It Happens Only In India

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.