or Bengaluru to be politically correct, the Karnataka government has suddenly dropped the project for national memorial for war heroes - after completing 80% if earth work in work order if Rs 12.62 crores -that is about Rs 9 crores.
As the media reports said the government has taken a sudden U-turn on the decision to build a memorial to the 1971 Bangladesh war heroes at the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park.

It had earlier resisted the pleas of residents of the Krishna Apartment Owners’ Association (KAOA) who were against the constuction as they felt it was eating into the "green lung" of the park in their midst. When the government refused to budge they approached the Karnataka High Court. However, after the High Court allowed the work to proceed, the Association had taken the issue to the Supreme Court. The apex court had scheduled the next hearing on the case on July 26.

The memorial was to be maintained by a trust chaired by the Chief Minister, with highranking army officers as its members.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and chairman of the National Military Memorial Committee, commenting on the latest government move said “The decision could have been taken much earlier by the CM. This would have spared tremendous cost, money and time spent by many people of our city, and most importantly, spared the many families of martyrs and veterans the humiliation and trauma of this unseemly controversy.” But who cares for such niceties, Mr Chandrasekhar?

Apologising to the families of martyrs and veterans for "this unseemly and unfortunate controversy," he said he had been "subjected to many personal attacks during this whole episode by some socalled elite citizens of our city." But is it any surprise, with elitism creeping in the midst of political-bureaucracy-business mafia in power everywhere? Every issue is being used to exercise power and not achieve results. Chandrasekhar went on to "reassure families of these martyrs that a large majority of citizens have the greatest regard and respect for them and their loved ones...” We are delighted to hear such words; but with due apologies to him, they sound hollow when they are uttered in the wake of one more act of ignominy.

The Times News Network had speculated whether the cause for the government volte face was Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s recent outbursts against the Yeddyurappa government on the Lokayukta and tardy flood relief works. I will not be surprised if this is true. He would not be the first chief minister to do so to settle political scores.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has promised the legislative council to "look for new space far better than the present one." So we can expect the charade to continue for another two to three years before a site is selected. And the same people who took the botched decision earlier are supposed to act on this!

The work on the ground for the memorial has stopped at Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park. According to media reports the project engineer had said that all civil works were almost done. They quoted him as saying “We will have to pay as per the tenders finalized for the earth work completed till date." That is at least Rs 9 crores of public money down the drain. But who cares about public money, when the public themselves don't bother?

The KAOA secretary had some advice to the memorial committe. He asked it to identify "a bigger, better, non-controversial site in a place that’s accessible to all, taking the local residents along for their valuable suggestions and support." That is a lofty thought never applied to the way things are done in this country. As he said the process "most importantly, it should be transparent." Is he talking about government decision making in India? Opaqueness is the life blood of politicians and bureaucracy in this country.

I have always wondered why the government has to build memorials for the war dead in this country? Where is the civil society? They should take a look at the Matthew Hickley's 20 September 2007 report in the Daily Mail, UK.

Or they may take a look at the decision of the Westminster Council to permit the construction of an open style pavilion costing £ 3.5 million pounds for a memorial to the war dead of Bomber Command at the Piccadilly entrance to Green Park. The memorial, to be built by 2012, will commemorate the 55,573 crew of Bomber Command, with an average age of 22, who were killed in World War II.

But then, we are not living in the UK. The reality here is to forget the war dead and pander the nethas by making cut outs and statues out of public money. I suppose that is our culture.