Airports facelift cost doubles, users may pay read newspaper headlines. For a minute I said fine, if we need good facilities we need to pay. But haven’t airports in major metros like Mumbai and Delhi been privatized? Precisely!
Expecting passengers to pay as long as the government was solely responsible for the upkeep and upgrade of airports is understandable and justified. But why should the traveler pay even after privatization?
My simple question is will these private players keep records of all those who travel by air and once they start making profits, send dividend checks to us for having contributed to the building and upkeep of their airports? If yes, then please go ahead and charge us. If no, then why and for what are we subsidizing private enterprises?
Aren’t these private players supposed to invest their monies, or borrow monies to grow their businesses? Aren’t their shareholders the ones who should be helping these companies with their finances? The why are ordinary passengers like you and me being asked to pay today for the future profits of these companies and their shareholders with no return for us, the humble passengers?
Aren’t we already paying for the upkeep and development of airports when we purchase tickets that include a host of taxes that are allegedly used for the very purposes that we are now expected to shell out money over and above the ticket price?
I hope that we the passengers rise in protest against this injustice and this post works as the initial call for a passenger war against this illegal practice of airlines and governments. Isn’t it the rule of business that greater the risk, greater the returns. Then why do these companies and the government expect us to fund the future profits of these corporate entities?
We, the passengers, need justice. Is the government listening? Or is it acting out its usual blind, dumb, deaf routine? Dear Prime Minister, we need some answers now.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Illiteracy Trumps The Literate
Shashi Tharoor has been asked by his party president to stop tweeting, and a senior minister wants professors at IITs to think knowledge, not wealth. What an irony, I say!
The highly educated Tharoor almost became the UN secretary general. Can we say the same of his lord and master, in academic as well as political terms? As for the senior minister, the less said the better. For someone who has already made his money by the ton, to now lecture on knowledge to some of the best minds in the country is the funniest joke that I have ever heard in my life.
We want our teachers to be the best in the world, but then if they talk money, we think it’s a crime. And our politcal parties want our best criminals in politics, and if we think that is a crime, we are dismissed as inconsequential. My India greatest, I say!
I guess now we know why India is like this only and in all likelihood will remain like this only! And to my friends with an excessively positive bent of mind, I say, it’s not that I wish India to be like this only, but if wishes were horses, then cows would fly, won’t they?
The highly educated Tharoor almost became the UN secretary general. Can we say the same of his lord and master, in academic as well as political terms? As for the senior minister, the less said the better. For someone who has already made his money by the ton, to now lecture on knowledge to some of the best minds in the country is the funniest joke that I have ever heard in my life.
We want our teachers to be the best in the world, but then if they talk money, we think it’s a crime. And our politcal parties want our best criminals in politics, and if we think that is a crime, we are dismissed as inconsequential. My India greatest, I say!
I guess now we know why India is like this only and in all likelihood will remain like this only! And to my friends with an excessively positive bent of mind, I say, it’s not that I wish India to be like this only, but if wishes were horses, then cows would fly, won’t they?
Monday, August 24, 2009
A sucker punch called Kaminey
Sunday evening I broke with tradition and ventured out of home to watch a movie. Usually, I relax at home Sundays evenings recharging my batteries for another week of labor. I made an exception and the movie was the much acclaimed director Vishal Bharadwaj’s supposedly best until now comic-action caper Kaminey.
I landed at the theater expecting to be blown away by a first of its kind Hindi movie as claimed by all critics. Blown away I was, but not by the sheer magnificence but by acute boredom. Before you guys jump to rip my throat apart accusing me of lack of understanding of cinema and ability to appreciate something good, please read me out. I am not going to retell the already oft told story; I am just going to talk of why the movie failed to win my vote.
For starters there was nothing hugely dark about the movie other than its lighting for most part. Please tell me what’s so new in a story of twin brothers, one good and the other evil on surface and decent beneath the scratch? I have lost count of such movies made by Bollywood.
From when did lisping and stammering qualify as good acting? From when did having sex, getting pregnant and marriage become a novel theme? And the sex wasn’t even good enough resembling a 30-second MMS clip shot in some shady hotel off Madh Island in Mumbai. The only difference, here both parties were willing to be captured on camera.
The lyrics were the only saving grace, thanks to Gulzar, but wasted in a movie that was flagged off from an unknown destination and ended at an equally nondescript one. I can go on and on just like the movie did in a near empty auditorium, but I will cut the chase short and come directly to the end.
With bullets flying all around, all players getting a chance to show off their gun wielding skills, the rains and the dark compounding an already confusing passage of play…the end reminded one the Antoine Fuqua-directed Replacement Killers. Originality is relative, I guess. And the last scene had to be typical Bollywood, right? The lovebirds delivering twins, and the free and footloose living life King Size!
I don't know what the critics were thinking when they fell over each other to give the movie all the stars that they did. I would be happy if Vishal Bhardwaj refunded my Rs290 because for me, Kaminey was just an inferior rip-off of any or all of the John Woo and Quentin Tarantino movies, besides Fuqua.
I landed at the theater expecting to be blown away by a first of its kind Hindi movie as claimed by all critics. Blown away I was, but not by the sheer magnificence but by acute boredom. Before you guys jump to rip my throat apart accusing me of lack of understanding of cinema and ability to appreciate something good, please read me out. I am not going to retell the already oft told story; I am just going to talk of why the movie failed to win my vote.
For starters there was nothing hugely dark about the movie other than its lighting for most part. Please tell me what’s so new in a story of twin brothers, one good and the other evil on surface and decent beneath the scratch? I have lost count of such movies made by Bollywood.
From when did lisping and stammering qualify as good acting? From when did having sex, getting pregnant and marriage become a novel theme? And the sex wasn’t even good enough resembling a 30-second MMS clip shot in some shady hotel off Madh Island in Mumbai. The only difference, here both parties were willing to be captured on camera.
The lyrics were the only saving grace, thanks to Gulzar, but wasted in a movie that was flagged off from an unknown destination and ended at an equally nondescript one. I can go on and on just like the movie did in a near empty auditorium, but I will cut the chase short and come directly to the end.
With bullets flying all around, all players getting a chance to show off their gun wielding skills, the rains and the dark compounding an already confusing passage of play…the end reminded one the Antoine Fuqua-directed Replacement Killers. Originality is relative, I guess. And the last scene had to be typical Bollywood, right? The lovebirds delivering twins, and the free and footloose living life King Size!
I don't know what the critics were thinking when they fell over each other to give the movie all the stars that they did. I would be happy if Vishal Bhardwaj refunded my Rs290 because for me, Kaminey was just an inferior rip-off of any or all of the John Woo and Quentin Tarantino movies, besides Fuqua.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Is Inclusive Growth All About Passing The Buck?
Since the Congress-led UPA began its second term in office Inclusive Growth seems to be the most preferred two words in every minister’s vocabulary. Ask any question and the answer begins and ends with Inclusive Growth. Sounds nice, but is there much substance to it? I doubt.
I doubt it because of the sentence that immediately follows Inclusive Growth. It was first Kapil Sibal, who after talking of unshackling education in the country said, “I will do my best but can’t guarantee results for all participants in the process have to deliver.” It sounded odd to me then but I gave him the benefit of doubt, knowing how things work in India.
Then came the Budget and Pranab Mukherjee’s noises after presenting it. In reply to almost every question related to development and growth, our dear Finance Minister’s reply either began or ended with, “I will do my best but can’t guarantee results for all participants in the process have to deliver.”
That’s when it stuck me. This was the Congress-led UPA government’s latest game plan when they say Inclusive Growth. Promise a lot and deliver nothing, and if questioned at the end of the five years on their failure to deliver on promises, twist the Inclusive Growth theory and say, “We tried out best but all participants in the process did not cooperate and failed to deliver.”
To me the term Inclusive Growth in itself is spurious coming from political constituents who have been ruling the country for the past 60-odd years. So now when they talk of Inclusive Growth, am I to assume that they are admitting until now all their efforts and policies lacked the spirit of inclusiveness?
No point in writing thousands of words but simply put: This government led by the Congress looks all set to take forward its Dole Politics, i.e., buying votes through apparent acts of charity. And why won’t they, for didn’t this government towards the end of its first term spend more than Rs.100,000 crore of taxpayer money to win another term in office?
So friends, be prepared for more Indians turning into beggars, for that’s what this government is trying to do, in the name of Inclusive Growth create a country of beggars whose votes can be bought for a few rupees every five years to return to power and rip this country of its last penny. Jai Ho!
