Ant and Grosshopper - Indian Version of story - too good and a reflection of reality ...... in a humorous way
Original Story:
The Ant works hard in the heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is 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.
Indian Version:
The Ant works hard in the draining intense heat all summer building its 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 .
Mayawati states this as 'injustice' done on Minorities.
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 & Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal 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 Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions in Government Services.
The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV, BBC, CNN.
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 ,
....AND
As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers, India is still a developing country...!!
N.B.: I have no idea whose creative mind this has come out from, but this piece is awesome.
Now This Story...
The pandemic started and a month later I started going on and on and on and on and on and on about Islamic Banking...it's based on Simple Interest as opposed to Compound Interest charged by Banks World Over...
I Also am a Huge Fan of a Small Island Nation called Bahrain...as it had Zero Income Tax...
Notice How The Rest of The World labels Muslims and Arabs 'Terrorists' and Ironically these So Called Terrorists have Financial Systems which are The Most Benevolent ...
Zero Income Tax and Simple Interest and Nearly Zero Oil and Yet ...a Teeny Tiny Itsy Bitsy Beautiful Island Nation called Bahrain is a Financial and Tourist and Entrepreneurship and StartUp Hub in the Arab World...
I would get irritated with my American Online Friends I found on FB ...due to some work I did with a group I found thanks to A Lebanese Literary Big Wig I follow on FB...my American friends would feel bad that I lived in the Big Bad Backward Middle East and ask questions about Hijab in Bahrain and more jazz and I would Keep Repeating as to how Liberal Bahrain is...
I could not convince them about the Systems in Beautiful Liberal Bahrain... and after a point I let them wallow in their ignorance as Bahrain is an American naval base and hopefully some folks from the American Navy I met during the Bahrain Writers' Circle meetings would take on the Onus of Educating the American public about just how Liberal and Foreward Thinking The Monarch in Bahrain is... Ditto about the Monarch's Ancestors...
So if Bahrain with it's meagre oil reserves can Function Well with Zero Income Tax and Simple Interest...
Why Not The Rest of the World...
The Pandemic Practically Taught Us Nothing...
Individuals and Governments are Neck Deep in Debt... BUT...no one wants to Hear or Read about Simple Interest
Once upon a Time in the Distant Past ... America too had Zero Income Tax...
So my Question to the World is This...Why do we Want to Punish and Belittle...
Let us Be Encouraging... what Happened in Russia and France after the Nobles were Killed Brutally...
Animal Farm is Highly Educative... Kindly Read It...
My point is This...we have Ancient Systems in Education, Taxation and Militarianism and Governance...
Why Can't We ∆ for the Better???
Why can't we go for New Ways to Tax ...so that Tax Avoidance is the Norm and Not Tax Evasion...
We can Never Cure Greed in Rogues who join Politics for monetary gains and Machiavellian Power games...But ... Keep Aside the dirty politicians and rogues
Take Only Industry and The Ants of This World...
Take Artists who work in their 90s like Zohra Sehgal Ji and look at the level of Tax levied on such an Artist...is it Fair that we Refuse to See the Efforts she put in at such an advanced age when people are mostly bed ridden and taxing such an Artist is a crime I feel...
Similarly I take the Tatas and the early 90s ... insurgency was at it's Peak in assssssssssam and the Tea Executives at Tatas a soft target for the dirty insurgents...
Media and government officials harassed Tatas to the Nth Degree...I saw the Actual Ground Realities in assssssssssam and the effects of sic putrid Insurgency first hand... and I realised How Very Wrong the Government and media were in Hounding the Tatas...
Tea Company Executives have very little insurance coverage and Zero Lobbying and Zero Safety Nets...so when one gets kidnapped in assssssssssam and made to stay in the bungalow of another executive... Two Tea Companies are involved in some kidnappings and No One in India knows Or Cares as to How Very Bloody their cups of tea are...
My point is...if we Can Not Promote Industry at the Very Least let us Not Harm Industry and Everyone who Slogs their butt off to earn what they Do ...
Why do we as a Society believe in Greek Tragedy and Greek concepts of Retribution and Gory Gunky Poetic Justice???
Hmmm doesn't anyone Think about These Systems...
Zero income tax and Simple Interest???
I mean you folk Don't Like such Benevolent Concepts or it Pricks Your Conscience a Tad Too Much ehhh???
So Much So that one J Leader ordered a ban on me messaging for a Week ...mind you... for mentioning Islamic Banking and Simple Interest and mocking the Bank of International Settlements...
Ok I know that I am Not Diplomatic and Rude and Rowdy at times...
But tell me Kind J Sir ...am I to Blame for the Cruel Ways of This World that Honed my Rowdyism to a Kinda Dazzling Sheen ...
Why does the World keep Labelling Religions ... Christians labelled the Jews and Everyone Labels Islam and Few don't like Buddhists and from now on Hindus might get Labelled as India seems Hell Bent on becoming Post World War I Germany:( bigoted and Cruel in the Most Macabre and Barbaric way...
Yes the World could Do with More Charity and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives ...But
Killing the Spirit of the Entrepreneurs who make up just 3% of the World Population is a Crime we should Rectify
Zero Income Tax would definitely lead to more CSR and charity and Exponential Increase in the Velocity of Circulation of Money
The Multiplier Effect of Just The Velocity of Circulation of Money will be Enough to Bring in a post pandemic Boom which could be Sustained For as long as the world is sensible and sane about Taxation and Militarianism
I Rest My Case 🙏🏾
