The Grasshopper

A very interesting article that was forwarded to me by a friend. So accurately reflecting the state of affairs in India I had to blog it.

Subject: The Grasshopper

OLD VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building
his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper
thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food
or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building
his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper
thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering
grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding
that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government
for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The
Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt
support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) . Opposition
MP's stage a walkout.Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West
Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.CPM in Kerala
immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat
so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian
Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism
Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of
the winter.
Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in
educational
Insititutions & in Govt Services.
The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having
nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by
the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony
covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it
'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of
the downtrodden' Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN
General Assembly.
Many years later...The ant has since migrated to the US and set up
a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley. 100s of
grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in
India ...
As a result loosing lot of hard working ants and feeding the
grasshoppers, India is still a developing country..... .