I doubt it because of the sentence that immediately follows Inclusive Growth. It was first Kapil Sibal, who after talking of unshackling education in the country said, “I will do my best but can’t guarantee results for all participants in the process have to deliver.” It sounded odd to me then but I gave him the benefit of doubt, knowing how things work in India.
Then came the Budget and Pranab Mukherjee’s noises after presenting it. In reply to almost every question related to development and growth, our dear Finance Minister’s reply either began or ended with, “I will do my best but can’t guarantee results for all participants in the process have to deliver.”
That’s when it stuck me. This was the Congress-led UPA government’s latest game plan when they say Inclusive Growth. Promise a lot and deliver nothing, and if questioned at the end of the five years on their failure to deliver on promises, twist the Inclusive Growth theory and say, “We tried out best but all participants in the process did not cooperate and failed to deliver.”
To me the term Inclusive Growth in itself is spurious coming from political constituents who have been ruling the country for the past 60-odd years. So now when they talk of Inclusive Growth, am I to assume that they are admitting until now all their efforts and policies lacked the spirit of inclusiveness?
No point in writing thousands of words but simply put: This government led by the Congress looks all set to take forward its Dole Politics, i.e., buying votes through apparent acts of charity. And why won’t they, for didn’t this government towards the end of its first term spend more than Rs.100,000 crore of taxpayer money to win another term in office?
So friends, be prepared for more Indians turning into beggars, for that’s what this government is trying to do, in the name of Inclusive Growth create a country of beggars whose votes can be bought for a few rupees every five years to return to power and rip this country of its last penny. Jai Ho!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Why?
Why is it that when one says love
People think sex
Why is it that when one says doing good
People think charity
Why is it that when one says peace
People think cowardice
Why is it that when one says silence
People think dumb
Why is it that when one says rules
People think bend
Why is it that when one says respect
People refuse to think
And why is it that when one says enough
People think failure
People think sex
Why is it that when one says doing good
People think charity
Why is it that when one says peace
People think cowardice
Why is it that when one says silence
People think dumb
Why is it that when one says rules
People think bend
Why is it that when one says respect
People refuse to think
And why is it that when one says enough
People think failure
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Roger wins Wimbledon, Andy Hearts
Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in five grueling but absorbing sets on Wimbledon center court Sunday. That is the synopsis. The actual more than four-hour marathon tells a different tale of grit, determination, desire to win, willingness to fight until the other man drops dead, and above all the triumph of human spirit. And that cannot be captured in any synopsis.
Before and when the match began most of the world would have been rooting for Federer who was chasing a record 15th Grand slam title. That was though contrary to backing the underdog theory which generally prevails when a multi-time champion meets a two-time loser in the finals to the same opponent and a testimony of Federer’s ability to capture the imagination of a whole generation of tennis fans. Not even the great Pete Sampras had been able to capture the collective fancy of tennis fans as Federer has since Bjorn Borg retired in 1981.
And when Andy Roddick against the run of play captured the first set, the Federer millions, including me, groaned. The second set went on game until the tie-break where Roddick again was on the verge of consolidating 2-zip, leading 6-2 in the tie-break. But then the plot went awry for the former world number 1 and 2003 US Open champion and he lost 6 straight points to lose the tie-break and the set. Fedex had equalized.
The third set again went to a tie-break with Federer emerging winner, now leading the match 2-1. However, what was visible even at the third set was Roddick’s impressive play, with Federer failing to break the Roddick serve even once. And Roddick was playing some of the best tennis of his life.
In the fourth set, Roddick mounted a gamely challenge, breaking the Federer serve for the second time in the match to take the set. Federer’s inability to break the Roddick serve after four tough sets meant that Roddick was now favorite to win the match, given the fifth set had no tie-break
By the beginning of the fifth set, I in my heart had secretly started praying for a Roddick win and so must have many other Federer fans. And that was not because I suddenly stated disliking Roger. It was more because Andy was playing better tennis than Roger, and it’s always fair that the better player on the day wins.
The fifth set began with me now firmly rooting for Andy and what a set it was. A total of 30 riveting games played over more than 90 minutes with both players dipping into their years of experience to conjure one game win after another. And here Federer did show his class, whipping up aces at will. Both had their chances until the 30th game of the set, but failed to convert.
As the last game of the set got underway with Andy showing signs of cracking up, I guess the collective cries of viewers across continents of “Go Andy, you are almost there” would have increased. But alas, that was not to be. Fedex broke Andy’s serve for the first time in five sets that too in the last game of the match, to lift the cup, with a disconsolate but sportsman to the core Roddick watching.
The sight of Roddick watching Fedex lift the cup with moist eyes must have brought tears to the eyes of most viewers for Andy played like a true champion and deserved to win the title as much as Roger, if not more. But then sport is cruel and life always is not fair. And what better example can there be than Andy winning 39 games to Roger’s 38 in the match and yet ending up the loser.
To me Andy may have lost the match, but was as much a winner as Roger. And I hope that he retains his form until the US open, and maybe beat Roger in the finals, i.e., if Rafa is not yet back by then.
Before and when the match began most of the world would have been rooting for Federer who was chasing a record 15th Grand slam title. That was though contrary to backing the underdog theory which generally prevails when a multi-time champion meets a two-time loser in the finals to the same opponent and a testimony of Federer’s ability to capture the imagination of a whole generation of tennis fans. Not even the great Pete Sampras had been able to capture the collective fancy of tennis fans as Federer has since Bjorn Borg retired in 1981.
And when Andy Roddick against the run of play captured the first set, the Federer millions, including me, groaned. The second set went on game until the tie-break where Roddick again was on the verge of consolidating 2-zip, leading 6-2 in the tie-break. But then the plot went awry for the former world number 1 and 2003 US Open champion and he lost 6 straight points to lose the tie-break and the set. Fedex had equalized.
The third set again went to a tie-break with Federer emerging winner, now leading the match 2-1. However, what was visible even at the third set was Roddick’s impressive play, with Federer failing to break the Roddick serve even once. And Roddick was playing some of the best tennis of his life.
In the fourth set, Roddick mounted a gamely challenge, breaking the Federer serve for the second time in the match to take the set. Federer’s inability to break the Roddick serve after four tough sets meant that Roddick was now favorite to win the match, given the fifth set had no tie-break
By the beginning of the fifth set, I in my heart had secretly started praying for a Roddick win and so must have many other Federer fans. And that was not because I suddenly stated disliking Roger. It was more because Andy was playing better tennis than Roger, and it’s always fair that the better player on the day wins.
The fifth set began with me now firmly rooting for Andy and what a set it was. A total of 30 riveting games played over more than 90 minutes with both players dipping into their years of experience to conjure one game win after another. And here Federer did show his class, whipping up aces at will. Both had their chances until the 30th game of the set, but failed to convert.
As the last game of the set got underway with Andy showing signs of cracking up, I guess the collective cries of viewers across continents of “Go Andy, you are almost there” would have increased. But alas, that was not to be. Fedex broke Andy’s serve for the first time in five sets that too in the last game of the match, to lift the cup, with a disconsolate but sportsman to the core Roddick watching.
The sight of Roddick watching Fedex lift the cup with moist eyes must have brought tears to the eyes of most viewers for Andy played like a true champion and deserved to win the title as much as Roger, if not more. But then sport is cruel and life always is not fair. And what better example can there be than Andy winning 39 games to Roger’s 38 in the match and yet ending up the loser.
To me Andy may have lost the match, but was as much a winner as Roger. And I hope that he retains his form until the US open, and maybe beat Roger in the finals, i.e., if Rafa is not yet back by then.
Monday, June 15, 2009
India lost, so what?
The unthinkable has happened. Captain Marvel has lost his crown and mad Indians have started baying for his throne. But then what more can one expect of a nation that values success at any cost, but individually has failure written all over?
India lost to England and the media and its millions of news lapping rabid followers have started to bark. The media had already behaved like a responsible one by warming up with stories of rifts within the team even before India’s campaign got underway. And as the days go by, the bark is only going to get louder. Dhoni’s effigy has been burnt at Ranchi under 24 hours of defeat. And I won't be surprised if the effigies of other players are burnt too, stones pelted at their homes, and their near and dear ones humiliated.
And the single logic will be if you make the money you do, then you bloody well win. To me it’s more of anger at not being able to make the kind of money that some cricketers make than ire at the team having lost. Also, gamblers who foolishly betted on Team India thinking the other teams were just around to make Dhoni and his boys look good will vent out their frustration on having lost neat sums of money.
Advertisers and marketing professionals who backed Team India to win will also be spewing venom. And politicians will in all likelihood jump into to the fray to extract their pound of flesh.
