What makes us young? Column Chetan Ramchurn L’express weekly/ 11.06.2010
•June 12, 2010 • Leave a Comment (Edit)
[Column ] What makes us young? /Chetan Ramchurn L’Express Weekly/ 11/06/10
Monday evening. I’m cruising through Curepipe’s cold streets. The traffic, as I most hate it, loud and slow. For once, my windows are up… lest I lose some of that John Legend’s soulful music amidst the blaring horns. I am musing on the fact that this subject could be penned from several viewpoints. But my thoughts go back to decades ago, to Curepipe’s fateful tryst with our country’s first political assassination; Azor Adelaide’s martyrdom reminding me that being young back in 1971 also meant risking one’s life.
The condescending way in which the present young generation is viewed shall be the first of my themes. An outer view would thus be a good starting point; how our more seasoned peers tend to view GenYers as self- obsessed whiners that sulk all the time, that are more concerned with their latest Facebook avatars than the numerous societal wrongs they witness every single day, believing that they know best when all they’ve done is put their minds to sleep. Too often are we seen as modern Oblomovs… unwilling to do much, caught in indecision… Our critics are partly justified.
For the current Mauritius’s absence of ideologies and celebration of status quo should also be attributed to those at its helm… those that were brimming with leftist ideals back in the 70s.
And this is what reassures me. The Che- inebriated generation so long touted as the creators of a new world order are also those that left their dreams for the comfort of capitalism. Maybe, and I’m hoping that this is the case, our less vocal young generation might have a more telling change on the society. For has anything changed for real? Sartre has been replaced by Houellebecq, Rock has been replaced by Hip Hop and racism is still ubiquitous. The form of rebellion has certainly changed, but the philosophy has sustained the test of time.
Youth gone wild?
What should be of real concern to those who care and have the ability to change things is the rotten state of some of our country’s academic institutions, meant to act as vivier d’idées. How on university campuses across the island, racism is openly preached and practised during election time; how the vulnerability of young minds has not been alleviated with the greater imparting of moral values and education on the myriad of cultures gracing our land; how meritocracy is often forgotten and forsaken by young graduates whose first instinct is to use the easiest and cheapest of moves to secure a monthly paycheck…
Everyone is the age of their heart.( Guatemalan Proverb)
But being young is not solely about age. That which makes us youthful is also that which prevents us from falling prey to fear. And it is fright that manacles our minds, that turns well irrigated brains into dried ones, which makes us see change as an insurmountable hurdle and that forces us to see a foe in the one who is different. But being young is most importantly about being true to one’s human values and being tolerant of others.
Here’s my appeal to the naysayers: Understand that the youth of today has its share of contradictions. The pettifogger deeply engrossed in trying to increase the number of virtual friends and the thinker trying to change the world. Helping the second of these facets to bloom would do our Motherland a lot of good.
And here’s my advice to my young comrades: You don’t age unless you choose to…
Chetan Ramchurn
Posted in Uncategorized
Nil desperandum by Chetan Ramchurn/L’Express Weekly 14.05.2010
•May 14, 2010 • Leave a Comment (Edit)
“ Nil desperandum”
Hardly a week has elapsed… the gash in most purple hearts still hurting.
Still, neither have our heads gone down nor has our resolve flinched. And if there was any misunderstanding on where the MMM stood on the political spectrum, it has been cleared. Those with real militan blood have, to the best of their socialist drive, managed to fight for that which they believed in; a bona fide democratisation of the economy, greater transparency in public affairs and real change in the education sector.
I know not all the answers to the MMM’s defeat. What I know is that playing the ostrich game would do us no good and party heads might, in line with our long history of participative democracy, want to ask for the input of the soldiers on the battleground on how to correct some of the mistakes made over the last month.
My reading of things is that Mauritians in the third millennium need to assess whom they are giving the golden ticket for a power ride to. Churchill, as gifted he was a leader as talented he was with words once said “ The best argument against democracy is a five- minute conversation with the average voter.” Lest I be condescending, I would rather believe that we never were able to reach the majority of voters.
