Of Pink Chaddis, Pink Condoms & Naked Hypocrisy

So finally, the most significant Valentine's Day in Indian history is over. There were indeed incidents of violence, which is shameful to say the least, against couples professing their love in public places across the country, but the focus seemed rather on an initiative called the Pink Chaddi campaign which was followed by its adversary, the Pink Condom campaign.

Like mass mobilization movements of the pre-Independence era, the two campaigns have picked up like-minded members and proceeded full steam ahead to promote their ideologically-leaning theories. In fact, that is what is common between the two - ideology.

Reality check.

The Pink Chaddi campaign and the Consortium of Loose, Pub going and Forward Women were hysterical in the promotion of the liberal mindset and their attack on conservatives is apparent, along with veiled potshots aimed at Hindu culture(read comments on their blog). It also forgets that fundamentalism of all religions needs to be fought against, not specifically Hinduism. Indeed, there were many fundamentalist groups that had threatened couples on Valentine's Day.


Now what happens with the Pink Chaddi campaign - anyone even remotely conservative and loyal to his/her culture is 'backward', 'un-progressive' and has trapped the country in an inertia of medieval theocracy. Let alone that the person might be a commoner, a wage-earner who has a family of many to feed. But the elitist disregard for the Indian poor is clearly on display with the Pink Chaddi folks.

It is indeed disappointing that the BJP did not do enough to bring the Sri Ram Sene and Pramod Muthalik to justice. "But they did arrest him before V-Day?", the quintessential Rightist may ask. Well, preventive custody is not justice. It is aimed at avoiding a repeat of the past events for public interest during that particular period when the threat looms large. What about the Mangalore pub attack? Where is justice for that? What was required, if at all, was a protest outside the Sene's office and the state legislative assembly in Bangalore and calls for ban on such fundamentalist groups.

But we are too happy sending pink chaddis to be bothered about a protest that makes an actual difference and doesn't just hog all the headlines. The attention by the media is blinding and the Consortium is on the brink of victory. Once the pink chaddis reached Muthalik, the Consortium's job was done and life is back to normal.

Congratulations Pink Chaddi folks, Mangalore's victims have justice. Maybe, overflowing boxes of pink underwear will flood the SRS office, block the exits and its members will be prevented from coming out and orchestrating another attack.

The Pink Condom campaign and the Consortium of Assertive and Proud Hindus hasn't been all over the papers, but only a look at their website is enough to understand that they intend to form a shield against those maligning Hinduism. The Pink Condom campaign conveniently forgets that there may be religious Hindus in the Pink Chaddi campaign who have nothing against Hinduism and are plainly intent on embarassing Muthalik and the SRS.


The Pink Condom initiative also fails to consider the fact that there may be many conservative Muslims and Christians(read comments on blog) who echo similar feelings against the liberal West. After all, if Indian culture is conservative - then it means Hindu, Islamic, Christian and all other conservative religious cultures, doesn't it?

It hails itself as secular while also specifically defending Hindu interests. Sure, pseudo-secularism is prevalent in India and practiced by many, but to use labels like 'sickular' is quite irresponsible and ignorant of the sentiments of the ill-advised members of both campaigns and people all over India in general. Especially, when the fault lies primarily with fundamentalist Hindus like Muthalik & his SRS.

End result - liberals celebrate the success of the Pink Chaddi campaign, while conservatives are up in arms against pub culture and similar anti-cultural theses. Next time the stupid SRS is out there marshalling pubs and attacking women, liberals will bury themselves in the paranoia of hysteria once again(aided by the media) and conservatives will brainstorm and ponder over erosion-of-Indian-culture and blame pub-going girls for 'provoking' the mad fundamentalists.

As soon as incidents like these phase out of public memory, Muthalik will walk a free man, the SRS remains as it is and although they must have learnt their lessons, does just teaching a lesson count for justice?

Welcome back to square one.







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That emotion called Love

So, Valentine's Day is upon us. Ah! One more reason to look him/her deep in the eyes and say I Love You, ji. One more occasion to re-emphasize memories like "Remember, you used to come to my hostel at 10 pm in the night and honk and then I used to come down and we used to go to eat American makaai. And then you would drop me back and then you would wait till I went back inside. And...", while listening to which if you have accidentally dozed off on being possessed by the spirit of lethargic boredom and you've failed the test of your tolerance, then you end up facing serious consequences.