Amid all this mess the real culprits responsible for India’s loss—the BCCI and the IPL—will walk free of much criticism for having milked these cricketers dry over 45 days of energy-sapping cricket in an alien land just 20 days before this World Cup.
Grow up India for every match cannot be won and Dhoni isn’t God. So be graceful, look above you selfish motives for grief, and allow the team its losses for if we look at the team’s performance since they won the T20 cup in 2007, they have won more often than lost. And all of us are allowed a few losses, some more than the others.
India lost to England and the media and its millions of news lapping rabid followers have started to bark. The media had already behaved like a responsible one by warming up with stories of rifts within the team even before India’s campaign got underway. And as the days go by, the bark is only going to get louder. Dhoni’s effigy has been burnt at Ranchi under 24 hours of defeat. And I won't be surprised if the effigies of other players are burnt too, stones pelted at their homes, and their near and dear ones humiliated.
And the single logic will be if you make the money you do, then you bloody well win. To me it’s more of anger at not being able to make the kind of money that some cricketers make than ire at the team having lost. Also, gamblers who foolishly betted on Team India thinking the other teams were just around to make Dhoni and his boys look good will vent out their frustration on having lost neat sums of money.
Advertisers and marketing professionals who backed Team India to win will also be spewing venom. And politicians will in all likelihood jump into to the fray to extract their pound of flesh.
Amid all this mess the real culprits responsible for India’s loss—the BCCI and the IPL—will walk free of much criticism for having milked these cricketers dry over 45 days of energy-sapping cricket in an alien land just 20 days before this World Cup.
Grow up India for every match cannot be won and Dhoni isn’t God. So be graceful, look above you selfish motives for grief, and allow the team its losses for if we look at the team’s performance since they won the T20 cup in 2007, they have won more often than lost. And all of us are allowed a few losses, some more than the others.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Slumdog: The Million Dollar Baby
Amitabh Bachchan kicked-off the debate whether Slumdog Millionaire made capital of India’s poverty by feeding Western audiences what they always want to see—An India so poor that kids run naked on its streets, bullock carts block traffic, and snake charmers sit at every possible corner to make a living. There was a huge brouhaha at that time with many of the so called intelligentsia panning Mr. Bachchan for holding such a narrow view.
One of the Indian actors in the movie, Irfaan Khan, waxed eloquent about how we should stop brushing reality under the carpet, while another star, Anil Kapoor, found nothing wrong in showing the Western world what they want to see. Giving people what they want for a price is marketing, right? It’s a small matter that both actors managed to get recognition in the West and now may be harboring Hollywood aspirations. And which actor is ever going to rail and rant against his/her movie?
By writing what I have, I am not saying that we need to sweep poverty under the carpet. It’s a different matter that even if I want to, that’s not going to happen. Take Mumbai for instance—60% of its people live in slums, i.e., about 12 million people. When a plane lands or takes off, the poverty is there for all to see—forget having to visit Dharavi.
But I do take umbrage of this poverty being packaged as a message of hope and sold to Western audiences. Yes, we are a predominantly poor nation. Yes, any foreigner who has visited the country knows about it. And I don’t think we have ever tried to sweep that fact under anything, less a carpet. In Mumbai, we even have slum tours—read Dharavi--for foreigners to marvel. Then to praise the work of foreigners coming to India, filming that poverty, and peddling it to a Western audience is not only disgusting, but rank repulsive, to say the least. And I am not questioning the art, but the subject and the premise.
I saw Slumdog Millionaire and found it to be nothing so earth shattering that it deserves to be nominated for 10 Oscars. To me it is a slickly made song and dance movie akin to any other Bollywood flick. Then for Danny Boyle and his team to be interviewed across channels, be part of panel discussions shows the intelligence of our esteemed media. And for Boyle to say he is open to all criticism is like a criminal on death role saying he is open to being hanged. Does he have a choice?
P.S. Slumdog Millionaire has grossed over $100 million world wide and is going strong.
One of the Indian actors in the movie, Irfaan Khan, waxed eloquent about how we should stop brushing reality under the carpet, while another star, Anil Kapoor, found nothing wrong in showing the Western world what they want to see. Giving people what they want for a price is marketing, right? It’s a small matter that both actors managed to get recognition in the West and now may be harboring Hollywood aspirations. And which actor is ever going to rail and rant against his/her movie?
By writing what I have, I am not saying that we need to sweep poverty under the carpet. It’s a different matter that even if I want to, that’s not going to happen. Take Mumbai for instance—60% of its people live in slums, i.e., about 12 million people. When a plane lands or takes off, the poverty is there for all to see—forget having to visit Dharavi.
But I do take umbrage of this poverty being packaged as a message of hope and sold to Western audiences. Yes, we are a predominantly poor nation. Yes, any foreigner who has visited the country knows about it. And I don’t think we have ever tried to sweep that fact under anything, less a carpet. In Mumbai, we even have slum tours—read Dharavi--for foreigners to marvel. Then to praise the work of foreigners coming to India, filming that poverty, and peddling it to a Western audience is not only disgusting, but rank repulsive, to say the least. And I am not questioning the art, but the subject and the premise.
I saw Slumdog Millionaire and found it to be nothing so earth shattering that it deserves to be nominated for 10 Oscars. To me it is a slickly made song and dance movie akin to any other Bollywood flick. Then for Danny Boyle and his team to be interviewed across channels, be part of panel discussions shows the intelligence of our esteemed media. And for Boyle to say he is open to all criticism is like a criminal on death role saying he is open to being hanged. Does he have a choice?
P.S. Slumdog Millionaire has grossed over $100 million world wide and is going strong.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Forget Pakistan, Kill The Kasab Within
Terrorists came, saw, and killed. That’s the story in a nutshell. So did they achieve all this without internal support? The answer is NO. Then why is it that we as a nation are so keen on getting Pakistan to admit guilt while doing nothing to catch and/or eliminate the facilitators of the attack at home? That is the question we should be asking our Government in particular and all political parties in general.
How does it matter whether Pakistan admits its complicity or not? How reasonable and sensible is it to expect cooperation from a people who could not be true to their own motherland, leading to the formation of Pakistan. And logically speaking is the guilty ever going to accept his/her crime, more so when the party is Pakistan?
Successive Indian governments have been demanding the extradition of Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar, Mohammad Hafiz and many others. My question is what do we expect to achieve even if we manage to get them to India? We could not hang an Afzal Guru in spite of the highest court of the sentencing him to death. Then is the government telling us they would do so with Dawood and the gang if the highest court of the land was to sentence them to the gallows? I would say, please spin this yarn elsewhere other than India. Maybe you will find a few takers!
For a change, let’s forget Pakistan and stop giving so much importance to a near-bankrupt megalomaniac neighbor with regional aspirations. That country has always maintained: “I don’t care if I lose an eye, but will ensure that India loses both”. So instead of crying for Pakistan’s blood even if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gets a cold, let’s find ways to set our house in order.
For starters, instead of trying to extradite Dawood, let’s go after his networks and cronies in India and finish them. Sitting in Karachi, Dawood will only be as effective in India as his network lets him be. No network, no Dawood in India. And I refuse to believe that our government does not realize this small fact. As a bonus let Pakistan enjoy Dawood, for a man who could not be faithful to his own motherland is never going to be faithful to anyone else.
The problem is if the government guns for Dawood’s network, a whole lot of white ants will start falling out of the woodwork of all political parties, including the one in power at the Center and in Maharashtra. If the government is serious, then finding proof and bring the guilty to book will not be difficult. But no government will even attempt, so all we will do is cry hoarse of Pakistan’s evil intentions and actions.
As I have written in many of my earlier blog posts, our problem is corruption. And all we commons can do is not subscribe to corruption to achieve our goals. The corrupt exist only because they have takers. But will we be willing to do so? There in lies the answer to all our problems. And I don't see us collectively as a nation doing anything to address this issue. Each one of us will individually swear that we are not corrupt, but collectively we are among the most corrupt nations on Earth. That is some achievement, I must say.
All we will do is fight over land, water, religion, caste, creed and many non-issues. And when a country stands so divided internally, then do we really need a Pakistan to destroy us? I would say no. In my opinion Pakistan should look to strengthen its economy, work for the betterment of its people instead of wasting time, money and energy on trying to destroy us. Leave that job to us, we are quiet capable of and willing to self destruct.
How does it matter whether Pakistan admits its complicity or not? How reasonable and sensible is it to expect cooperation from a people who could not be true to their own motherland, leading to the formation of Pakistan. And logically speaking is the guilty ever going to accept his/her crime, more so when the party is Pakistan?
