Ant & Grasshopper Story- New Version

Old Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering 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 of this old story:

The Ant works hard in the withering 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 United Nations 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 MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for ' Bengal Bandh' in

West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately ask for a law preventing Ants from working hard

in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and

Grasshoppers.

Mamta Bannerji 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.

Kapil Sibbal 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, its 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'.

Mamta calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

United Nations 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 all over

India, AND

As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the

grasshoppers,India is still a developing country!!!

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Courtesy: Rajiv Maverick