Sadly, contemporary love seems to have developed pre-conditions, most of which are largely tilting towards materialism. According to me, it's not love if the premise on which a semblance is felt is Kya maal hai bey! or Is he rich? Does he have a car? How good is his English?. Such assumptions only lead to more and more hypocrisy if indeed there is a match and 'something happens'. Sex is becoming a precursor and dressing sense seems to matter more than clarity of thought. But in a commercial world, this is the least that can be expected.

Love, however, is meant to be a celebration. It is the enabler of peace and the forebearer of altruistic principles. And all forms of love must be celebrated. Love for parents, love for siblings, love for family, love for friends, love for society and love for country should be accorded as much importance as love for partner. What makes the emotion of love so inspiring is that interpretation of it with an open mind could showcase the emotion as an example of the tolerance that the society needs. Therefore, even homosexuals and eunuchs have the right to love. Love embodies the basic concept of humankind. And if a society directs itself towards love, then the people stand to benefit.

Love is beautiful. Keep it just that.







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Trivializing Terrorism

Mangalore was hooliganism, gender abuse and sexual harassment. Not terrorism.

In the wake of the inhumane incidents at a Mangalore pub which are undoubtedly tantamount to goonda-ism and autocracy in free, democratic India, the media and public in general have rightly raised voices calling for strict and severe action against the accused. Such deplorable acts of violence against women have no place in contemporary Indian society that has progressively evolved in the right direction and offers opportunities galore for all sectors of society to earn rewards for hard work and perseverance. Perverted, fundamentalist groups that masquerade in the name of God hence go against the spirit and values of the India that is making commendable strides in diverse fields.

Inarguably, India has judiciously moved on to an improved standard of living for its people and any attempt to sabotage a safer, developed nation should be effectively curbed and eliminated. The threats imposed by fringe right-wing groups should be pre-empted and the bhakt senas banned immediately irrespective of political affiliations or blessings from power brokers.

However, a disappointing outcome of the outburst against the Mangalore hooligans has been the constant attempts by the media and the public in general to equate the larger threat of cross-border terrorism with the incidents in Karnataka. By no means does Mangalore even feature close to the audacious terror attacks on Mumbai or for that matter even Delhi/Ahmedabad/Jaipur/Bangalore and several other Indian cities. The sheer scale of the number of dead in the various blasts of 2008 is enough to ensure that terrorism from across the border features at the number one position on India’s priority list.

Moreover, terror acts are meticulously planned, extensively prepared for and then executed with a monstrosity and fanaticism that only believes in the piling up of dead bodies irrespective of religion, caste and creed. Then how does Mangalore feature in this category? Or is the Mangalore incident yet to be completely disclosed by the media and there were indeed a lot of girls slaughtered and raped to death?

Another inadequate term that might soon become a catchphrase with the media which has emerged in the obsessive reporting of this incident is the word Taliban. Sure, the Taliban’s ideology is the complete disempowerment of women and their ostracism from societal participation. Sure, even the hooligans in Mangalore would have that deep down in their minds. But there is a difference between slapping a woman and chopping her head off without the slightest remorse. Just like there is a difference between India and the fundamentally wicked “original” Taliban. If incidents like Mangalore occur in every nook and corner of India, only then do words like “Taliban” and “terrorism” deserve to feature in mainstream vocabulary.

Surely, there is a difference between Mangalore’s reprehensible violence and the Indians dead in the Mumbai attacks. Or have our feelings for the dead gone astray in the wake of the acts of Mangalore, the videos of which are replayed again and again by the media to invoke rage and the “true Indian” in us who spares a minute or two for its people? The same “true Indian” who conveniently glues the tag of terrorism to such incidents. What is required is to deal with all wrongdoing rationally and at its magnitude of occurrence along with other factors like fatalities involved and degree of violence engaged in.

May the Law have the last say.

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All-India Institute of Perverts

About Us
Founded in Mangalore, the All-India Institute of Perverts is a pioneer in promoting the erosion of all morals from within the human brain, and specializes in debauchery. The AIIP has been known to produce world-class debauchees who are well versed in being radical sensualists and masterful hooligans.