Yes readers, the much hyped majorité silencieuse is not only mum but also, and on an even more unfortunate note for the MMM, suffers from some form of hearing impairment.
For some of the results are baffling; former political nominees that were horrendous when at the head of institutions have been offered the green light by the venerable pep admirab to further tarnish the political playfield, non- descript candidates winning their respective battles against talented ones and let us never forget the use of racist speeches; all adding up to turn May 2010 into the most grotesque of months in recent times.
My disenchantment has somewhat been alleviated with competent minds such as Kee Cheong, Obeegadoo and Boollel perfectly placed to be our voice in what promises to be a cauldron of a parliament. The next five years shall be determining, for Mauritius first of all but also for the MMM as a party. First and foremost, it is key to rethink and rejuvenate ourselves, convince with bold ideas those constituencies and voters that have remained immune to our leftist words that there is an alternative. And I have no fear that this can and will be achieved.
The time is right to draw significant teachings from our past defeats and on finding the best of strategies and tactics to be the most dominating force in Mauritian politics once again.
Campaigning for the greater regulation in political financing should be high up the agenda for these elections have showed even more than the previous ones that the defining rule in politics in our era is ‘ Pay to Play’ . A real commission on the fairer distribution of wealth would also do much good to the MMM, so long and unfairly accused of siding with part of the private sector.
2010 was the year where incompetence prevailed, the slugfest of ideas was replaced with that of insults and our country’s date with destiny was missed.
2015 shall be the year of the purple.
The “ majorité silencieuse” is not only mum but also suffers from some form of hearing impairment.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: Chetan Ramchurn, Elections 2010, Labour Party, MMM
Revey toi n ti poem avant elections
•May 5, 2010 • Leave a Comment (Edit)
Revey toi…
Mone lire ene jour ki somey ek la mort presk identik
Dayer dans Illiad, Hypnos ek Thanatos c’est deux freres jumo, fils de Nix
Pou conscience aussi imper mem trik
Pna difference entre ene kine endormi ek ene kine mort so sens civique
Kamarad, pas laisse toi fermer par ban lespri racistes
Tous dimoun pareil dapres dna so helix
Anou empeche nou pays vine encore pli triste
Mercredi to ena sa chance unik sanz disc
Ek choisir vote pou competence au lieu ene clique
De petits copains ek jouisseurs sans moralite ou ethique
Ki to appel Stephanie, Vijay, Yogen ou Faeza
Nou tou zenfan sa pays la, pou nou li ene mama
Si tone comprend sa ban mots la bien
To leker p bat mem rythme ki moi, parole ene morisyen
Ki le 5 Mai pou change avec so vote nou Maurice so destin.
Chetan
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: Chetan, Ramchurn, Revey toi
Economic Order: Now is the time for change/L’Express ID/27.04.2010
•April 27, 2010 • Leave a Comment (Edit)
Economic order : “ Now is
the time for change”
Chetan RAMCHURN
Like a few others in Mauritius, I have always had a thing against staunch market fundamentalists who live and die by the invisible hand. I fear they might come to me one day and say smilingly, “ Dear Chetan, we have evaluated the market demand for socialists and it stands at nil at the moment. So we have decided, with the consent of the Society of Mauritian Liberals and Proponents of Economic Inequality, to terminate you while waiting for better market conditions for humanists”. I fear, more seriously, that they might continue to put economic concerns before human ones.
There is no invisible hand. Nobel Prize winners in Economics Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith explained that the predictability of human behaviour cannot be ascertained with enough precision and subsequently the fundamental economic concepts do not always apply in real life. And in this young democracy of ours, what has been dubbed as “ simplistic market economics” seem to have won it against the need for a stronger government that would act as a facilitator and regulator of economic affairs. Thus, with several of our governments being led by a neo- liberal agenda, government intervention has been kept to the strictest of minimum with the few continuing to benefi t and the many continuing to suffer.
