2007: The year of the Panda

In the history of mankind, no beast has received as much attention as the Giant Panda. No species is so completely inept at survival. What kind of species is that which has no interest in procreation? So much so, that in some zoos in China, they even attempted showing them Panda porno tapes to encourage them into mating. Apparently the scheme had limited success.


What a year 2007 was, with days to spare it gave us a huge political event, one that will continue to occupy headlines for the foreseeable future.

Massive scale terror attacks continued unabated as did Maoist disturbance. Yet India seemed as calm as a monastery in early morning compared to its neighbors. The OBC reservation bill came to a screeching halt, although there is no reason to believe that was the last we heard of it. We also had the Nandigram fiasco and close at its heels came the Taslima episode with which the secular establishment's house of cards came tumbling down.

The year was particularly bad for the Global Hindu. They were persecuted from Kazakhstan to Malaysia. The experience at home front was particularly bitter. Their religious symbols came under terrible indignity and attack. Minorityism reached new lows this year. The PM declared that certain groups had first claim on resources. Religious reservation came into existence for the first time. The venerated St. Stephens college increased its Christian quota. There was a brand new Tehelka sting, which unfortunately proved to be as venomous as a grass snake. The year also saw the coronation of our new Crown Prince. The UPA Government foisted an amazing woman of a President on us.

This was also the year a new term entered the Indian political lexicon - liberal, which nominally means anyone who supports Congress and is comprised of the erstwhile socialists and seculars. This is also the group which used to call themselves nationalists at one point of time.

If you go back about a year to a year-and-a-half in time, the UPA Government and by extension Congress seemed quite confident. During this time frame, there was a massive explosion in media reach, dominated by secular English channels. The channels gave assorted loonies of the UPA ample face time and they were able to thunder their boiler plate catchphrases such as social justice, inclusive growth, historical oppression etc. Little did they know that by the end of the year they would be forced to whimper like a slapped schoolboy.

Why did it happen? Try utterly dismal and abject failure of the UPA Government on ALL fronts. Let us not regurgitate all the facts, just google "Dysfunctional UPA Government", without the quotes. A year ago the leftists were shoving statistics at our faces (which is quite funny given this). After India dropped two ranks in the Human Development Index, we haven't heard back from them. UPA also suffered humiliating election losses, first to Mayawati who was able to better UPA at its own game by building a more viable social engineering model and then to an incumbent BJP Government in Gujarat and to a BJP opposition in HP in quick succession.

Under the current circumstances, it looks like the elections will happen in 2009, as they are scheduled to happen. This is further reinforced by Mr. Karat's latest flip-flop.

Almost nothing is working for Congress at the moment. Sonia and Rahul haven't proved to be vote magnates in not one but three states. There is a desperate attempt right now in the media to hijack Pakistan's tragedy and project it onto Congress. There is no socialist scheme they can boast of. Even the much touted NREG scheme has been effectively hijacked by the respective state Governments. If the development plank didn't work in 2004 for BJP, it is not going to work in 2009, even more so for Congress.

The Congress is ultimately left with few choices. There is very little time left really to make a difference on the developmental front. The group targeted benefits route, i.e. quotas is a virtual minefield. Any new scheme will attract lawsuits like shit attracts flies.

Therefore, it is almost certain that Congress will make another left turn, like it did under Indira Gandhi. With the Global growth projected to slow next year and a possible recession in the US, in any case Congress is going to get blamed for growth slowdown. It will lose middle class votes. The only way out is the tried and tested Garibi Hatao.

The trees were blocking the view

Hon'ble President of Secular Socialist Democratic Republic of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, has been busy. She has been making trips, lots of them. Increasingly these trips are beginning to look like taxpayer funded expensive five star plus holidays at exotic locations for her extended family.

As Patil and her family land in the Andamans tomorrow for what is billed a three-day "official tour," a few things have been brushed under the red carpet: at least 60 trees have been cut to prepare a helipad for her so that she and her 10-member family entourage don’t have to take a 40-minute road trip.