Admission
Aspirants for a seat in the AIIP require the following basic qualifications-
1) Age – No limits
2) Sex – Male (Females are allowed, on the criteria that they will have to be experts in wrestling against their own sex)
3) Know how to say Jai Sri Ram and Girls are like my sisters and make them appear completely genuine
4) Be fundamentalist
5) Detest Valentine’s Day (and hence detest red heart-shaped balloons, greeting cards and Archie’s Gallery)
6) At least 1 year experience in destruction of furniture and pub/club hoardings.

Courses
- Masters in Moral Policing
- Masters in Moral Policing (Extra subjects: HOW TO 1) Slap a woman, 2) Tangle her hair in an attempt to make her bald, 3) Hold a woman by her head with both hands and fling her hard onto the ground)

Apply Fast. Limited Seats. And don’t forget to bring along a saffron robe.







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Thoughts on Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionare. Ah!

Talk of tinsel town, Mumbai’s dirty underbelly, Winner of 4 Golden Globes, Oscar potential, Danny Boyle, Amitabh Bachchan. What else? Yes, dirty shit, ugly trash, child prostitution, bogus orphanages, black money, anti-Muslim riots, organized crime, underworld, mafia, real India and a racist, abusive Kaun Banega Crorepati host to top it all! Mr. Boyle should have just blown the kid up in a terrorist strike to keep up to the film’s compulsive and streamlined portrayal of what India is and isn’t. It would have made for some climax.

My God, can any ordinary human being survive in India with this kind of exploitative, abusive, terrifying atrocities committed on its people day in and day out? Yuck, my respect for India is down in the dust and I have decided that I will pester any one willing to be pestered, to get me out of this hell. Starting with the passport office, of course. And then the embassy. And then finally off to a new country.

No. Wait. I’m right here. Sure there are problems but I seem to see a lot of people smiling around me, living a happy life with a blossoming family, enjoying with friends, working for a decent wager in the Third World. Sure I’m not a “slumdog” but even slum children will not be facing up to the over-hyped, over-the-top atrocities depicted in SM that only ONE single child faces. Escapist? No. Realistic? No. Realistic escapism? Hell yes.

Whenever a reality check is undertaken, then it is very wise to not lose track of the core concept of such a check - reality itself. Because depiction of in-your-face hard-nosed reality is one thing and blowing reality out of proportion to portray all the “evils” of India at one go is another. And Slumdog Millionaire has conveniently opted for the latter at the expense of the former and hence feeding on India’s magnified sorrows has given the movie Oh-my-God applause that it doesn’t really deserve.

Thank you Mr. Boyle. Next time, we expect better. Or at least a package that is nigh closer to reality than perennially escapist Bollywood. And Slumdog Millionaire.







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The enemy within

There's more to the Antulay story than the man himself

Minority affairs minister Abdul Rehman Antulay added his name to a growing list of anti-India Indians living and breeding on Indian soil by considerable vainglory and style with his contemptuous remarks on Hemant Karkare’s death.

The irrational statements ,coming directly from a Union cabinet minister’s mouth, have hence opened the door for not only self-styled Pakistani analysts and self-proclaimed observers of the “real India” but also our very own pseudo-secularist intellectuals and others of the type to create a ripple effect at a time when the country was chasing a dreaded and proven enemy on the other side of the border with some consistency.

But Antulay’s story is interwoven with more than what “meets the eye”, so to speak in the man’s own words. Why blame him alone, as many in his band of anti-Indians would say. Antulay and his band of the eternally “oppressed” have not only provided fodder for our neighbours to feed on India’s self-created divisions with giggles and chuckles and high-fives but have confirmed in all retrospect as to where their true loyalties lie. Not in aiding Pakistan’s so-called “Hindu Zionist” campaign. Not in the progress of the “oppressed” who’s cause they so passionately have picked up. It lies in their firm fundamentalist mindset, where the right wing is the mother of all evils and the cause of so much pain and agony in our lives. Not just so much. In fact, all of it does.

In no other free-minded democracy does the base of the system itself prove so costly – the freedom. Freedom in India is reaching intolerable levels and most terror attacks or so-called anti-minority actions are followed up with all sorts of abuse by the leftist intellectuals.