Our colonial past and post- independence years bear testimony to an economic environment marred by inequalities.
Few have tackled the socio- economic divide and tried to bring the Gini coeffi cient within acceptable norms.
Unfortunately for us, the Ramgoolam/ Rama tandem was not one of them with the gap between the rich and the poor that has widened and a large part of the private sector that has fl ourished to indecent proportions. The last government using levies, with as much aversion as a world- relinquishing monk would use money, has never been able to bring some form of equilibrium in the distribution of wealth. But then again, we had been compelled to accept that this was the only way and that Sithanen was the economic maestro that had salvaged the destiny of our motherland from the brink of doom. Few opposing voices, that included the likes of Bizlall, Subron and Kee Cheong Li Kwong Wing, were heard as the ideological warfare was being won by free marketholics.
Now is the time for change.
Any country with real concern for its citizens would follow in the footsteps of Bhutan which has decided to forgo the traditional GDP measure for a more people centric one using its now celebrated Gross National Happiness Index to gauge the prosperity of its nation. If it sounds like a term borrowed from Lewis Caroll’s book, think again. For economic thought leaders as celebrated as Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz consider it as a more than credible alternative to the now passé GDP. What we need at this defi ning moment of our country’s destiny is a Welfare State that truly ensures that basic human needs are catered for. With our public schooling that has increasingly lost its sheen in favour of an expensive private one, the absence of price control resulting in the loss of purchasing power, the huge costs of insecurity resulting in the loss of human lives and an inbred form of fear and despair, the mood of Mauritians demands to be uplifted with a more caring government.
Policies that are in dire need are those that would upgrade the levels of services offered with real benchmarks of quality and effi ciency. Measures that would encourage the greater participation of entrepreneurs could include the offering of a safety net and more public- private sector partnerships that would enable the fostering of innovation and help in the creation of new sectors.
Singapore, often cited as an example to follow by our Prime Minister, is a State where the government remains, still today, a key partner in economic affairs offering a form of paternalistic benevolence in a global economic sphere where cold capitalism reigns. Lee Kuan Yew believed that high quality schools, health care and public services should be foremost in the country’s agenda. I’ll end this column with a quote from the coronation address of the King of Bhutan in 2008 : “ Our most important goal is the peace and happiness of our people and the security and sovereignty of the nation.” Qui potest capere capiat… Let him accept it who can…
Showing posts with label labour party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labour party. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
MMM It's all about belief/L'Express ID/16.03.2010
MMM
It’s all about belief…
Had an epiphany at the end of February. A revelation, as crystalline as the absurdity of life in a Kafka novel, that had to do with an over four decade old purple patient’s longing to finally get out of the political reanimation room to which it had been confined since 2005.
With leaks in the press of a meeting between two of the most followed domestic politicians surfacing, like others, I came to the realisation that the MMM and its leaders were not determined enough to pass the Litmus test of their credibility as a vivier d’idées and as capable decision makers in the next general elections. This latest retournement de veste is yet another one in the party’s long lineage of veering away from the true path of sticking to its core ideals. Even more dangerous is that this MMM stance offers a stark contrast to Navin Ramgoolam’s blasé style…and further widens the divide between the party and its militan and further irks the population.
And thus, the long list of recriminations against Ramgoolam Jr instantly evaporated, forgotten amidst the desire to return to power while the customary leeches saw yet another opportunity that shall allow them to suck on some of that taxpayers’ money. Members of the party that had acted as thought leaders in papers or had vocally expressed their condemnation of this regime’s actions on radio waves have seemingly quieted for their share of the cake. You would have expected the younger members of the MMM to manifest their discontent against this gluttony for power. Que nenni. Settling selfishly for an entry in the good books of the party heads, they have effectively confirmed their dearth of mettle. Having witnessed that damning ambition that cripples minds and mouths and even more so among the youth ranks of my own party, my disenchantment with Mauritian politics further grows…
My MMM days
Every now and then, with my good friends Arnaud and Benoit, we muse on those ideas that would allow our country to breathe again and dream of a land where law and order would no longer be the most aching of issues, where the education system would finally set the bases for a thinking society and when the Alliance Sociale’s mirage, the democratization of the economy would finally materialise. Our selfless conversations often become broad discussions on the ideological meaning of socialism and the importance of never thinking of our own petty interests but more importantly of that of many. It is not an easy task, I admit, to forfeit one’s needs. But it is a path that I have chosen and unconquerable my soul shall remain.
