Young Economist Re-Trained!

By Our Special Correspondent

Hyderabad, 4 January 2005: Budding economist, Ms Ally, finally left the twin cities for Kerala today. She was scheduled to have left on the 2nd, but for reasons still unclear, she had to reschedule her travel plans.

The official version of the story is that Ms Ally tried boarding Sabari Express from Secunderabad station on the 2nd, while her ticket had been for the 1st. The real owner of the berth showed her the compartment door right in time, and she managed to be on the platform before the train left. The blame has been apportioned to her travel agent. She, we are told, then managed to get a Tatkal ticket for today and is right now on her way back home.

Eye witnesses but tell a different story altogether: Ms Ally was seen rushing to the Pantry car first, and after some confusion inside, she jumped off the rolling stock right in time. Unconfirmed sources indicate that she changed her travel plans as soon as she realised that the rakes with the person she wanted leaves only on 4th.

However, an apparently innocuous press statement from the official spokesperson of Kaveri Caterers in the evening has added to the confusion. The statement says that 'as a matter of policy, even reserved passengers are not allowed to travel in any of the cabins of the pantry car'. The content and timing of the statement, while surprising, has also raised doubts among many as to whether it has any connection with the incident that occurred on the Sabari Express on Sunday.

Reacting to the incident, the Chief Minister said that as an immediate measure, he has asked the Hon Minister of Railways to rename the Caterers as Rajiv Caterers. A commission is to be formed to look into the matter and to evolve policies to avoid such incidents in the long run. Immediately afterwards, a stampede occurred at Gandhi Bhavan as Congress leaders from across the state vied with each other to head the Commission. Informed sources reveal that a panel of 21 names consisting of 7 leaders each from the three regions of the state would be sent to the High Command, which would take the final decision in consultation with the Left parties.

The former Chief Minister said that this incident would never have occurred during his regime. While severely criticising the government, he added that the fact that visiting intellectuals to even the State Capital are not being provided with the facilities they desire indicate the level of degeneration that has occurred in the last six months. BJP state unit, in a statement bashing the Central government, has demanded the resignation of the Railway Minister over the incident. The party has also invited the budding economist to contest the next parliamentary elections from Ongole.

The Railway Minister, when asked about BJP's demand, was first heard asking his Secretary as to whether Secunderabad was in Bihar or in India. He subsequently stated that he would make a statement in Parliament on the issue when the subject matter of Railway tragedies would come up next.

The Left parties in a joint statement has attacked the imperialist forces represented by the World Bank, IMF and WTO. The statement says that 'in an era of unabashed privatisation and globalisation, incidents such as these are inevitable'. They have called on the people to resist all forms of enslavement that happens through the trans-national corporations and hoped that the visible oppression felt by this progressive thinker on Sabari Express would serve as an eye-opener for many.

It is learnt from reliable sources that various women's groups on the Central University campus, near Gachibowli, have already begun a sit-in strike at the University administration building demanding justice. A representative of the organisations, quoting Foucault over the phone, accepted that all aspects of the incident are still not clear: "What we know, we know only locally". Yet, she was clear that such limitations cannot stop them in their unrelenting fight against patricarchal forces.