And two Government-run tourist resorts have issued notices to all tourists cancelling their bookings - the Christmas-New Year's Eve is the peak holiday season for the islands - to accommodate her delegation. [link]

The husband, one understands. Is it really necessary to take the entire cabal along?

President Pratibha Patil's scheduled Boxing Day helicopter-hopping across Andaman and Nicobar has cost the islands a few hundreds of trees. [...] More than 400 trees have been chopped down, among other things to create a 'funnel area' for the presidential chopper to land and take off, in Port Blair, Havelock Island and Vandur. "The authorities told us that some of the trees are too old and may fall any time, endangering the President's motorcade. Not even a branch has fallen on the road till date," said Thomas Thenalil, a resident.

"Trees as old as 100 years were cut down. At least 60 trees between the airport and Raj Nivas were cut down. There is nobody to question and nobody to answer," K Ganesan, editor of Andaman Express, a Port Blair newspaper, said. In Havelock, 60 km from Port Blair, where the President will be visiting for a day, trees were cut down since they blocked the view of the beach from where the President would be sitting. "Havelock island has a helipad, but the trees were cut because the VVIP cannot see the beach from the designated place," said Johnson, a social worker. [link]

CNN-IBN calls this "alleged" chopping of trees. What is an "alleged" chopping of a tree? A tree plus saw equals a dead tree, or a chopped tree. How hard is that to conceptualize? Also, no comments from people who get panic attacks thinking about lost puppies and murdered pink Flamingoes.

We understand the problem the secular media has with Patil. They need to understand what Patil represents and put things in the right context. Patil belongs to a bygone era and lives in it. She and her entire ilk. There must be many people like her in India. No, not the colonial era, but the Mughal one. In those days there was no concept of honorary posts. They handed you a Suba, you became a subedar. In your Suba, you are the supreme ruler and the people must pay you obeisance, plus taxes.

By electing Patil as the President, in effect we handed over the entire India as a Suba to her family. She is now effectively a Subedar of India and indeed is acting like one.

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Vote secular for a return to Gandhian values
Pratibha Tai's Family Values

Hopes and Prayers

Destiny finally caught up with Benazir Bhutto, fulfilling a cruel prophecy she herself had reiterated several times in the past.

After a particularly successful rally at Rawalpindi, she was being driven away in her armored vehicle, when elated by cheering bystanders Bhutto stuck her neck out, literally. She stood up inside the vehicle to alight from the roof and wave back at her supporters. The assassin's bullets greeted her. [Ed. Updated below]

This was the fourth major attempt on her life in this trip to Pakistan alone. The first one was a high intensity blast that killed about 150 people. In the second one, a baby was used as a tactical weapon. Another one, just a day before, employed a 15-year old with a sack of nails.

As expected, our political leaders have gone into anaphylactic shock upon hearing this news. We sincerely hope that they recover soon and do the needful, which is to protect our citizens from any possible fall outs that might occur.

Update 1: What killed Bhutto?

Well, they are still figuring out the "who" part and it is likely that theories and counter-theories will be endlessly put forth, discussed and dissected as different parties try to color this incident with their respective political agenda. While Indian media is still catching up and reporting a day old theory of shrapnel inflicted injuries, it is now quite clear that Benazir didn't die from gunshot wounds nor was her life cut short by shrapnel. She died when her head was violently thrust against a lever of the sunroof by the intensity of the blast. She sustained severe skull injuries which ultimately proved fatal. For more details, please read this.

Update 2: A large tree falls across the border

As expected, large scale violence broke out in Pakistan following the assassination. You can find glorious pictures of burning vehicles, buildings etc. on flickr. Indian media didn't report this but there were violent protests in Kashmir. You can catch some photos on this slideshow. Looks like when a large tree falls on that side of the border, some rumbles are unavoidable this side of it.

