How did Lokpal bill get its name? Is it because it is supposed to be people friendly – pal of the Lok! Nay! It can’t be a Hinglish word for sure though actually it is possibly meant to be what it conveys in Hinglish. The word has been actually derived from Sanskrit words "loka" (people) and "pala" (caretaker). So the word Lokpal means 'care taker of people'. The government and the elected representatives are also caretakers of the people. So in effect the Lokpal is an additional caretaker. Two people to do the same job! Some call the bill now introduced in parliament by the name ‘Jokepal’. This is a combination of pure English words – as in joke and pal. It could also be Sanglish as in ‘Joke’ and ‘pala’, meaning caretaker of jokes. Come to think of it…an official court jester is missing in parliament unless of course by definition we call all temporary occupants of the august house jokers. That would be rude and taking generalization a bit too far.
The name should be ‘palpal bill’ – because it proposes to take care of the uncaring caretakers and not the loka. What is in a name or a remark? A casual remark like ‘tuje dekhlenge’ has more than one meaning. Which one to apply is at the discretion of the professor.
At the moment it is neither lokpal nor palpal or even jokepal. It is loka Vs pala. Who will bridge this divide?
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