Being reasonably happy with our respective professional situations, we could have joined one of those ineffectual organisations or clubs where members fight more to be known than for the greater good of society with PR campaigns to dowse themselves in, what Warhol termed, their quarter-hour of fame. Foolishly we have decided against this great networking tactic and chosen to try and change things for real. Utopists? Definitely, but the power to dream is that vital elixir that takes a country to new heights.
An absence of values…
I now comprehend that the real issue plaguing the mauve heart is not solely its absence of ideas or competent members, which incidentally is very much real, but more importantly the lack of belief in itself. And it dates to decades ago. In 1982, with victory beckoning we chose to take on board an unneeded ally. And since then, repeatedly in 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, our battles have been solely a question of being in a duo rather than doing it the ethical solo way. Till this deficiency in faith be cured, no return to prominence can be achieved.
The leader of the MMM, unaware of his role as the the Pied Piper of Hamelin leading his party to death, might against his own better judgment and influenced by some , be sacrificing our last drop of credibility supposedly for the greater good of the nation. The Prime Minister must be relishing his present position with the other two parties begging for his acquiescence for a 5 year ballad. The outcome if the MMM fails to get Navin's approval? Would it make any sense to fight against someone you had been courting previously?
When a party runs out of ideas and convictions, it naturally chooses the coward’s way out. Let’s be brave comrades.
Chetan Ramchurn
militan
It’s all about belief…
Had an epiphany at the end of February. A revelation, as crystalline as the absurdity of life in a Kafka novel, that had to do with an over four decade old purple patient’s longing to finally get out of the political reanimation room to which it had been confined since 2005.
With leaks in the press of a meeting between two of the most followed domestic politicians surfacing, like others, I came to the realisation that the MMM and its leaders were not determined enough to pass the Litmus test of their credibility as a vivier d’idées and as capable decision makers in the next general elections. This latest retournement de veste is yet another one in the party’s long lineage of veering away from the true path of sticking to its core ideals. Even more dangerous is that this MMM stance offers a stark contrast to Navin Ramgoolam’s blasé style…and further widens the divide between the party and its militan and further irks the population.
And thus, the long list of recriminations against Ramgoolam Jr instantly evaporated, forgotten amidst the desire to return to power while the customary leeches saw yet another opportunity that shall allow them to suck on some of that taxpayers’ money. Members of the party that had acted as thought leaders in papers or had vocally expressed their condemnation of this regime’s actions on radio waves have seemingly quieted for their share of the cake. You would have expected the younger members of the MMM to manifest their discontent against this gluttony for power. Que nenni. Settling selfishly for an entry in the good books of the party heads, they have effectively confirmed their dearth of mettle. Having witnessed that damning ambition that cripples minds and mouths and even more so among the youth ranks of my own party, my disenchantment with Mauritian politics further grows…
My MMM days
Every now and then, with my good friends Arnaud and Benoit, we muse on those ideas that would allow our country to breathe again and dream of a land where law and order would no longer be the most aching of issues, where the education system would finally set the bases for a thinking society and when the Alliance Sociale’s mirage, the democratization of the economy would finally materialise. Our selfless conversations often become broad discussions on the ideological meaning of socialism and the importance of never thinking of our own petty interests but more importantly of that of many. It is not an easy task, I admit, to forfeit one’s needs. But it is a path that I have chosen and unconquerable my soul shall remain.