Right now there is a pretty bizarre blame game going on in which details of Benazir's demise is being disputed. An aide claimed she saw bullet wounds on Benazir's head. These details do not substantially alter the facts of the event. Whether she ultimately died of gunshot wounds or shrapnel or even a sunroof lever, the fact remains that she was assassinated by a terror group.

The Lord is thy shepherd, thou shalt not want

Suppose you are an average person. Your life hasn't changed one bit, neither for the better, nor for the worse - since the last elections. How are you likely to vote? Add to it that there are no ideological factors involved.

Actually this is a complex question. New market entrants typically have to spend three times as much as the incumbent in order to make a sizable dent in the market share. In election terms, it boils down to credibility. A party that couldn't even name a chief ministerial candidate prior to the elections was actually hoping to buck the trend. It doesn't help that Gujaratis are used to seeing the haggard and forlorn faces of migrant laborers from other states every season. It doesn't help that the antics of Ministers like Ramadoss occupy the front pages every day. Add to it the following:

There were some stunning facts to go with it. Value of farm-output had grown four times. School drop-out rate was down to 3% from over 40%. All villages, without exception, were getting 24 hour, 3 phase power for homes. Besides, the pipelines and canals fetching Narmada water, more than 140,000 check-dams and village ponds across the state had solved the drinking-water and irrigation problems in a state that was perennially drought-prone, arid and dependent on water-tankers ferrying expensive water.The number of registered unemployed in Gujarat had actually declined by over 15%. Almost a lakh rural-poor expecting mothers had delivered, assisted by private gynaecologists, all paid for by the state. To top it all, the past five years were riot-free, curfew-free, and despite being targeted by several terror groups from across the borders, terror-strike-free.

The above summary was by none other than Sushil Pandit, a BJP campaign manager, a hired gun, a man from the ad world. This is the person who was involved with the Shining campaign. Perhaps lucky for him, "vibrant" doesn't rhyme well.

Contrary to what the media would have you believe, there wasn't really a strong ideological factor in this election. The media got it wrong on almost every count and that perhaps is the saddest part in the whole affair. The CNN-IBN exit polls, presided over by Yogendra Yadav came so far off the mark that you couldn't fare much worse tossing a coin. It is not just a matter of getting the worst numbers among all exit polls, Yogendra Yadav was way off the mark in his regional analysis. This is sad because our national policy is held hostage by such intellectuals. The fate of our hundreds of million of poor depend on the competence of such men.

This election was really a victory of facts and data over rhetorics, as blogger RealityCheck pointed out. Actually modify that to "raw data" because by the time the data reaches you through the secular prism, it is bent beyond recognition. The truth is that the secular media went so far in its relentless carpet bombing that the public became thoroughly disengaged. This must be the wet dream of any incumbent chief minister, a fact not lost upon his campaign manager when he conducted his own surveys (which were far more accurate than the CNN-IBN exit poll, to say the least):

One face and name that summed the contrast with a pan-Gujarat appeal was Narendra Modi himself. Our opinion polls confirmed that Modi's approval ratings, among the cross-section of voters, were a double-digit more than that of the BJP.

The high impact campaigns were run mostly on Gujarati channels and local dailies. Congress meanwhile concentrated on the likes of CNN-IBN and NDTV and of course, Tehelka. So, why did these channels alienate Gujaratis so much? Simple, a lack of respect.

MR MEHTA told me a simple and quite stunning thing: To understand Gujarat, understand Gujaratis first, there is nothing that matters more to them than dhando and dharma, business and religion. Would it be in that order, Mr Mehta? Quite, he said, what dharma are you going to do on an empty stomach? But please understand this carefully because a lot of you don’t, Gujarat is what Gujaratis make it, not what people like you want it to be, don’t fit our image to the requirements of your frame. [Sankarshan Thakur, Tehelka]

It is clear why people like Thakur can not respect anyone and must necessarily judge the world by the stereotypes and cliches they know. They do not even respect themselves.