Arundhati Roy articulately calls Islamic terrorism a deserving return-shot from the oppressed and asks India to look thoughtfully at the reasons for which jehad is being waged. Barkha Dutt proceeds to divide India on communal lines herself by indicating that Antulay’s remarks have embarrassed the Indian Muslim, clearly giving belief to the thought that India is divided from within. Pankaj Mishra, Vinod Mehta, Teesta Setalvad, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose and so many like-minded “scholars” feed on India’s gullible freedom like bedbugs not letting you sleep, pests screwing your crop and lice biting away on sensitive areas.

Left-liberalism is reaching unseen heights in India. Their hatred for all things Indian is not only increasingly evident but even unchanging. These sympathizers of the distressed challenge the Indian state each and every day with their uttering and hysteria-driven pedagogy.

How dare they even claim to be Indians. How dare they apply for a passport and travel abroad and preach hatred towards India. How dare they call themselves concerned “human rights” activists with a natural belief that Indians are not humans, but only abusers of human rights. How dare they speak and speak and speak without any sense of responsibility.

This dreaded brand of terrorists has their “terror camps” in the mainland. They sleep, preach and breathe anti-Indian sentiments every passing day, from our own soil. They operate abroad with their weapons (ink pens and A4-size sheets) and know that they can take refuge in their freedom that always forgives and mutter any nonsense that will always find readers because intellect is admired by many, no matter how much the nonsense ingrained within it - an intellect which is actually pseudo-intellect.

By Indians, who are actually pseudo-Indians.







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Verma committee: Media guidelines issued

Former Chief Justice of India JS Verma has issued a new protocol for visual media in the country, in the wake of their contemptible coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks. If the proposed set of measures are complied with by the private television entities solemnly, then it would assuredly prevent a repeat of their wanton conduct during 26/11, and after.

Verma, in his report, states:

"News related to armed conflicts and communal violence should be shown with public interest in mind," the guidelines said.

In case of a hostage situation, the guidelines said no details like identity or number of hostages should be telecast.

It also asked broadcasters to avoid unnecessary repetition of archival footage which may agitate the minds of viewers.

"Dignity of those who are killed should be kept in mind while such incidents are telecast," the guidelines read.[Rediff]

The point regarding excessive repetition of archival footage is particularly irrefutable as TV channels have opportunistically broadcast past videos without a mention of "File footage", in a bid to retain viewers. Repeat footage is distressing and the purposes with which it is replayed again and again are beyond comprehension.

The report spells doom for our favourite television anchors as their tragedy-time histrionics will be forcefully subdued and it is certain that a few are expected to be up in arms against the guidelines. Hopefully they will, in all their frivolous opposition of these instructions and rabid pseudo-championing of freedom of speech, at least obey the guidelines. Verma states that self-regulation is essential and the only flawless way of the media living up to its fourth-pillar-of-democracy role. And it is hence upto the mediapersons to eventually protect the larger interests of the people, who are undeniably under their elephantine influence.

Barkha Dutt had written, in impudent defence of her acts, not too long ago:

Should there be an emergency code of dos and donts for the coverage of such crises? We in the media would welcome a framework for sensitive events and are happy to contribute to its construction. But it is important to understand that in the absence of any instructions on site and in the absence of any such framework we broke NO rules. [NDTV]

Isn't this what she would have ransacked a politician for if he/she had dared to indulge in any immoral showing during times of crises? Mediapersons jumped onto the bandwagon of endless opportunism during those three dark days and then have the audacity to justify their actions by blaming the absence of a code of conduct. Where was their own so-called moral self at the time?

The bottomline, and it's a sad one, is that media houses showed as much opportunism as the politicians(Narendra Modi, Manish Tiwari etc) and both combined showed more opportunism than the Indian state and people can bear altogether. In times of crises, if their capitalist mindset seeks profit and profit only and they believe that the nation was "awakened" by their constant reporting of the attacks, then it is a testimony of our times that we have slept all along and needed such factions of society to "wake us up".

LK Advani, the supposed next Prime Minister, praised the role of the media openly in the Lok Sabha yesterday. "They woke us up" and "they did national service" were some statements from the BJP leader. What he forgot was that there was another side to the media coverage, that he probably never cared to explore.

It is disheartening that the people of a superpower-in-waiting come to know their true heroes and defenders at the cost of the lives of those heroes. How morally right is this? How much the better that our heroes do not have to sacrifice their lives in order for us to come to terms with what we are facing day in and day out?

