Men and women have to die to make democracy work. People worldwide, who enjoy the fruits of democracy, know the sacrifices of their forefathers who fought to make this world livable for the generations that followed. India fought for freedom but not for democracy. It is now asked to give blood as it had democracy on a platter when Colonial rulers departed. Some will bleed so that others enjoy the fruits of democracy.

Four people, including police, died in the fight for land as UP Government tried to force acquisition of land in Noida near Delhi. No authority in a democracy is empowered to take a farmer’s land forcibly for malls, restaurants or infrastructure projects without appropriate compensation. But it is clear that people have to make sacrifices for their rights. Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji and a contemporary of Gandhi, had given a famous slogan motivating people against foreign rule, “Give me blood. I will give you freedom.” In Noida, both slogans and leaders are absent. Instead, there are vote seekers and chants.

Curiously, Amar Singh, Member of Parliament, reached the spot on a cycle. He sported camera in spite of the fact that he was at the recieving end of a Supreme Court verdict that lifted the hold on taped conversations involving him. The conversations as available on internet was piteous moral holocaust of establishment in India, which shall probably be known as 11/5. It bared everything about politicians, judges, media and businessmen. Such is the cast of bottomless degradation that two legs will not be suffcieint to carry the civility of a society as expected in twenty first centurey.

High voltage verbal war is on. In the totality of things, however, it appears that farmers will finally get what is rightfully theirs. P. Chidambaram, Union Home Minister, announced that Government will pass the bill in the forthcoming Parliament session which changes the age old law for compensation closer to market value. It could have been done much earlier. In the tradition of working of the Government, it is alright. The bloody drama, however, underlines the dictum in no uncertain terms that people have to give blood anyway, if they want their democratic rights.