Onion of My Eye

Onion is the true leveler in India. It will make us surely cry either when we cut or buy it. Onion is one commodity whose price rise hits us hard. Politician's popularity indexes are invariably linked with the prices of onion. Political parties can win or lose elections depending which side of the onion they are on. 

Onions are the true binding force of India. It binds different cultures & geographical regions. Pinch of price rise is far more acute & deeply felt in all regions of India if it’s especially of the mighty onions. Ironically it’s the onions which manage to make the governments nervous & jittery, not the multi billion dollar scams or many deaths due to mal nutrition.

Onion rudely exposes India’s preparedness to meet contingencies. Drought & excessive rains do not come with intimations. It’s the responsibility of the governments & administrators to have break points & triggers to identify crisis & deal effectively. It’s sad that our governments are normally dormant & react only when it hits their electoral prospects. Disaster recovery mechanism in India is a paper tiger; it operates only in manual & not in reality.

The onion crisis raises many questions of the role & preparedness of ministers & bureaucrats. Isn’t politics & administration a full time job as it entitles them with salary, benefits & other perks? In reality the problem stems from the fact that many politicians do not really have a sound knowledge or the expertise in the portfolio they head. Politicians other than politics devout their time for many other activities which keeps them occupied & this leaves them with very little time to manage their ministries. 

Voters elect their leaders hoping that those leaders are passionate about common man's problem; however onions of today expose the true intention of those leaders. It’s high time the politicians realize that the voters expect results & not empty promises. Either they become more efficient or the onions will bite them hard.