Successive Indian governments have been demanding the extradition of Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar, Mohammad Hafiz and many others. My question is what do we expect to achieve even if we manage to get them to India? We could not hang an Afzal Guru in spite of the highest court of the sentencing him to death. Then is the government telling us they would do so with Dawood and the gang if the highest court of the land was to sentence them to the gallows? I would say, please spin this yarn elsewhere other than India. Maybe you will find a few takers!
For a change, let’s forget Pakistan and stop giving so much importance to a near-bankrupt megalomaniac neighbor with regional aspirations. That country has always maintained: “I don’t care if I lose an eye, but will ensure that India loses both”. So instead of crying for Pakistan’s blood even if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gets a cold, let’s find ways to set our house in order.
For starters, instead of trying to extradite Dawood, let’s go after his networks and cronies in India and finish them. Sitting in Karachi, Dawood will only be as effective in India as his network lets him be. No network, no Dawood in India. And I refuse to believe that our government does not realize this small fact. As a bonus let Pakistan enjoy Dawood, for a man who could not be faithful to his own motherland is never going to be faithful to anyone else.
The problem is if the government guns for Dawood’s network, a whole lot of white ants will start falling out of the woodwork of all political parties, including the one in power at the Center and in Maharashtra. If the government is serious, then finding proof and bring the guilty to book will not be difficult. But no government will even attempt, so all we will do is cry hoarse of Pakistan’s evil intentions and actions.
As I have written in many of my earlier blog posts, our problem is corruption. And all we commons can do is not subscribe to corruption to achieve our goals. The corrupt exist only because they have takers. But will we be willing to do so? There in lies the answer to all our problems. And I don't see us collectively as a nation doing anything to address this issue. Each one of us will individually swear that we are not corrupt, but collectively we are among the most corrupt nations on Earth. That is some achievement, I must say.
All we will do is fight over land, water, religion, caste, creed and many non-issues. And when a country stands so divided internally, then do we really need a Pakistan to destroy us? I would say no. In my opinion Pakistan should look to strengthen its economy, work for the betterment of its people instead of wasting time, money and energy on trying to destroy us. Leave that job to us, we are quiet capable of and willing to self destruct.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Mourning Over, It’s Back To Politics
Mumbai’s dead have barely been laid to rest and for politicians it’s back to business. Forty eight hours and counting, the country’s oldest political party, Congress, is yet to arrive at a consensus candidate to replace the outgoing chief minister in Maharashtra. For a country grappling for answers about the readiness and capability of our governments, central and states, to fight terror and protect its people, this impasse is extremely reassuring.
And more reassuring it must be to see one of its leaders on national television running down his party colleague as being not fit to be chief minister and the adding, as an afterthought, that he is not interested in being chief minister. I guess this leader in question is just trying to apply pressure on the party high command to act quickly and he has nothing but the good of the state and country in mind. It also must just be a matter of small detail that this very leader left a party that he had been with for decades to join the Congress three years ago, all because he was not made Chief Minister then.
But then the people of the state want him to be chief minister, and I am not saying this, but the venerable leader himself. And the leader’s language… very colourful, I must say. His style reminded me of a certain Raghu bhai in the movie Vaastav. For the uninitiated, Raghu bhai was enacted by Sanjay Dutt, who played the role of a gangster in the movie.
And to know that this very party is ruling the country is again very reassuring. But then our other political parties are also making hay while the sun shines. Each party is busy accusing the others of incompetence and concluding with the statement that it will do anything for the country, to protect the sovereignty of the country, and again as an afterthought, to protect the people of the land. Elections are round the corner is just coincidence.
If the Congress and its leaders can conduct business in such an exemplary manner amid all the people anger, then I must say our country is in safe hands. After all, our ancient texts do teach us that everything is predetermined, or a matter of destiny. Hence, we must believe that all those who have been felled by terror bullets and bombs until now were anyways destined to die, so why waste money on providing security to those who are anyways destined to leave their mortal cage at a destined time and place.
When one thinks of how our country has survived and progressed in the more than 60 years after independence, I am led to believe that God does exist. For if not, then there is no way on Earth that we could have survived as one country all these years. And that after we, as a people, including our politicians who are a reflection of our society, have done every possible thing to self-destruct.
At a time when the government should be focussed on securing our country from such attacks, we are witness to the same government using its resources in trying to quell the revolt in its own house. My question: How will a government and a party that are so divided be able to unite a country and protect it from outsiders? But then I seem to be forgetting that it is always about the power and never about the people. So what if on paper it is people power that is believed to make or break a democracy?
And more reassuring it must be to see one of its leaders on national television running down his party colleague as being not fit to be chief minister and the adding, as an afterthought, that he is not interested in being chief minister. I guess this leader in question is just trying to apply pressure on the party high command to act quickly and he has nothing but the good of the state and country in mind. It also must just be a matter of small detail that this very leader left a party that he had been with for decades to join the Congress three years ago, all because he was not made Chief Minister then.
But then the people of the state want him to be chief minister, and I am not saying this, but the venerable leader himself. And the leader’s language… very colourful, I must say. His style reminded me of a certain Raghu bhai in the movie Vaastav. For the uninitiated, Raghu bhai was enacted by Sanjay Dutt, who played the role of a gangster in the movie.
And to know that this very party is ruling the country is again very reassuring. But then our other political parties are also making hay while the sun shines. Each party is busy accusing the others of incompetence and concluding with the statement that it will do anything for the country, to protect the sovereignty of the country, and again as an afterthought, to protect the people of the land. Elections are round the corner is just coincidence.
If the Congress and its leaders can conduct business in such an exemplary manner amid all the people anger, then I must say our country is in safe hands. After all, our ancient texts do teach us that everything is predetermined, or a matter of destiny. Hence, we must believe that all those who have been felled by terror bullets and bombs until now were anyways destined to die, so why waste money on providing security to those who are anyways destined to leave their mortal cage at a destined time and place.
When one thinks of how our country has survived and progressed in the more than 60 years after independence, I am led to believe that God does exist. For if not, then there is no way on Earth that we could have survived as one country all these years. And that after we, as a people, including our politicians who are a reflection of our society, have done every possible thing to self-destruct.
At a time when the government should be focussed on securing our country from such attacks, we are witness to the same government using its resources in trying to quell the revolt in its own house. My question: How will a government and a party that are so divided be able to unite a country and protect it from outsiders? But then I seem to be forgetting that it is always about the power and never about the people. So what if on paper it is people power that is believed to make or break a democracy?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A Billion Indias, But Where Is The Indian?
A thousand and three hundred million India we stand, A thousand and three hundred million India we bleed, A thousand and three hundred million India we die, A thousand and three hundred million India divided we fall. That dear friends, is India’s woe.
As I watched for 60 hours the spirit of a city being blasted into submission, I felt a sense of sadness, gloom, and loss as people groped for answers. We kept asking the same question over and over again, Why us? But even in this dark hour what we really wanted to know was Why me? That dear friends, is our problem.
On the map we are a nation, we are India. On the ground, we are a thousand and three hundred million independent nations fighting to establish our right of ownership. And when so many people stand divided, fall we must and fall we will.
We are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Maharashtrians, Tamilians, Gujarathis, Bengalis, Bhaiyaas, Biharis, Malayalees, Kannadigas, Telegus, Kashmiris…the list is endless. Unfortunately and sadly, we are everything else but Indians. We describe ourselves as all of those and more and as an afterthought, an apology, we add Indian to ourselves. That always sounds like filling a column in a visa form of a foreign nation, and that’s it. We need a nationality for the form…so we are Indian.
We live within our four walls giving a damn to whether our neighbour is dead or alive. We make friends, so that we can name a few when needed, but rarely are friends. We see a person dying on the street, but move ahead because we have more important things to do in live. Isn’t life the most important thing on Earth?
We can remove leaders, change governments, enact new laws, but nothing will change for a government is the reflection of a society. Unless we change as a people our governments will be no different.
For that, we need to shed the Chalta Hai attitude, for that is our problem. Only when we stand for what is right, do away with what is wrong, and stand together to uphold the law can we survive as a nation.
Five of Mumbai’s own are believed to have provided support to the terrorists. What can be more shameful? When our own stab us in the back, why blame Pakistan, the LeT, or any alien for our misery.
Over thousands of years we have paid the price for standing divided. The Mughals, the Portuguese, the French, the Spanish, and the British, how can we forget them, ruled us over the centuries, not because we were incapable of ruling ourselves, but we were incapable of ruling as one.
Our freedom fighters fought for a free India and gave up their lives to set us free. Unfortunately, they set us free for us to chain ourselves again to narrow ideologies, personal gains, and selfish goals. And the results are there for us to see. A democratic nation groaning under the weight of its own abuse of that very democracy that was supposed to set us free.