Congress wins: Gujarati good
Congress loses: Gujarati bad

This has been the pattern endlessly repeated for 60 years. You can't win them over? Go ahead, insult them. The problem is, economic liberalization has taken away much of the stick factor. A very antagonistic Central Government can't do much damage to Gujarat, the way it did to some other states. Bihar comes to mind (yeah the whole Jayprakash Narayan - Emergency incident).

Believe it or not, some seculars actually said that it was time Kashmiri Pandits stopped playing the victim and that all their problems were related to bad governance. So, that is what you get when you elect the secular party. On two fateful days in December, Gujaratis decided that they wouldn't play the victim. As a bonus they also got good Governance! Two for the price of one! It was an offer no one can refuse, let alone a Gujarati!

Power crisis in Tamil Nadu

Chennai, July 4 (ANI): Around 30,000 Neyvelli Lignite Corporation (NLC) employees will go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday evening in protest over the Central Government's decision to disinvest ten per cent of the corporation's preferential equity. In an embarrassment to the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which rules in Tamil Nadu presently and is a key ally, has decided to support the strike. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunannidhi has already urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the decision and has mooted the idea of giving away ten per cent of the equity to NLC employees. [link]

Tamil Nadu's dream of becoming the south's power hub might remain just that. The state electricity minister has announced load shedding in the industrial belts, reports CNBC-TV18. There seems to be darkness at noon in store for Tamil Nadu. It will face a shortage of 1000 MW this summer. That's why the industrial belts are expected to go in for load shedding. It's been 10 years since Tamil Nadu has faced a power shortfall. The state electricity board has signed MoUs with big companies and it's about time they were implemented. [link]

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Ukranian Army Recruitment Ad

Screenshot

Screen capture from a leading news channel website of a secular country.

Birthday Gal!

You might want to send an e-card to Madam President on her birthday.

After the story of Madam's exclusive private airport at Amravati broke, evidently some damage control is being attempted. First Madam actually issued a statement that the airport was meant for Vidarbha.

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said that the proposed new airport being built at Amravati is not for her convenience, but is part of the Maharashtra State Government’s initiatives for the development of the Vidarbha region. “The proposed new Airport is one of the various initiatives of the Government of Maharashtra for the development of Vidarbha region and not aimed at the convenience of the President,” a statement released by the Rashtrapati Bhavan stated. [link]

This is an astonishing claim given that there is already a decent airport at Nagpur, right in the region. Of course it is not clear if the airport will be of any help to the debt ridden farmers anyway.

On the occasion of the President's first birthday since assuming office, the spin machine wasn't going to let go of the opportunity:

It was the first Presidential birthday in many years to be celebrated outside the grandeur of the Raisina Hill. First Lady Pratibha Patil celebrated her 73rd birthday with the destitute and the mentally challenged in their homes, in complete contrast to her predecessor Kalam, whose birthday celebrations looked more like Children's Day celebrations inside Raisina Hill.[link]

The obvious jab at President Kalam almost jumps out at you from that statement. Now, the claim of this being the first Presidential birthday outside the grandeur of Raisina Hill, how valid is that?

2006: New Delhi, Oct. 15 (PTI): The President, A P J Abdul Kalam, today celebrated his 75th birthday with spastic children in Bangalore. [link]

2005: Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde greeting President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his 74th birthday at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Saturday. [link]

2004: BANGALORE: President of India, Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam today turned 73, celebrating his birthday outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan. [link]

2003: SURAT OCT. 15. The president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today celebrated his 73rd birthday among religious heads and children at Surat in south Gujarat. [link]

2002: CHENNAI Oct. 15 . The Governor and the Chief Minister have conveyed their greetings to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on the occasion of his 72nd birthday. [link] [Oops! Finally it looks like he is on Raisina Hill! We found one!]

Also, disingenuous use of the phrase: whose birthday celebrations looked more like Children's Day celebrations. Careful with Children's day, never ever use that flippantly. Celebrating Children's Day in style is high up on the social justice scale.

A lot of these spins rely on the short-term memory of the public. The second trick is to repeat them often.