Life just came a full circle.







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A mixed bag post: Awards, Links and Cricket

Awards
It's raining awards everywhere. And I'd like to thank three of the best bloggers I've known in recent times for recognizing me and this blog.

Amit of Mashed Musings and the Indian Home Maker presented me with the Butterfly award for the coolest blog. Thank you.


Thanks for the recognition. It means a lot in these testing times when I was actually wondering whether this blog had lost its cool and become HOT because of the previous post which has a female presence that many would savour without complain. No, not Behenji.

Mampi presents me with a Certified Honest Blogger award. Thank you.



Bloggers Krishna, Vinod Sharma, Amrutha, Kiran, Kislay and Rambo Doc, kindly accept the awards from this blogger.

I'm happier than George Bush was when he came to power.



Links
Suno, suno, suno! Over 42,000 free "wallposters" of hot actors, actresses and Enrique Iglesias can be found at the Bahujan Samaj Party website [Link]. Download NOW. Offer valid till BSP in power in Uttar Pradesh.

Former Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy writes this heavily biased pseudo-secular piece [Link] in the Huffington Post that confirms where her true loyalties lie. Some Indians hate India so much that you can sense that the only purpose of their life is to indulge in majority-bashing and minority-appeasement to give their "views" to the world. It's a shame that the West looks to such people to get an idea of what India is about, while these people on the contrary give them the exact opposite of what reality is and the exacts of what India isn't. Why do such Indians exist?

Greatbong provides a sane analysis of this piece. The exact type that should be read [Link].

Cricket
WOW. What a win. India embarassed England in the first Test at Chennai, helped by one of Sachin Tendulkar's most spectacular centuries. Spectacular in cricket terms and critical terms. England basically deserve no credit for letting slip a match such as this, which was clearly in their grasp till the second session of Day 4.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is on the way to becoming one of India's greatest captains ever. With an eye-popping 100% win record in Tests, it is difficult to go beyond the Ranchi man's acumen in handling tense situations and swinging games from draws to wins. And this man definitely doesn't know how to lose.

The catalyst for the win was Virender Sehwag, undoubtedly. The Delhi man's blitz in the final session of Day four had bred optimism in the Indian camp of a win. Sehwag's swashbuckling hitting took the pressure of the rest of the team and hence the fourth-highest target ever in Test cricket was comfortably chased out.


India didn't snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They whole-heartedly went seeking victory and deservedly got it so. Period.







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We, the inconvenience

Oh, I tell you. It's all down to the bloody politicians.


What is the Government doing for us? Where are they? Look at our corrupt public officials. The system is so dirty. Yuck!


Politics is single-handedly responsible for the decline of the concept of India as a nation.


While we should rightfully hold no inborn sympathy for the lack of leaders in the country today, it is high time we look at ourselves in the mirror before engaging in cliched rhetoric again and again. The above mentioned statements are one-liners you can pick up from many ongoing conversations across India, from ignorant youth to lecturing elders, from uninformed commoners to high society elites. Anyone and everyone talks, talks and talks.

The amount of complains, regarding the system, that we dish out everyday is becoming like a hoard of filthy, piled up vomit that nobody wants to assess and clean but everybody wants to squabble about and engage in unending chit-chats. People are forgetting the essence of democracy and are engaging in blatant generalization of the system of governance. It's high time we re-assess ourselves.

It is very convenient for people in this country to sit in their comfortable sofas, dine in multi-cuisine restaurants, engage in social gatherings, watch the latest Bollywood potboilers, go to sleep in cozy beds and then wake up the next morning to throw the "Ohs" and "Aahs" at reports of political delinquencies and national inadequacies in newspapers, while sipping a cup of tea.

It is very convenient for people in this country to rally behind a very opportunistic mass media(that shamed us with their woeful conduct during the horror days of Mumbai) and claim that everything in our system is rotten and it's best to stay out of the mess. In the process, the majority of us do not see active involvement in society and the nation as our job or cleaning up the system as our duty. If high-end ignorance is all we can offer to the country from a position of no self-sacrifice, then expect a return punch of the kind that the politicians throw at us today.

