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?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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?
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