Being reasonably happy with our respective professional situations, we could have joined one of those ineffectual organisations or clubs where members fight more to be known than for the greater good of society with PR campaigns to dowse themselves in, what Warhol termed, their quarter-hour of fame. Foolishly we have decided against this great networking tactic and chosen to try and change things for real. Utopists? Definitely, but the power to dream is that vital elixir that takes a country to new heights.
An absence of values…
I now comprehend that the real issue plaguing the mauve heart is not solely its absence of ideas or competent members, which incidentally is very much real, but more importantly the lack of belief in itself. And it dates to decades ago. In 1982, with victory beckoning we chose to take on board an unneeded ally. And since then, repeatedly in 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, our battles have been solely a question of being in a duo rather than doing it the ethical solo way. Till this deficiency in faith be cured, no return to prominence can be achieved.
The leader of the MMM, unaware of his role as the the Pied Piper of Hamelin leading his party to death, might against his own better judgment and influenced by some , be sacrificing our last drop of credibility supposedly for the greater good of the nation. The Prime Minister must be relishing his present position with the other two parties begging for his acquiescence for a 5 year ballad. The outcome if the MMM fails to get Navin's approval? Would it make any sense to fight against someone you had been courting previously?
When a party runs out of ideas and convictions, it naturally chooses the coward’s way out. Let’s be brave comrades.
Chetan Ramchurn
militan
Saturday, December 26, 2009
2009: Another Year in Paradise
2009: Another Year in Paradise
The author shares his insights on the present situation of Mauritius before the ‘peuple admirable’ gets ready to forget the many injustices it endured during the year choosing to embark on that safe selective retention mode while the country’s democratically elected Chief Entertainer gets ready for his white X-Mas. In an annum marked by Navin’s multiple historic trysts with world greats, the No.8 elections and numerous other scandals arising from the laissez faire style of the country heads, the unthinking majority chose yet again to postpone its baptism in active citizenship sine die.
What you should not forget...but you’ll forget anyway
No exit clause, no excuses: We witnessed how at the Air Mauritius, a real life version of Pope’s The Rape of the Lock unfolded where poor decisions resulting from the incompetence of some meant that the company had to compromise its short and medium term profitability. In the process, our Phaeton Rubicola effectively lost its credibility but the situation also highlighted the inability of the Great One to put the right people in the right place.
And Justice for all?: The travesty of justice in several cases continued to grab headlines with favouritism now openly practiced with the rooting for the interests of family members, political acquaintances and corporate entities (read political financiers). The King of hollow speeches shouted with all his might that he has managed to turn this country around and thereby salvaged our collective destinies from ‘l’oligarchie sucrière’. The majority of the population heeded his words believing that the much needed democratisation of the economy would materialise. Unfortunately for our motherland, the sly fox had been veiled as the protective shepherd back in 2005 and we failed to notice it.
Capitalism x 2: A double dose of Sithanenomics in this post-crisis year, with most experts close to the nantis lauding the greatness and profound intelligence of the Minister while the public, as is customary now, unable to overstand the many issues now accepting the visionless minister’s actions as a boon. How our national maven, for all his knowledge in economics and political science, managed to submit his resignation to the wrong person in 2007 still riddles our minds. Till today, many of us still rue this missed opportunity.
Welcome to the Navin Show:
Our glorious leader managed a master stroke by garnering all the credit for Pravind's win in the No.8 family feud.However, his haughtiness reached new heights with his ever growing desire to be perceived as someone highly important at global level. And who has to put up with the renditions of his discussions with the heads of economic powerhouses? We do. Puerility on Navin’s behalf? No, more pernicious than that, pure unbridled adulation of oneself. Part of the press that answers to Ramgoolam’s every beck and call also managed to instill in our minds the idea that the outcome of the next elections was already finalised.