Welfare of the extended family

NEW DELHI: A row has erupted over allotment of senior professors' quarters to a friend of Priyanka Vadra in Jawaharlal Nehru University with allegations that it out of turn, a charge denied by Vice-Chancellor B B Bhattacharya.

Vadra's unnamed friend, who is the daughter of Arun Singh, advisor to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was allotted a Type VI accommodation which is meant for senior professors, sources said. They said her husband is a junior professor in the university.

The allotment has raised hackles as allegations are being made that it was done out of turn following a recommendation from the Prime Minister's Office, they said. [link]

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Welfare of the family
Char Bigha Zamin

Doctors as indentured labor

It is as harebrained a scheme as there was ever one. The need of the hour is to increase the number of doctors. Already there are signs of diminishing interest in the medical colleges. The problems are two fold: the various socialist antics has increased the uncertainty in the profession. Secondly, given the booming IT/ITeS/BPO/Finance etc. sectors, there is a natural migration to those professions.

So, how does our esteemed Minister for Health fix it? By making it more difficult and less remunerative for those pursuing medical studies. Needless to say if the overall number decreases, good luck staffing your rural health clinics.

Apart from the obvious economics, there are serious ethical questions. Even countries that have mandatory military service have better and more logical drafting rules. What about the already enrolled students who didn't have any inkling of this while signing up? How do you change the rules mid-game? Of course there is nothing new to this behavior. There have been absurdities galore in this fascist regime.

For more details, please follow this resource.

Apart from chasing after film stars and fizzy drink companies, not to mention his vindictive campaign for the removal of Dr. Venugopal, our health minister has achieved precious little.

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' obsession with the affairs of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the Capital is proving to be a bane for the six new hospitals proposed to be set up on the lines of the institute. The slackness of the Ministry in executing such a high profile project reflects in the poor utilisation of funds. In the current financial year, the Ministry has utilised only Rs 46 lakh against the actual allocation of Rs 150 crore under the plan head.

Even last year only Rs 6.27 crore was spent against the allocation of Rs 75 crore. The Ministry's Super Speciality Hospital (SSH) Cell, that handles all the projects, had utilised only Rs 2.52 crore against the allocation of Rs 256 crore in 2005-06. Given the pace of physical progress, one wonders if the Ministry would be able to meet the deadline of 2010 to complete all new super-speciality hospitals. Even the detailed project reports (DPRs) have not yet been prepared.

The Centre had planned to spend Rs 2,541 crore during the 10th Plan ending March 2006-07 on the projects conceived and announced by the NDA Government in February 2004. Less than Rs 10 crore has been utilised so far. "There is conspicuous delay in the project. The deadline would not be met. The new deadline would be decided only after the DPRs are approved by the Ministry's expert group and is referred to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC). The total cost would also go up from earlier estimation of Rs 4,158 crore," a Ministry official said.

Needless to say, these numbers only get blank stares from people claiming to be friends of the poor. Imagine that, the bugger spent all this time chasing the director of one AIIMS while he could have six more of similar hospitals.

The gun that keeps on smokin'

NEW DELHI: The Bofors gun has reverberated once again with Congress serving a toughly worded legal notice on Swedish investigator Sven Lindstorm for his "unwarranted innuendos and insinuations" against party president Sonia Gandhi in connection with the 1985 howitzer deal. Responding to a spate of interviews and comments Lindstorm had given to the Indian media about the kickback scam, the party accused him of maligning Sonia through "defamatory statements."

Drafted by the party's in-house legal expert Abhishek Singhvi, the notice accused the former investigator of making baseless allegations against Sonia "without an iota of evidence." Sources reveal that though the legal notice was ready a couple of months ago, it took quite some time for the party to trace the Swede who now lives outside Stockholm. The party functionaries, it is learnt, informally contacted the Swedish authorities to know the retired cop's whereabouts. [link]

Careful with that axe, Eugene.

Cognitive Dissonance

So, what is a "normal" election?