I have no suggestions, no prescriptions for how to set things right. All I can say is if each one of us looks within, we will find the answer. If we live a life in which we do not hurt others, no one will and can hurt us. Everyone knows this simple fact of life, but then each one of us dismisses it as hogwash. For our collective sake and for the survival of India, I hope we start practicing what we have been taught in schools for decades—Unity in Diversity.
As I watched for 60 hours the spirit of a city being blasted into submission, I felt a sense of sadness, gloom, and loss as people groped for answers. We kept asking the same question over and over again, Why us? But even in this dark hour what we really wanted to know was Why me? That dear friends, is our problem.
On the map we are a nation, we are India. On the ground, we are a thousand and three hundred million independent nations fighting to establish our right of ownership. And when so many people stand divided, fall we must and fall we will.
We are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Maharashtrians, Tamilians, Gujarathis, Bengalis, Bhaiyaas, Biharis, Malayalees, Kannadigas, Telegus, Kashmiris…the list is endless. Unfortunately and sadly, we are everything else but Indians. We describe ourselves as all of those and more and as an afterthought, an apology, we add Indian to ourselves. That always sounds like filling a column in a visa form of a foreign nation, and that’s it. We need a nationality for the form…so we are Indian.
We live within our four walls giving a damn to whether our neighbour is dead or alive. We make friends, so that we can name a few when needed, but rarely are friends. We see a person dying on the street, but move ahead because we have more important things to do in live. Isn’t life the most important thing on Earth?
We can remove leaders, change governments, enact new laws, but nothing will change for a government is the reflection of a society. Unless we change as a people our governments will be no different.
For that, we need to shed the Chalta Hai attitude, for that is our problem. Only when we stand for what is right, do away with what is wrong, and stand together to uphold the law can we survive as a nation.
Five of Mumbai’s own are believed to have provided support to the terrorists. What can be more shameful? When our own stab us in the back, why blame Pakistan, the LeT, or any alien for our misery.
Over thousands of years we have paid the price for standing divided. The Mughals, the Portuguese, the French, the Spanish, and the British, how can we forget them, ruled us over the centuries, not because we were incapable of ruling ourselves, but we were incapable of ruling as one.
Our freedom fighters fought for a free India and gave up their lives to set us free. Unfortunately, they set us free for us to chain ourselves again to narrow ideologies, personal gains, and selfish goals. And the results are there for us to see. A democratic nation groaning under the weight of its own abuse of that very democracy that was supposed to set us free.
I have no suggestions, no prescriptions for how to set things right. All I can say is if each one of us looks within, we will find the answer. If we live a life in which we do not hurt others, no one will and can hurt us. Everyone knows this simple fact of life, but then each one of us dismisses it as hogwash. For our collective sake and for the survival of India, I hope we start practicing what we have been taught in schools for decades—Unity in Diversity.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Prayers for Mumbai
Mumbai is facing the deepest of crisis the Island city has ever been witness too. In these times my heart goes out to the people who have been caught in the middle, those who have died and those who have been injured, or ar being held hostage. I offer my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. To those whose loved ones are missing, I will say do not lose hope.
The whole country is praying for the crisis to end soon and for people to come out of it safely.I pay my homage to the policemen, army personnel, and NSG who have lost thier lives in the line of duty. And I salute all those taking who are putting country before personal safety and fighting the terrorists.
Glod Bless India
The whole country is praying for the crisis to end soon and for people to come out of it safely.I pay my homage to the policemen, army personnel, and NSG who have lost thier lives in the line of duty. And I salute all those taking who are putting country before personal safety and fighting the terrorists.
Glod Bless India
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Living In An Upside Down World
Barak Obama’s wife thinks that he would make an extraordinary president. Maybe so, but then which wife would not think so about her husband, more so when the guy already has half a foot into the White House door. My only worry is that when calling her husband extraordinary, I hope she did not have extra ordinary in mind, meaning another in the long line of ordinary presidents that America has had since Nixon.
Closer to home, politicians are divided over the Kashmir issue. Again what is new, that has been the case since 1947. Some won’t tolerate even the thought of an autonomous Kashmir, forget an independent one, some won’t settle for anything less than an independent Kashmir, while a few others would only rest once Kashmir becomes a part of Pakistan. The irony is no one is bothered about what the average Kashmiri wants. Oops shouldn’t have said that for I could be tried for treason.
In the state of Orissa, the followers of two religions are at war, each trying to prove their God’s supremacy. But then what’s new again, we as a country have so many Gods that competition is bound to be intense. I guess if not for us our Gods would have been orphaned for we are the ones who protect them. But isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Who cares for there is only one God that people realize and that is money and with money comes power. And whoever has power is God, right? The rest is all just a matter of detail.
Staying with religion, I have never understood this idea of killing one’s way to heaven. That is the terrorist ideology and terrorists belong to no religion. But then don’t these terrorists need to thank the people whom they target for if not for the hapless victims, how would these killers reach heaven? And the most logical question in my mind is how can these killers hate a class of people so much when they are the ones who supposedly lead them to heaven? Or maybe these terrorists are doing the others a favor by killing them, for who knows the dead may be going to heaven while these terrorists are still roaming the earth in search of their elusive heavens.
Amid all this chaos the Olympics have come and gone and for a change India has three medals to show. Politicians are touting this as the sign of India Rising, business and media houses are busy milking the medals for their own benefit, the Indian Olympic Association is busy feeling offended and offending people with its myopic way of looking at things, and all this when none of the above-mentioned classes have contributed in the success of these sports persons. But again what’s new for we, as a nation, have always been good at hanging on to winners and milking their success for our own gains. And unfortunately for a nation of over a billion people, our success to failure ratio is heavily tilted towards failure, making success a commodity as precious as Gold, and where there is Gold, will diggers be far away?
Closer to home, politicians are divided over the Kashmir issue. Again what is new, that has been the case since 1947. Some won’t tolerate even the thought of an autonomous Kashmir, forget an independent one, some won’t settle for anything less than an independent Kashmir, while a few others would only rest once Kashmir becomes a part of Pakistan. The irony is no one is bothered about what the average Kashmiri wants. Oops shouldn’t have said that for I could be tried for treason.
In the state of Orissa, the followers of two religions are at war, each trying to prove their God’s supremacy. But then what’s new again, we as a country have so many Gods that competition is bound to be intense. I guess if not for us our Gods would have been orphaned for we are the ones who protect them. But isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Who cares for there is only one God that people realize and that is money and with money comes power. And whoever has power is God, right? The rest is all just a matter of detail.
Staying with religion, I have never understood this idea of killing one’s way to heaven. That is the terrorist ideology and terrorists belong to no religion. But then don’t these terrorists need to thank the people whom they target for if not for the hapless victims, how would these killers reach heaven? And the most logical question in my mind is how can these killers hate a class of people so much when they are the ones who supposedly lead them to heaven? Or maybe these terrorists are doing the others a favor by killing them, for who knows the dead may be going to heaven while these terrorists are still roaming the earth in search of their elusive heavens.
Amid all this chaos the Olympics have come and gone and for a change India has three medals to show. Politicians are touting this as the sign of India Rising, business and media houses are busy milking the medals for their own benefit, the Indian Olympic Association is busy feeling offended and offending people with its myopic way of looking at things, and all this when none of the above-mentioned classes have contributed in the success of these sports persons. But again what’s new for we, as a nation, have always been good at hanging on to winners and milking their success for our own gains. And unfortunately for a nation of over a billion people, our success to failure ratio is heavily tilted towards failure, making success a commodity as precious as Gold, and where there is Gold, will diggers be far away?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Want to Win the War on terror? Act
Has Modi won the war on terror? screamed the main headline on the IBNlive website. Won the war on terror? What on earth are we talking about here, I asked myself. For one, we have seen millions of such wars that have been claimed won by politicians and the police fail to pass the muster in courts of law. And more important: will catching a bunch of people with little thinking ability and who have aligned their loyalties to unknown, unseen masters for the promise of a place in heaven help us win the war on terror?
Are we fighting a war against a faceless, nameless enemy? Yes, we are. What are our chances of winning this war? None I say, as long as there exist a bunch of people who are led to believe by cunning masters that either people are with you or against you. And if people are against you, then they do not deserve to live.
I can pontificate as much as I want but little will come of it. Our leaders, political and religious, have unleashed a Frankenstein monster and now the world will have to wait patiently for this monster to die its natural death. And for that to happen, it will take time and lack of cooperation from people at large. As long as these killers continue to find support among common citizens who sympathize with their cause but do not have the guts to do what these guys are doing, even the best of governments with more than 100% intent and will to eliminate terror will fail.