Protection Montagne: How we managed to let ethnicity be the leverage for success, or how politics was perverted to tolerate illegality (with the latest example being the efforts of the former Lord Mayor squashed as a means of ethnic baiting) was another defining feature of 2009.
Occult forces continued to operate in several sectors providing an almost endless supply of money to fuel businesses. Of special interest was the greater use of greeting codes that are now that all powerful sesame and which possess the unique ability to open locked doors. This today offers the ability to show one’s appartenance to the right clique in public (extending to radio waves) and private spheres thus resulting in a flawed system where some of us are allowed undue privileges because of their racial affiliations.
The No.8 elections showed that the new king makers were vain individuals from socio-cultural organizations that continued to let their destructive influence tarnish an already soiled democratic space. A long way from “Ene sel lepep, ene sel nation”.
Other Issues: The MMM? Still lost.Pravind? Sans envergure.
A glimmer of hope.
Eliminating the rat race: Bunwaree laid the foundations for a thinking society with such bold propositions that included the projected scrapping of the elitist system. This was followed, as expected, by such simplistic comments from pseudo experts as “akoz ou zenfant pas laureat ou p dire sa”. This is far from being an issue springing out of any form of jealousy or feeling of resentment. It has to do with the simple realization that this present system which thrives on parrot learning is ending up doing more harm than good. It also has to do with the return on investment which is simply not worth the amount of money devoted to such an endeavour. Especially so, if the greater part of the country’s nationally funded eminence grise’s only aim is to pad its bank accounts by working abroad. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But not with studies financed by taxpayers’ money.
Others claimed that they would not return to the country because of the lack of meritocracy and corruption that phagocytes it. But are those acute issues pertinent to Mauritius only? Are they not present in even the most developed of countries? The greatness of all responsible citizens consists in helping change their country for the better instead of deciding to escape to foreign shores. Equally vile were the attacks on the Minister’s reforms were the conservatives’ claim that it constituted a form of ethnic bashing. Until we extirpate the debate on education from the communal gutter, no expected outcome will ever be translated into reality.
The Mauritian(s) of the year award:
2009 belongs to Sam Lauthan and Jack Bizlall. The former for being noble in a party that is no longer so and for having the class of leaving politics untainted selecting to stick to his beliefs while others have long succumbed to their gluttony for power. The second one for having the ability to say things in the ‘overcrowded baracoon’ that confirms that not all of us have given up their quest for a better society. Both of them militans (the coaltar not the caviar versions). The rarest of breeds these days.
The untimely departed
James Burty David, that quick-witted, courageous soldier, peerless in loyalty among labourites shall be missed by many. Hardworking with an unwavering attachment to the venerable institution that the Labour Party is, JBD shall be an example for many aspiring and practicing politicians. Chapeau bas!
Vivement 2010.
Chetan Ramchurn
The author shares his insights on the present situation of Mauritius before the ‘peuple admirable’ gets ready to forget the many injustices it endured during the year choosing to embark on that safe selective retention mode while the country’s democratically elected Chief Entertainer gets ready for his white X-Mas. In an annum marked by Navin’s multiple historic trysts with world greats, the No.8 elections and numerous other scandals arising from the laissez faire style of the country heads, the unthinking majority chose yet again to postpone its baptism in active citizenship sine die.
What you should not forget...but you’ll forget anyway
No exit clause, no excuses: We witnessed how at the Air Mauritius, a real life version of Pope’s The Rape of the Lock unfolded where poor decisions resulting from the incompetence of some meant that the company had to compromise its short and medium term profitability. In the process, our Phaeton Rubicola effectively lost its credibility but the situation also highlighted the inability of the Great One to put the right people in the right place.
And Justice for all?: The travesty of justice in several cases continued to grab headlines with favouritism now openly practiced with the rooting for the interests of family members, political acquaintances and corporate entities (read political financiers). The King of hollow speeches shouted with all his might that he has managed to turn this country around and thereby salvaged our collective destinies from ‘l’oligarchie sucrière’. The majority of the population heeded his words believing that the much needed democratisation of the economy would materialise. Unfortunately for our motherland, the sly fox had been veiled as the protective shepherd back in 2005 and we failed to notice it.