People do not bother with results of state assembly polls, but are gaping earnestly at the previews of MTV Roadies' new season. Discussions and debates are held across the country about deserving winners of TV reality shows, but no cause is taken up about what ails the system. People, who ordinarily do not give a fig to the state of affairs in the country, will egotistically jump at a chance to malign the men holding crucial posts of governance simply because it is way too convenient.

We squeal and screech at figures of India's abysmal position in the Corruption Index, but willfully offer bribes at public offices to get our work done. Bureaucracy is a pain, but WE are a part of the inherent cause of that pain. We forward nationalistic mails during days of tragedy and gloat "India should do something" and "Jai Hind" because that is ALL WE CAN DO. That is all that comes in our frequency of convenience.

At the end of the day, WE are the problem. We are the inconvenience in the system. It is very true that today's politicians are irresponsible leaders and are very responsible for the mess we are in today, but they are a part of us. They are there because we allowed them to reach there. And from a position of power, abuse is but the next thing on the list of a vehement pursuit for selfish and partisan interests.

If blame-game rhetoric is all we can engage in and personal convenience is all we can offer to the so-called "dirty system", then stop disparaging at the state of Indian politics and engage actively in our democracy to make it more accountable and rewarding. For a start, VOTE.

People ask me what ails this democracy. I wish I could hit back with a "It's me and you, my friend". I wish I could tell everyone that only WE can make this work. I wish I could create a sympathy for the broken system that is crying for our help. It's a matter of choice. It's a matter of causing that little inconvenience to ourselves to make the system work. We can revolutionize the system. Because the system is only a by-product of how actively involved we are today.

Because what actually ails this system, and this country, is ourselves. If we won't, who will?







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An Indian speaks

This is a must read.

Dear Mr.Terrorist,

My name is not Hades. Some of the more intelligent readers of The Times of Bullshit, no doubt, suspect that.

My name is Shoaib Daniyal. No, that won’t do. My name is Shoaib Mohammed Daniyal.

You say that you killed 195 people in Mumbai to avenge the maltreatment that people like me with names like Mohammed have faced in India.

Let me tell you something about my self. I did my schooling in Calcutta in one of the city’s finest schools—La Martiniere for Boys. I completed my graduation in Electrical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra and am now employed with a premier business research firm in Gurgaon.

Maltreated? How?

If there was wide spread discrimination against Muslims, as you claim, how did these institutions take me in? A cursory look at my name is all it takes, if you want to discriminate.

That’s not to say that India is perfect. To get a house in Gurgaon I had to lie about my religion. I claimed I was Christian, playing up the similarity between ‘Daniel’ and ‘Daniyal’. People would not let out their house to a person named Shoaib Mohammed Daniyal.

[The Times of Bullshit]

We need more such voices. More than ever.







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Mumbai 26/11: The least WE can do

[This is the second post in a series on Mumbai 26/11]

With the siege on Mumbai finally coming to an end after over 60 hours of constant conflict, telecasted live much to the glee of a melodramatic media that has gained immensely (in terms of money and TRPs, of course) from this attack. Oh, how they would be discussing Operation Successful-Live-Reporting of the Mumbai attacks and giving each other high-fives. CNN-IBN audaciously challenged people trying to maintain calm and vigil and attempting to drive the media away, by stating that power in the Oberoi had been cut off and hence there was no reason “not to report live”.

Enough has been said. Too much time has been wasted over petty and utterly pointless debates. Too much energy and blood has been lost in our much-maligned attempts to fight terror. We, as the people, need to step up and start making a difference. The Next Tryst with a New Destiny is upon us and if we fail to stand up and learn from history, we can never forgive ourselves or the country. As individuals, there is a lot than can be done. You do not necessarily have to be a power broker to make a difference.

End the cynicism
As Indian citizens it is our prime and foremost duty to end a cynical outlook of everything that has unfolded around us. Stop enforcing pessimistic views around you. End the “Government bekaar hai”s and “India kuch nahi kar sakti”s. Take a serious stance, be calm and spread word about the heroic acts of the bravest of us, like ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Take pride in their deeds as we hardly acknowledge or credit the true heroes of our everyday lives.