As long as fundamentalism and the spirit of one-upmanship continue to prevail, rest assured that all of us will keep running the risk of being blown up by a bomb or taken out by a bullet. And no government, military, or police force will be able to protect us beyond a point. We have opened the Pandora’s Box by unleashing the power of collective religion on the people, and now it will be up to us to remove it from the public domain and take it back into our homes where religion should belong, if it has to belong in the first place.
So I would request the media, politicians, the government machinery and people at large to stop flying kites by asking stupid questions such as Has Modi won the war on terror? Sounds nice but both you and I know that it is one big lie, and lying ain’t going to prevent us from being killed by a coward.
What we need first is the acceptance by the common people at large that terror can achieve nothing, and hence, supporting it, tacit or otherwise, is going to achieve nothing other than lives lost. Once these cowards, misguided souls, whatever once chooses to call these killers, realize that they have no support and place to hide, they will be forced to come out in the open, and that’s when we will be able to eliminate terror for good.
Now it is for us to decide if we are ready to stick our neck out for the larger good of mankind, or are we happy sitting in our homes at the end of the day for having survived death by terror? The choice is ours, and blaming the government, police and other people for our miseries is going to get us no where. So friends we can either start by not supporting such ideologies or be resigned to the fact that our life is just a bomb or bullet away. The choice is ours to make and I hope we make a sensible one.
Are we fighting a war against a faceless, nameless enemy? Yes, we are. What are our chances of winning this war? None I say, as long as there exist a bunch of people who are led to believe by cunning masters that either people are with you or against you. And if people are against you, then they do not deserve to live.
I can pontificate as much as I want but little will come of it. Our leaders, political and religious, have unleashed a Frankenstein monster and now the world will have to wait patiently for this monster to die its natural death. And for that to happen, it will take time and lack of cooperation from people at large. As long as these killers continue to find support among common citizens who sympathize with their cause but do not have the guts to do what these guys are doing, even the best of governments with more than 100% intent and will to eliminate terror will fail.
As long as fundamentalism and the spirit of one-upmanship continue to prevail, rest assured that all of us will keep running the risk of being blown up by a bomb or taken out by a bullet. And no government, military, or police force will be able to protect us beyond a point. We have opened the Pandora’s Box by unleashing the power of collective religion on the people, and now it will be up to us to remove it from the public domain and take it back into our homes where religion should belong, if it has to belong in the first place.
So I would request the media, politicians, the government machinery and people at large to stop flying kites by asking stupid questions such as Has Modi won the war on terror? Sounds nice but both you and I know that it is one big lie, and lying ain’t going to prevent us from being killed by a coward.
What we need first is the acceptance by the common people at large that terror can achieve nothing, and hence, supporting it, tacit or otherwise, is going to achieve nothing other than lives lost. Once these cowards, misguided souls, whatever once chooses to call these killers, realize that they have no support and place to hide, they will be forced to come out in the open, and that’s when we will be able to eliminate terror for good.
Now it is for us to decide if we are ready to stick our neck out for the larger good of mankind, or are we happy sitting in our homes at the end of the day for having survived death by terror? The choice is ours, and blaming the government, police and other people for our miseries is going to get us no where. So friends we can either start by not supporting such ideologies or be resigned to the fact that our life is just a bomb or bullet away. The choice is ours to make and I hope we make a sensible one.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Fighting Crime The India Way
Anees Ibrahim held in Jeddah; breaking news on prime time television news. A couple of news anchors were at it hammer and tongs telling viewers that Anees Ibrahim is the brother of dreaded don and D Company head honcho Dawood Ibrahim. Thanks for blowing the lid off Anees Ibrahim’s identity, I told myself. It is another story that even four-year-olds in the country know all about the Ibrahims and their misdeeds.
Now channels are debating the possibility of the government trying to extradite the Bhai ka bhai (Don’s brother). Suddenly one of the reporters with an air of importance around him says, but India does not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia. O yeah, I said to myself, if we had a treaty Anees would be in Tihar by now.
Trying to get back these Dons is something that I have always failed to understand. What do we achieve by getting them back? We got Dawood’s brother Iqbal Kaskar back from Dubai, and now he is free man contemplating joining politics. The cases against him fell through you see, how very convenient. Don’t we have enough number of criminals in politics that we need to import them too?
We keep on crying hoarse that Pakistan is sheltering the Ibrahims and other criminals. I say, good for them. If someone wants to keep and grow rotten apples, why should we object? Same was the case with Abu Salem; the Dutch court would have sentenced him for 20 years and we would have been better off. But no, we had to spend taxpayer money and get him back. Now in a year’s time, I won’t be surprised to see him sitting in the Lok Sabha. We sure believe in Democracy, I say.
Who knows may be 10 years down the line, we may be a country run by these very Bhais, we might be the biggest exporters of drugs, weapons, women, terror, and Bhais (read Dons) to the rest of the world. Our economy may be growing at about 20% GDP; nothing rakes in more money than terror and drugs, you see.
I know that you may find this post rather pessimistic. Please don’t, for when rape is inevitable, it is better to lie back and enjoy. And once it is done and over with, tell the rapist that he simply wasn’t good enough; just joking. If our leaders continue to be so inept and self-obsessed, and we as a nation so impotent in fighting crime, terror, corruption, and general bad behaviour, enjoying getting raped day after day, dear friends, will be our only option.
Now channels are debating the possibility of the government trying to extradite the Bhai ka bhai (Don’s brother). Suddenly one of the reporters with an air of importance around him says, but India does not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia. O yeah, I said to myself, if we had a treaty Anees would be in Tihar by now.
Trying to get back these Dons is something that I have always failed to understand. What do we achieve by getting them back? We got Dawood’s brother Iqbal Kaskar back from Dubai, and now he is free man contemplating joining politics. The cases against him fell through you see, how very convenient. Don’t we have enough number of criminals in politics that we need to import them too?
We keep on crying hoarse that Pakistan is sheltering the Ibrahims and other criminals. I say, good for them. If someone wants to keep and grow rotten apples, why should we object? Same was the case with Abu Salem; the Dutch court would have sentenced him for 20 years and we would have been better off. But no, we had to spend taxpayer money and get him back. Now in a year’s time, I won’t be surprised to see him sitting in the Lok Sabha. We sure believe in Democracy, I say.
Who knows may be 10 years down the line, we may be a country run by these very Bhais, we might be the biggest exporters of drugs, weapons, women, terror, and Bhais (read Dons) to the rest of the world. Our economy may be growing at about 20% GDP; nothing rakes in more money than terror and drugs, you see.
I know that you may find this post rather pessimistic. Please don’t, for when rape is inevitable, it is better to lie back and enjoy. And once it is done and over with, tell the rapist that he simply wasn’t good enough; just joking. If our leaders continue to be so inept and self-obsessed, and we as a nation so impotent in fighting crime, terror, corruption, and general bad behaviour, enjoying getting raped day after day, dear friends, will be our only option.
Monday, July 28, 2008
In The Name Of God
A bomb blast, people dead, a lot of grieving souls, and a bunch of joyous dimwits who engineered these explosions. This sequence of events is no stranger to people across the world, and the world is informed by a bunch of trigger and bomb happy morons with great pride that these acts have been committed in the Name of God. What an irony, I say.
If these people knew what God stood for, we won’t be mourning the loss on innocent lives. And on that point I introspect as to why is my God so different from their? For one, isn’t God supposed to be one not matter what name we call him?
But if these murderers, yes that is what they are to me, were clever enough to understand this simple fact that no God will ever be happy if people are massacred in her/his name, then we won’t be writing such posts, would we?
To me these people are just plain losers who are non-believers in God and are resorting to killing indiscriminately in the name of God to vent their frustration at not being able to fulfill their material desires. The logic is if I am not capable enough, or if I haven’t had the opportunity to go on and accumulate what I want, then the rest of the world should also not be allowed to do the same. And what better way to go about doing it than killing people in the name of God.
I know that most of you will rationalize that the guys who are indulging in such acts are poverty-stricken youths who have been misguided by a few cunning for their personal gains. I agree. But by that logic all of us have many desires that remain unfulfilled in a lifetime. So does that mean that all of us should go about blowing up people and places and then lay the blame on God’s doorstep?
I also agree with the argument that most of these killers are recruited at a very young age and are taught by force to believe in a reality that is totally different from reality. But does that absolve them of the crimes against humanity? No. And if these guys at 18 and 20 have been raised in an ideology of blood and death, then they cease to be humans and lose the right to freely move around civil society or whatever is left of it.