Rajdeep Sardesai: I think this election at the end of the day is not about how much development he has done or how much of a Hindutva hero is he. This is a normal election being fought on local factors - on caste, on local satraps asserting themselves - and that's where this is become a closely contested election .. much more tightly contested election being faught on local factors. Modi has tried to make it about himself, but deep down, normal politics is returning to Gujarat. [link] [Transcript ours]

Perhaps Mr. Sardesai had "typical" on his mind. A sad day for a democracy when the definition of a "normal" election evokes such concepts in the mind of a senior journalist of a leading news channel.

CNN-IBN hosted at a minimum of a dozen special shows, including one which featured none other than Prof. Bandukwalla. Yes, the same dude who was supposed to have been brutally killed according to the Tehelka scam. The Professor said that the carnage of 2002 will never be forgotten, not in a 100 years. Well, could we please stretch it to about a thousand years maybe?

They also conducted exit polls with the help of CSDS and had them analyzed by Yogendra Yadav. Mr. Yadav should be well advised to separate his professional opinion as a leading psephologist from his person opinions, hopes and fears. No one (except God perhaps) can be 100% certain about electoral outcomes. But to harp on that point endlessly means inviting scrutiny on his expertise in designing surveys. If there were known biases, they could have been factored in. He may privately wish for Modi's demise, but if he appears to lack confidence in his own surveys, he will lose credibility over time.

Whatever the outcome, the dice has rolled for the time being. We expected much better and objective electoral analysis from a leading channel.

Low turnout:

In the 2002 elections, central Gujarat clearly emerged as a BJP bastion but the challenge for the party is to maintain the same lead in the 2007 polls. But the low voter turnout in urban areas is making the BJP nervous and this could turn the tables for the saffron party. [link]

High turnout:

Polling increased in the second and final phase of Gujarat elections on Sunday and was between 62-64%, up from 59% in round one. Compared to 2002 polling figures, the turnout this time is higher in the urban areas and lower in rural ones. [link]

You can imagine the intrigue if Modi does not win by a comfortable margin (say, around 110 seats). Gujarat will rapidly devolve into a Goa or a Karnataka.

A news item that didn't get much attention

ARARIA: A local court on Saturday framed charges against Union minister Mohd Taslimuddin and two others in connection with an over two decade old case.

First class judicial magistrate S N Jha framed charges against Taslimuddin, Union minister of state for agriculture and consumer affairs, under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document and 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. [link]

Boy, that's some heavy duty chargesheet.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar, the Union Minister for Agriculture who also doubles up as BCCI chief narrowly escaped charges of scalping tickets of India-Pakistan cricket match.

In any case, Congress stands by its commitment to the social sector. So, no worries.

The Other Gandhis

Questions to ask before giving away prime real estate

GFI Executives at a Government Conference at Bombay

Recently the Maharashtra Government concluded an MoU with the Bahrain based Gulf Finance House, a leading Islamic Investment Bank, for the establishment of an EDZ. The project involves acquisition of 1600 acres of land along the Bombay-Pune expressway and developing infrastructure into four economic cities: energy, telecom, software and entertainment. These "cities" will then be presumably leased out to companies wishing to set up shop. The entire project cost is estimated at $10.28B and the project is expected to be completed in about 5 years.

Whatever is happening in the SEZ business, transparency is certainly not a key feature. Just like in the case of West Bengal, the details are very sketchy. While one need not get paranoid just because a company from an Islamic country is investing, there are some questions worth asking upfront to avoid headache later.

From the bank's website:

Established on 16 October 1999 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, GFH derives its strength from its commitment to the Islamic Sharia'a philosophy of wealth management and a well-defined and broad-based portfolio of investments spread across three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. With a paid up capital of US$ 239 million and an authorized capital of US$ 300 million, GFH has positioned itself at the cutting edge of the rapidly expanding international Islamic banking industry. During its seven years of operations, GFH has successfully launched projects and investments with an aggregate final value exceeding US$12 billion.

