‘Look, India is Being Fooled’

Look, India is agitating.
People have taken to the streets
To protest against exploitation and deprivation.
The downtrodden have lost faith
And risen in indignation.

Look, India is burning.
The minorities are afraid to be themselves.
Every other day, riots mar festive cheer.
Statue after statue is being demolished
But not the pride of the hatemongers.

Look, India is being looted.
The farmers are pleading for loan waivers
And struggling for minimum support price.
While big defaulters befriend the chowkidaar and escape
Robbing banks of our money and trust.

Look, India is being privatised.
Paper leaks, purchased seats – education is for sale
The poor shall not be allowed to study.
Universities are to beg from capitalists for sustenance
And be run like MNCs, under the garb of autonomy.

Look, India is being fooled.
Crores of jobs promised
But of selling pakoras.
Achhe din are evading us
Like Modis and Mallya.

Look, India is being broken.
Fragmented on the lines of caste, class and religion
The fault lines are now darker than ever
Each new scandal and nexus uncovered
Shatters hopes of things getting better.

Look, India is being betrayed.
No promises fulfilled
No jobs in sight
No alternative left
Except to resist and fight.

Aishwarya Bhuta is a 21-year-old writer from Mumbai. She believes in the power of the pen to change the world, one step at a time.