Last, all top politicians and intelligence agencies across the world know what they are up against and who the perpetrators of these crimes are. But unfortunately they chose to play politics over dead bodies. Instead of finding a permanent cure for this virus, they keep finding temporary patches. The permanent cure is to eliminate the source of such radical thinking. If the source is gone, then the thought will die its natural death.
I know that it is easy to write but difficult to execute. But can’t we put aside petty politics and at least make a beginning in the Name of God and show these people what God stands for? If the answer is No, then what can I say other than let us all be bombed to glory until kingdom comes.
If these people knew what God stood for, we won’t be mourning the loss on innocent lives. And on that point I introspect as to why is my God so different from their? For one, isn’t God supposed to be one not matter what name we call him?
But if these murderers, yes that is what they are to me, were clever enough to understand this simple fact that no God will ever be happy if people are massacred in her/his name, then we won’t be writing such posts, would we?
To me these people are just plain losers who are non-believers in God and are resorting to killing indiscriminately in the name of God to vent their frustration at not being able to fulfill their material desires. The logic is if I am not capable enough, or if I haven’t had the opportunity to go on and accumulate what I want, then the rest of the world should also not be allowed to do the same. And what better way to go about doing it than killing people in the name of God.
I know that most of you will rationalize that the guys who are indulging in such acts are poverty-stricken youths who have been misguided by a few cunning for their personal gains. I agree. But by that logic all of us have many desires that remain unfulfilled in a lifetime. So does that mean that all of us should go about blowing up people and places and then lay the blame on God’s doorstep?
I also agree with the argument that most of these killers are recruited at a very young age and are taught by force to believe in a reality that is totally different from reality. But does that absolve them of the crimes against humanity? No. And if these guys at 18 and 20 have been raised in an ideology of blood and death, then they cease to be humans and lose the right to freely move around civil society or whatever is left of it.
Last, all top politicians and intelligence agencies across the world know what they are up against and who the perpetrators of these crimes are. But unfortunately they chose to play politics over dead bodies. Instead of finding a permanent cure for this virus, they keep finding temporary patches. The permanent cure is to eliminate the source of such radical thinking. If the source is gone, then the thought will die its natural death.
I know that it is easy to write but difficult to execute. But can’t we put aside petty politics and at least make a beginning in the Name of God and show these people what God stands for? If the answer is No, then what can I say other than let us all be bombed to glory until kingdom comes.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Politics OR Politricks
Below is the profile of a Politician who ran the country aground. Readers, can you see anything so out of the ordinary in the man’s profile that qualifies him to hold a country to ransom and push it toward economic ruin. More so, does the profile qualify this person to be an expert on nuclear technology? For someone with a non-descript profile, it’s quite an achievement that this person has managed to bring down a government that is partly elected by the people. I say partly because the lead party never had a two-thirds majority. I guess that is what we call democracy where anyone can piss on the hopes of over 1 billion people and be self-righteous about it on camera.
PROFILE
A communist politician in India
College educated; thank God for that!
Involved with student politics. Spotted and noticed by a leading Left Politician. Worked with many more communist politicians
Heads a publishing house and has written a few books.
Married to a comrade.
PROFILE
A communist politician in India
College educated; thank God for that!
Involved with student politics. Spotted and noticed by a leading Left Politician. Worked with many more communist politicians
Heads a publishing house and has written a few books.
Married to a comrade.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Are We All Racist At Heart?
The world is all in black and white. And according to me, brown, yellow and any other possible color too. I am not talking about environment here; I am talking about race; Racism to be precise, of color, religion and all possible denominations.
I was reading an article in the New York Times about the US presidential elections that delved in detail about the color of Barack Obama’s skin and his Muslim middle name, all the while emphasizing that he was Christian. Apparently, the article claims that people in the Arab world and Muslim states are excited that Obama may become the next US president. And all the excitement because Obama’s middle name is Husein.
As I thought of the article, a pattern started forming in my mind about various articles written by the global media, the actions of people and reactions of politicians and governments to the same. A pattern of separation by race, by color, religion, by social status.
I guess we, human beings, like to think of ourselves not only as better than the rest but as better than one other too. If we map conversations, we will realize that there is so much need to differentiate. America has color, while we have religion, caste, geography, etc., etc., etc.
The key question then is, how right is one country OR a set of people in terming others racist. In my opinion, most of us are racist at heart. There will be a few, who do not differentiate, but then they are evolved souls and if all people across the whole world were so evolved, we would be living in Paradise, won’t we?.
I have so often heard people in India or Indians living in the US, or elsewhere in the world, refer to Africans as kallus, the Orientals as chinks, the whites as goras, and Pakistanis as bloody Pakis to cite a few. And I am sure people from other countries will have their terms to depict people from different parts of the world.
If all this is not being racist, then what is. In India, we call people from the south as Madrasis, from UP and Bihar as Bhayyas, so on and so forth…the list is endless. And we still get offended when people from other parts of the world call us racist; this trend applies to people across countries.
As a reader your question would be, where am I going with this line of thought? To them I say nowhere. I am just trying to understand all the brouhaha over the term Racism when 99% of the world’s human beings are racist at heart. Therefore, do we take offense to being labeled a racist because we believe the allegation is unjust and a lie, or is it because it is the universal truth that 99% of us are closet racists and we feel offended and go on the defensive because we are living a lie?
It’s for you to look into your hearts and find the answer. And believe me, 9 of 10 times the answer that comes from our heart may jolt our conscience.
I was reading an article in the New York Times about the US presidential elections that delved in detail about the color of Barack Obama’s skin and his Muslim middle name, all the while emphasizing that he was Christian. Apparently, the article claims that people in the Arab world and Muslim states are excited that Obama may become the next US president. And all the excitement because Obama’s middle name is Husein.
As I thought of the article, a pattern started forming in my mind about various articles written by the global media, the actions of people and reactions of politicians and governments to the same. A pattern of separation by race, by color, religion, by social status.
I guess we, human beings, like to think of ourselves not only as better than the rest but as better than one other too. If we map conversations, we will realize that there is so much need to differentiate. America has color, while we have religion, caste, geography, etc., etc., etc.
The key question then is, how right is one country OR a set of people in terming others racist. In my opinion, most of us are racist at heart. There will be a few, who do not differentiate, but then they are evolved souls and if all people across the whole world were so evolved, we would be living in Paradise, won’t we?.
I have so often heard people in India or Indians living in the US, or elsewhere in the world, refer to Africans as kallus, the Orientals as chinks, the whites as goras, and Pakistanis as bloody Pakis to cite a few. And I am sure people from other countries will have their terms to depict people from different parts of the world.
If all this is not being racist, then what is. In India, we call people from the south as Madrasis, from UP and Bihar as Bhayyas, so on and so forth…the list is endless. And we still get offended when people from other parts of the world call us racist; this trend applies to people across countries.
As a reader your question would be, where am I going with this line of thought? To them I say nowhere. I am just trying to understand all the brouhaha over the term Racism when 99% of the world’s human beings are racist at heart. Therefore, do we take offense to being labeled a racist because we believe the allegation is unjust and a lie, or is it because it is the universal truth that 99% of us are closet racists and we feel offended and go on the defensive because we are living a lie?
It’s for you to look into your hearts and find the answer. And believe me, 9 of 10 times the answer that comes from our heart may jolt our conscience.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Laughing Gas
These days Gas is king. And for now I am not talking about the byproduct of an inefficient digestive system. The government did not want to but had to hike prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG. The Opposition knows the government had no choice but will protest the hike. Businessmen do not want to harm the poor, but will have to for self-preservation takes precedence over Nation. So where does it leave the common man? In a Gas chamber, I guess.
That was the serious part of the story. But there is no point in worrying about it now, is there? For there is very little that people like you and me can do about politics, largely a preserve of the demented mind. The only time we come into play is once in five years, when he the humble politician barges into our building, knocks on our door surrounded by 8 to 10 ruffian looking men, and demands our vote. It is our franchise, but their right, you see!
So I resort to humor in trying to find ways of how we can solve our Gas, as Oil is called in America, problem. This may sound crude to most, but one way is to recruit people with ample gas reserves (read ability to pass wind at will) and use them to fill our LPG cylinders. We can call it HPG, or Human Personalized Gas. Anyways when gas burns, it rarely stinks. These cylinders can also serve as stink bombs that we can throw at politicians to tell them how much they stink. But I am not sure if it will work, for pigs thrive in slush, don’t they?
Maybe housing societies in Metros can erect sheds in their compounds and rear cattle. This will be dual purpose: a) daily supply of milk, b) Gobar (cow dung) gas. Maybe we can even collect cattle urine in a big covered pit. Over time, it will emanate fumes similar to public toilets in Mumbai. We can use those fumes to fire our burners in the kitchen.