It must be noted that the Bank is a relatively puny player when compared to global banks. The bank has made no investment so far outside of the Gulf region. The bank has raised $630 so far for the project, the equity issue was oversubscribed and attracted wealthy investors from West Asia. The investment in the project will be almost equal to the bank's total investments since its inception.

It is not clear whether other investors were invited to bid for the project. This is prime land we are talking about and includes the area near the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. While the Maharashtra government is thumping its chest by saying that it didn't have to invest anything in the project, they are certainly not counting the enormous administrative cost, the cost of the airport and ancilliary facilities etc. Most surprisingly, Maharashtra Government will have NO equity in the project.

It is worth asking if the Bank intends to impose restrictions for Sharia compliance. For instance, whether the bank will enforce a dress code on its employees that runs counter to the spirit of our constitution.

Meltdown on an Air Canada flight

Viewer discretion strongly advised. No details available.

12 Days to Christmas

Random entries from the itinerary book of Hon'ble President of the Secular Socialist Democratic Republic of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Nov 30 - Dec 12, 2007.

Dec 13: President Pratibha Patil on Thursday called for minimum housing facilities for workers engaged in construction of houses.

Dec 12: On Wednesday, The Nepali Army (NA) chief General Rookmangud Katawal received the honorary title of Indian Army’s General from Indian President Pratibha Patil at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said that the proposed new airport being built at Amravati is not for her convenience, but is part of the Maharashtra State Government’s initiatives for the development of the Vidarbha region.

Dec 11:

Dec 10: President Pratibha Patil today called for empowerment of women and protection of their rights for a progressive and stable society. On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Patil termed human dignity as the backbone of human rights.

Dec 9: All roads led to 10, Janpath, for Congress workers and party activists Sunday as they made a beeline to greet party chief Sonia Gandhi on her 61st birthday with good wishes, singing, dancing and laddoos. One of the first to greet the party president was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who drove to her house early in the morning. President Pratibha Patil sent in a bouquet with greetings.

Hun Sen, who arrived in India on Friday, was given a ceremonial reception on Saturday, which was followed by a meeting with India's Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee, President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari.

Dec 8: The President Pratibha Patil today sought the creation of a network of non-governmental organisations which will create awareness among people about social issues."There should be a network of NGOs in society which should work towards creating awareness about social issues," she said addressing chairpersons of state social welfare boards.

Dec 7: Armed Forces Flag Day was observed today throughout the country. The day is observed to remember the sacrifices made by our gallant servicemen in defending the integrity of our motherland and salute the martyrs, honour the brave and express solidarity and support towards welfare of widows, children, disabled and sick ex-servicemen. On the occasion the Director General Resettlement (DGR) Maj Gen SG Chatterji went around pinning Armed Forces Flag on the President Smt Pratibha Patil, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and the Service Chiefs.

Dec 6: President Pratibha Patil has appointed a woman officer to head the Central Railway (CR), the country's oldest and second largest zonal railway network headquartered here.

Dec 5: President Pratibha Patil has formally consented to the appointment of Mr. Graf as the first Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangalore for Karnataka and Kerala.

President Pratibha Patil appointed A C Arumuga Perumal Adityan, P Murgesen, Sabapath Tamilvanan and M Jeyapaul as permanent judges of the Madras High Court, in the order of seniority, with effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.

Dec 4: The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday called on President Pratibha Patil here and discussed issues related to national and international importance.A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said the meeting lasted for a little less than an hour during which the Prime Minister also briefed the President about his recent visit to Singapore and Uganda.

Dec 3: Calling for universalisation of education for specially abled children, President Pratibha Patil today said there is a need to train teachers who provide education to children with disabilities. "We have to provide the right kind of teaching-learning environment, material in accessible format and barrier-free schools (to specially abled)," Patil said while presenting national awards for the empowerment of persons with disabilities and realising postal stamp.