Capitalism x 2: A double dose of Sithanenomics in this post-crisis year, with most experts close to the nantis lauding the greatness and profound intelligence of the Minister while the public, as is customary now, unable to overstand the many issues now accepting the visionless minister’s actions as a boon. How our national maven, for all his knowledge in economics and political science, managed to submit his resignation to the wrong person in 2007 still riddles our minds. Till today, many of us still rue this missed opportunity.
Welcome to the Navin Show:
Our glorious leader managed a master stroke by garnering all the credit for Pravind's win in the No.8 family feud.However, his haughtiness reached new heights with his ever growing desire to be perceived as someone highly important at global level. And who has to put up with the renditions of his discussions with the heads of economic powerhouses? We do. Puerility on Navin’s behalf? No, more pernicious than that, pure unbridled adulation of oneself. Part of the press that answers to Ramgoolam’s every beck and call also managed to instill in our minds the idea that the outcome of the next elections was already finalised.
Protection Montagne: How we managed to let ethnicity be the leverage for success, or how politics was perverted to tolerate illegality (with the latest example being the efforts of the former Lord Mayor squashed as a means of ethnic baiting) was another defining feature of 2009.
Occult forces continued to operate in several sectors providing an almost endless supply of money to fuel businesses. Of special interest was the greater use of greeting codes that are now that all powerful sesame and which possess the unique ability to open locked doors. This today offers the ability to show one’s appartenance to the right clique in public (extending to radio waves) and private spheres thus resulting in a flawed system where some of us are allowed undue privileges because of their racial affiliations.
The No.8 elections showed that the new king makers were vain individuals from socio-cultural organizations that continued to let their destructive influence tarnish an already soiled democratic space. A long way from “Ene sel lepep, ene sel nation”.
Other Issues: The MMM? Still lost.Pravind? Sans envergure.
A glimmer of hope.
Eliminating the rat race: Bunwaree laid the foundations for a thinking society with such bold propositions that included the projected scrapping of the elitist system. This was followed, as expected, by such simplistic comments from pseudo experts as “akoz ou zenfant pas laureat ou p dire sa”. This is far from being an issue springing out of any form of jealousy or feeling of resentment. It has to do with the simple realization that this present system which thrives on parrot learning is ending up doing more harm than good. It also has to do with the return on investment which is simply not worth the amount of money devoted to such an endeavour. Especially so, if the greater part of the country’s nationally funded eminence grise’s only aim is to pad its bank accounts by working abroad. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But not with studies financed by taxpayers’ money.
Others claimed that they would not return to the country because of the lack of meritocracy and corruption that phagocytes it. But are those acute issues pertinent to Mauritius only? Are they not present in even the most developed of countries? The greatness of all responsible citizens consists in helping change their country for the better instead of deciding to escape to foreign shores. Equally vile were the attacks on the Minister’s reforms were the conservatives’ claim that it constituted a form of ethnic bashing. Until we extirpate the debate on education from the communal gutter, no expected outcome will ever be translated into reality.
The Mauritian(s) of the year award:
2009 belongs to Sam Lauthan and Jack Bizlall. The former for being noble in a party that is no longer so and for having the class of leaving politics untainted selecting to stick to his beliefs while others have long succumbed to their gluttony for power. The second one for having the ability to say things in the ‘overcrowded baracoon’ that confirms that not all of us have given up their quest for a better society. Both of them militans (the coaltar not the caviar versions). The rarest of breeds these days.
The untimely departed
James Burty David, that quick-witted, courageous soldier, peerless in loyalty among labourites shall be missed by many. Hardworking with an unwavering attachment to the venerable institution that the Labour Party is, JBD shall be an example for many aspiring and practicing politicians. Chapeau bas!
Vivement 2010.
Chetan Ramchurn
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