The Last leg of Journey towards Victory

Whatever the struggle, continue the climb. It may be only one step to the summit. Diane Westlake

I am moved by these words by Diane Westlake as it reminds me about the current phase that we are going through in continuing our commitment towards the eradication of Polio which is no doubt, a realistic and achievable objective now. With West Bengal being the only state so far with sole Polio case in 2011, we are just few steps away from reaching our goal.

Rotarians have flung themselves into Polio drive ever since the campaign was initiated. Our untiring effort has not only helped in controlling the tenacious disease from spreading like wild fire, but has also facilitated in making the life of children better. The anti-polio drive conducted by Rotary International’s India National PolioPlus Committee along with the Govt. of India and partners viz. WHO & UNICEF have saved the lives of 40 lakh children till date.

Success requires persistence. Today, we are aware that we have not succeeded yet and we need to move ahead with a greater degree of zeal and be prepared for the last 1% of fight against Polio which is going to be the most threatening of all the challenges that we have faced till date.

With the monsoon season upon us, the need of the hour is to remain ever vigilant and carry out massive immunization campaigns throughout the length and breadth of the country. Monsoon is the high-transmission season for Polio that brings with it the menace of the deadly Polio virus which generally grows during the monsoons as the atmosphere supports the growth of microbes during the rainy season. To prevent the deadly virus from springing back and spreading its terror, it is important to raise the immunity of children against Polio in every possible way.

Immunizing the children before the onset of monsoon should be treated as an urgent priority so as to avert the re-emergence of Polio Virus. We have to ensure that we reach out to the scattered and mobile population in difficult-to-reach areas .Simultaneously, through house-to-house visits, we have ascertain that people from both rural and urban areas participate in the polio-eradication programme by immunizing their children. Concurrently, we have to continue imparting regular education to the rural population on the importance of maintaining hygiene, nutrition and sanitation to keep Polio virus and other infectious diseases at bay.

Prevention of recurrence of Polio virus during Monsoon which is a high-risk season for Polio transmission would be counted as another alluring triumph which will take us another inch closer towards our mission of Polio eradication. It is going to be an intricate task with lots of stumbling blocks in between but despite all the hindrances we have to go to great lengths to conquer our goal of Polio eradication. You know the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. It implies that when any situation becomes complex, the strong will always work harder to meet the challenge." Let us imbibe the spirit of strength and courage and like true soldiers take charge to get our act together in order to fast-track our mission against Polio till we eradicate the horrendous Polio virus completely.

Polio eradication campaign has entered the final phase with our committed efforts and eradication of the last 1% of the Polio virus rests solely on our allegiance. This is the crucial period and let us not to give up but continue with the good work through the same zeal and strength as Polio eradication drive is on the home stretch now and victory is not far away. But let us remember that the fight is not over till we win !

The dance of Democracy..errr... Dictatorship

Dirty Politics has never excited  me but injustice always agitates me

I am shocked to hear about the atrocities inflicted on people who had assembled at Ramlila ground in Delhi to support Baba Ramdev  in raising voice against corruption. This illogical and shameless act by the Government indicates that they have forgotten or are ignoring the ethics of Democracy and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. The display of brute power on the protestrs  was no doubt a suicidal move by the government and they will face the music for the same.

After the shameful incident, wherein thousands of peaceful protestors including women and children were dragged and  beaten up by lathi-wielding policemen, the series of event that's been following is non-stop political mud-slinging. Some have tagged this incident as a dirty political game planned  by the opposition.

But in the midst of this blame-game we are missing out an important point. It might be a political game but was the abominous step taken by Congress a justifiable one? Can Congress justify it's act ? The answer is NO. Had it been so, the top Congress leaders would not have shunned the media. It makes me wonder what instigated the government to take this foolish step in the midnight on protestors and now they are not even taking the responsibility of reprehensible deed.

India is the largest Democracy and in a democratic nation , Voice of people is the Voice of God. We have every right to protest against any injustice and the Constitution guarantees that right to the Indian citizen. Then why did the Govert. act in such a tyrannical way? Why is the Govt. refusing the live telecast of the meetings of Lokpal Bill draft committee? 

Moreover Baba Ramdev's protest is not to favor any political party in particular but it is for the sake of  entire nation and its people. The Congress is now battling a storm of criticism but even Anna Hazare was denied permission at Jantar Mantar for undertaking a day-long fast to support RamDev ji. If the Governmet keeps imposing such limitations on democratic rights of people, the day is not far when dictatorship would prevail in the country but that's not a good news for the party in power; consequently your tyranny  would lead to another freedom struggle. 

Whatever might be the plot against the protest  but the government has clearly proved what Baba Ramdev was trying to prove.