Do away with “My two minutes of fame”
As responsible citizens, it is now a matter of exigency that we at least maintain silence if we can’t laud the efforts of the NSG and the Army and even the Police. Stop seeking “two minutes of fame” with churlish comments about terror in India, stop giving heed to a so-called “funny side” of this entire ordeal as most will be tempted to get back to our national pastime – ridicule authorities, the Government, politicians and everyone else from a position of no self-sacrifice. It is not a joke. It never was. If you are yet tempted to deride someone, please openly scoff at Raj Thackeray and his bunch of MNS cowards. Like chickens, they hid away in their comfortable complexes and showed their true colours to the nation in times of dire need.

Pledge to Vote
It has become more imperative than ever to realize that voting makes a difference. An individual makes a difference. YOU can bring about change. Take a pledge to vote in the Assembly polls next year and play your role in making this democracy more accountable and rewarding to its people. There are sites to help you with this, the most remarkable being the Jaagore campaign. It is time the change in us awakes and comes out in the open. Make a difference – Vote.

These are some of the things an ordinary Indian can do best. And they take up no time or energy of ours. And even if we have excuses to offer, we know deep inside that we have enough time and vigor to devote at least some part of our lives in honour of those dead protecting the country. If we choose to remain as sleepy and dull as we have been since the terror trail began almost two decades ago, we will never do justice to ourselves or our fellow Indians.

They say it's wise to return to normalcy. If being normal means being part of a soft democracy, if being normal means coming to terms with Mumbai 26/11 as soon as possible, if being normal means returning to focus on everyday work as if nothing ever happened, if being normal means being silent and ignorant, then it's time we forget about "being normal".

Wake up. It’s now or never.







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Make A Difference

It is a moment of immense pride for us Indians that a NGO has been nominated for the International Youth Social Entrepreneur Award, a prestigious award handed out by the Ashoka Group.

Make A Difference, a youth volunteer network, is the only Indian entry in this competition where 15 finalists have been chosen. 521 nominations from 60 odd countries have been cast and MAD is the only Indian entry.

It operates in three cities - Kochi, Pune and Chennai - with 321 volunteers educating over 1200 underpriveleged kids in English and computer skills. Such noble work deserves acknowledgement of the highest order.



So let's VOTE and Make A Difference.

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Hats off to this masterpiece of cinema from a masala-dogged world of Indian films. In a truly sensational way, the team of this gem of a movie has presented the reality that is there for all to see and why we should, in all seriousness, wake up to the evil of terrorism before it becomes a part of our "dark present".

Hats off to the ridicule portrayed by the film - the scene where Kay Kay Menon realizes how every Muslim is not a terrorist, the scene where Paresh Rawal asks a common man to keep patience in the hunt for the bomb-planters and not just arrest and frame charges against anyone, the Rupali Bani Rudali TV show portraying a juicy story-seeking Indian media that has inherently only worsened the fight against terror. Hats off.

Wake up and fight. Yes, not everyone can do something. But at least we can be vigilant, respect our fellow dead citizens and their grieving families and pledge to help.

Independence Day Lessons

A few pointers that I pondered upon during the 24 hours of Independence Day:-

1) End the rhetoric
It's time to bring an end to the "Mera Bharat Mahaan" if we are to truly consider ourselves mature. I do not fully stand by the belief that patriotism is irrelevant in today's age of globalization, but it is necessary to end the rhetoric surrounding the so-called patriotic displays usually seen only during the 2 auspicious national days in a year. It serves no purpose in a fast-growing India.

2) The crisis over flag sales
It makes little sense in flouting the Indian tricolour so openly on I-Day. The same state bus drivers or private vehicle owners will commit all the sins that make for an anti-Indian approach, but still proudly sport the flag. Moreover, many flags are found in the dust and the dirt once the sun sets. Flag sales definitely mean that a few people earn a little more during the day. But it's only one day and we cannot afford to sacrifice national honour in the process.

3) Take pride in Indian history and culture
India is more than just Bollywood, cricket, political scandals and corrupt bureaucracy. Explore the true India and become a fan. Take pride in the history of Bharat and learn to love and respect all cultures and religions.

4) Respect the dead
Every year, hundreds of people die in the country. The reasons are aplenty. Terrorism heads the list. But if the living raised the level of respect offered to the ones who've left us and try to learn from history, then a lot of pain can ease.