A city like Mumbai must be generating huge amounts of human waste on a daily basis. The city already has the Dadar Malpravah Prakriya Kendra (Dadar Waste Recycling Center) where human waste is converted into potable drinking water. And that water is supposed to be cleaner than that which runs through our taps. Water aside, maybe we can look at ways to convert the huge amount of human waste into gas, and add a dash of perfume, if needed.
Here the migrant population could be of great help; opponents of migrants to city, this is mainly for your consumption—the information, not the gas. Mumbai has at least 7 million people living in slums or on sidewalks. I can see a huge opportunity here. We can build a few more Malpravah Prakriya Kendras for harnessing their bowel movements to our advantage. I can taste water and smell gas already. And the migrants can be paid to defecate in customized toilets. It will be win-win situation for everyone. We will get gas and water, the migrants will get money to crap—I think that would be a first in the world—and we can walk on streets and sidewalks without the fear of cutting cakes daily.
If I apply my mind to it, I can come up with many more such ideas, but I guess there is a limit to how much crap readers can digest. So I end with the thought that if I cannot change the world, at least I can laugh it off. Laughter is the best medicine, isn’t that what we have been told since time immemorial?
That was the serious part of the story. But there is no point in worrying about it now, is there? For there is very little that people like you and me can do about politics, largely a preserve of the demented mind. The only time we come into play is once in five years, when he the humble politician barges into our building, knocks on our door surrounded by 8 to 10 ruffian looking men, and demands our vote. It is our franchise, but their right, you see!
So I resort to humor in trying to find ways of how we can solve our Gas, as Oil is called in America, problem. This may sound crude to most, but one way is to recruit people with ample gas reserves (read ability to pass wind at will) and use them to fill our LPG cylinders. We can call it HPG, or Human Personalized Gas. Anyways when gas burns, it rarely stinks. These cylinders can also serve as stink bombs that we can throw at politicians to tell them how much they stink. But I am not sure if it will work, for pigs thrive in slush, don’t they?
Maybe housing societies in Metros can erect sheds in their compounds and rear cattle. This will be dual purpose: a) daily supply of milk, b) Gobar (cow dung) gas. Maybe we can even collect cattle urine in a big covered pit. Over time, it will emanate fumes similar to public toilets in Mumbai. We can use those fumes to fire our burners in the kitchen.
A city like Mumbai must be generating huge amounts of human waste on a daily basis. The city already has the Dadar Malpravah Prakriya Kendra (Dadar Waste Recycling Center) where human waste is converted into potable drinking water. And that water is supposed to be cleaner than that which runs through our taps. Water aside, maybe we can look at ways to convert the huge amount of human waste into gas, and add a dash of perfume, if needed.
Here the migrant population could be of great help; opponents of migrants to city, this is mainly for your consumption—the information, not the gas. Mumbai has at least 7 million people living in slums or on sidewalks. I can see a huge opportunity here. We can build a few more Malpravah Prakriya Kendras for harnessing their bowel movements to our advantage. I can taste water and smell gas already. And the migrants can be paid to defecate in customized toilets. It will be win-win situation for everyone. We will get gas and water, the migrants will get money to crap—I think that would be a first in the world—and we can walk on streets and sidewalks without the fear of cutting cakes daily.
If I apply my mind to it, I can come up with many more such ideas, but I guess there is a limit to how much crap readers can digest. So I end with the thought that if I cannot change the world, at least I can laugh it off. Laughter is the best medicine, isn’t that what we have been told since time immemorial?
Friday, May 30, 2008
‘Bush’whacked
A rich rogue nation can flaunt the will of a disparate majority. New York Times columnist David Brooks uses these words to describe the Bush government’s aggressive views on Iran. I reread the article to figure out if the columnist were talking about Iran or the US. After my second read, I realized that it indeed was Iran.
The columnist talks of how the Iranian government does not know what it is doing because there are four factions at work there. The logic being how can the US understand what the Iranians are up to when the Iranians themselves do not know what they are up to.
Then the talk veers to how the Iranians have armed the Hezbollah in Lebanon against the wishes of the UN, how they repeatedly flouted international rules by going ahead its nuclear program, and how China, India, Russia are by cooperating with the Iranians are making it difficult for the Americans to make the Iranians see their point of view.
Ah! I said to myself, that is the crux of the problem. While I was reading the article I was mentally replacing Iran with the US and found that for a country that has repeatedly ignored international voices in the name of national security, they sure are behaving like whining bullies.
Let us look at the US’s history since 1945. That was the year they dropped Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan citing the need to do so to humble an expansionist Japan. By dropping those bombs, the US became the first country to explode Atomic bombs in the world and to this day remains the only country to have done so.
Then came the Cold War era when in the name of national security, the US indulged in an arms race with the erstwhile USSR, stockpiling nuclear bombs and arms, which America continues to own to this day. But it is again a case of one rule for the King and another for the commons.
When India under the Vajpayee government conducted a Nuclear test, the US went around the world screaming murder. I think the Americans forgot that India as a country has never attacked anyone in the world, while the Americans have a history of engaging in wars (e.g., Vietnam/Afghanistan/Iraq) on fictitious grounds of national security. I guess America has a right to worry about national security but others do not.
Since America decided that Communism was bad, they unilaterally decided that it was bad for the rest of the world too. Since America feels Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a menace, it wants the whole world to concur. Since America feels that Iran is a potential threat, it wants the whole world to think so too. Since America thinks that China and India are the reason for the spike in food prices, the rest of the world has to agree. In short, the world has to see through American eyes, or opt to be blind.
I am no supporter of Iran, nor do I believe that Communism is the best thing to have happened to the world. At the same time, I do believe that for America, America has been and continues to be its single-biggest enemy.
The foolhardiness of American politicians in propagating the either you are with us or you are against us theory has caused the American people and the world at large the most grief. And American politicians, even after 60-odd years of following this policy and achieving little in terms of peace and more in terms of war, continue to walk the same path.
That forces me to think that Americans should, before pointing fingers at the Iranians and everyone else in the world, look inward. If they do so, they will realize that their problems are a result of years of their government not knowing what it is doing, but continuing to do so with foolish conviction, rather than the rest of the world knowing not what they are doing.
The columnist talks of how the Iranian government does not know what it is doing because there are four factions at work there. The logic being how can the US understand what the Iranians are up to when the Iranians themselves do not know what they are up to.
Then the talk veers to how the Iranians have armed the Hezbollah in Lebanon against the wishes of the UN, how they repeatedly flouted international rules by going ahead its nuclear program, and how China, India, Russia are by cooperating with the Iranians are making it difficult for the Americans to make the Iranians see their point of view.
Ah! I said to myself, that is the crux of the problem. While I was reading the article I was mentally replacing Iran with the US and found that for a country that has repeatedly ignored international voices in the name of national security, they sure are behaving like whining bullies.
Let us look at the US’s history since 1945. That was the year they dropped Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan citing the need to do so to humble an expansionist Japan. By dropping those bombs, the US became the first country to explode Atomic bombs in the world and to this day remains the only country to have done so.
Then came the Cold War era when in the name of national security, the US indulged in an arms race with the erstwhile USSR, stockpiling nuclear bombs and arms, which America continues to own to this day. But it is again a case of one rule for the King and another for the commons.
When India under the Vajpayee government conducted a Nuclear test, the US went around the world screaming murder. I think the Americans forgot that India as a country has never attacked anyone in the world, while the Americans have a history of engaging in wars (e.g., Vietnam/Afghanistan/Iraq) on fictitious grounds of national security. I guess America has a right to worry about national security but others do not.
Since America decided that Communism was bad, they unilaterally decided that it was bad for the rest of the world too. Since America feels Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a menace, it wants the whole world to concur. Since America feels that Iran is a potential threat, it wants the whole world to think so too. Since America thinks that China and India are the reason for the spike in food prices, the rest of the world has to agree. In short, the world has to see through American eyes, or opt to be blind.
I am no supporter of Iran, nor do I believe that Communism is the best thing to have happened to the world. At the same time, I do believe that for America, America has been and continues to be its single-biggest enemy.
The foolhardiness of American politicians in propagating the either you are with us or you are against us theory has caused the American people and the world at large the most grief. And American politicians, even after 60-odd years of following this policy and achieving little in terms of peace and more in terms of war, continue to walk the same path.
That forces me to think that Americans should, before pointing fingers at the Iranians and everyone else in the world, look inward. If they do so, they will realize that their problems are a result of years of their government not knowing what it is doing, but continuing to do so with foolish conviction, rather than the rest of the world knowing not what they are doing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)