5) Have faith
Despite corruption, poverty, bureaucracy, rising crimes and terrorism, India maintains a steady growth rate. The world sees India as a future superpower and it's best to keep faith in the country and it's ideals and values, in order to visualize dreams that we harbour of superpowerdom.

All is not lost. Yet.

[PS: Post written out of pure passion and there may be grammatical errors that I just felt like ignoring.]

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Among other things

Inflation hits an all-time high of 7.83% among other things.

Hindu children are forced to wear turbans in Punjabi schools among other things.

The Gods create havoc in Kerala among other things.

The Indian hockey team does a few good things in Malaysia among other things.

The Great Khali is set to team up with a new tag team partner, Bollywood, among other things.

Aamir Khan takes a dig at Shah Rukh Khan on his blog among other things.

And our dear old friend Terror had a multi-cuisine breakfast, satiating lunch and a pleasing dinner at 7 places in Jaipur. Terror loves India, you know. He finds it really easy to smuggle into our country, have fun, create noise, turmoil, chaos, disorder and of course take a few lives in the process that nobody dare care about in a country that takes immense pride in it’s callousness to such events. We are conceitedly weak and foolishness comes naturally to us because we will never understand the need for SEPARATE LAWS to tackle Terror.

He is waiting to come back and he knows we will welcome him with open arms as national security is something that neither us or the decision makers holding important posts at the top of the country’s administrative set-up care about…

…among other things.

From Pink to Red

7 blasts, 60 dead, terror strikes the Pink City of Jaipur and life goes on. Another typical we-are-united-in-adversity response from the UPA government. There is no doubt that terrorists targeting India have it easier than other countries because of democracy’s fallacies and India’s soft-hearted response to every attack on the mainland.

Terrorism’s latest episode was smartly planned and executed and targeted a city that has never seen such kind of ensuing chaos and despair. Being a hotbed of Indian tourism, Jaipur was always thought to be a city safe from such dastardly, inhuman acts and was never on the priority list of India’s probable targets.

We, the people, meanwhile continue to remain unfazed by this bloodbath as we have done so for many previous attacks. We live on. The cold war is being smartly played by cross-border foes who have now praised India’s response and are trying to assert their “friendship” on us. Let’s just hope we send a message sooner rather than later. Vulnerability, complacency and the feel of defenselessness are eating us from within.

May God bless the victims and their kin.

Dumbstruck

[Link to a Reuters' post on George Bush's comments on the food crisis] So, what do you think?



And Happy Mother's Day.

Global food crisis - An analysis by George Bush

How George Bush served two terms of presidency of the United States of America is something I can never comprehend completely. He basically comes across as a poor decision-maker, lacks crisis management skills and is a source of inspiration to people interested in garbling up English grammar for general use [Wikiquote link]. Or even fun.

His latest gems come out in the form of an analysis of the world’s food crisis and squarely laying the blame on India’s middle class. This follows a similar allegation from his top diplomat Condoleezza Rice, who had earlier asked India and China to “eat less”. While speaking in Missouri, Bush has stated:-

...the more prosperous the world is, the more opportunity there is.

Why yes of course, sir. Quote of a genius. Please carry on.

So, for example, just as an interesting thought for you, there are 350 million people in India who are classified as middle class. That's bigger than America. Their middle class is larger than our entire population.

So the context of his speech seems like a dig at how Americans are probably running dry (pun intended). And definitely, the thought is immensely interesting. Like there was nothing more interesting. Next please, Mr. President.

And when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food. And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up…

Wow. If ever I was too smart myself to analyze the world food crisis, I’d definitely say that the rise of the Indian middle class is to be blamed for it. How can we demand better nutrition? We are a third world country with absolutely no rights to better food.

So what if we don’t use our maize fields for bio-fuels to serve energy problems over food deficiencies. It makes sense diverting agricultural fields from food to ethanol production. Doesn’t it, Mr. President? And he replies.

No contest. We're an unbelievably compassionate nation.

Thanks for your time, Mr. Bush. You are truly great. Apart from your diplomatic and leadership skills, you can see through covered binocular lenses. No ordinary man can do that. [Picture courtesy: Humor Vids]

Inspiring.

The Price of War

Time.com's Picture of the Week.

Take a look at this gut-wrenching photo of three US soldiers providing aid to a child wounded in a bombing in Mosul, Iraq.

The blood, the pain, the guns, the eyes.