Dec 2: A Bahrain parliamentary delegation returned after a four-day visit to India yesterday, with a pledge to continue benefiting from the long experience of Indian democracy."The strength of Indo-Bahrain ties was reflected in the way we were welcomed by the Indian leaders, starting with President Pratibha Patil," Mr Al Dhahrani said.

Dec 1: The AGP today demanded the resignation of chief minister Tarun Gogoi for the Beltola carnage. AGP (Progressive) president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta met President Pratibha Patil and home minister Shivraj Patil in Delhi to seek central intervention.

Nov 30: Within hours of President Pratibha Patil giving her assent to the controversial AIIMS Amendment Bill, the health ministry late Friday replaced P. Venugopal as director and appointed T.D. Dogra in his place.

* * *

On December 13, 2001, five gunmen infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels. Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured.

The main accused Afzal, who was awarded a death sentence, awaits the President's decision on his mercy plea.

Visual Quiz: How are these objects related?

The card comes out

Who knew the bugger was such a crybaby? We thought where he comes from they burn down newspaper offices if they don't like what gets reported.

First he wanted attention, so he got it. Now that he got the attention, he doesn't like what's being reported. So he does what he does best, plays the trump card that usually settles all debate in socialist India.

Caste angle in school shooting must be investigated

It is ironical that India's first incidence of high school shooting happened in a school with the name of "Euro International". That is not to suggest that Europe has any chance of catching up with the US in this regard.

The incident is indeed very tragic and had it not been for the Gujarat elections, we would already see the American gun control debate imported into India, just like anything and everything from the American liberal playbook is directly incorporated into the Indian political debate by our leading news channels, however absurd or irrelevant it might be.

Is this incident an outlier? Will we see a lot more of school shootouts? Common sense suggests otherwise. As a matter of fact, the best response to this incident would be to ignore it. Don't splash it on the media 24x7. High school bullying is a fact. If indeed high school bullying led to this, we will see some copycat action pretty soon.

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, can we really ignore the caste angle of the shooting incident? Is it possible that the constant casteist rhetoric is taking a toll on young and impressionable minds?

As a side point it may be noted that the chairman of this so called elite school happens to be a Yadav, just like the chief perpetrator, the angst ridden young man who committed this fatal act of youthful folly. Whether or not these facts (access to school, socio-economic indicator, gun licenses) matter in the larger scheme of things is another issue altogether.

Hate us, call us names, but candle light vigils is not going to fix this, nor will bashing capitalism. Just like 60 years of intellectual overload hasn't fixed any of our country's problems.

The lyrical one

The living martyr
The living martyrs are awakening
And Kafirs world seem to be shaking
let us make jihad
move to the front line
to chop chop head off Kafir swine

How to behead
It's not as messy or as hard as some may think.
It's all about the flow of the wrist.
Sharpen the knife to its maximum.
And before you begin to cut the flesh,
Tilt the fool's head to its left.
Saw the knife back and forth.
No doubt that the punk will twitch and scream,
But ignore the donkey's ass,
And continue to slice back and forth.
You'll feel the knife hit the wind and food pipe.
But don't stop.
Continue with all your might.
About now you should feel the knife vibrate.
You can feel the warm heat being given off.
But this is due to the friction being caused.

Kafirs, your time will come soon,
and no one will save you from the doom!

Random facts

1. According to the Venezuelan central bank, the GINI coefficient of Venezuela has risen from 44.1 in 2000 to 48 in 2005.

2. Hugo Chavez recently lost the referendum on massive constitutional changes which would give him unlimited powers.

3. Chavez, Ahmedinejad, Buddhadeb and Castro are bum pals.

Vote secular for a return to Gandhian values

By now you must have heard that Tamil Nadu is Florida (minus Jeb Bush) while Gujarat is an extremely poor state. Also, not everyone in Gujarat has a 64" Plasma Television (a problem Congress plans to mitigate partially).There have been at a minimum half a dozen special reports on a "Vibrant Gujarat". When the host starts with - is Gujarat really a vibrant state? you have pretty much figured out what's coming.

Gujarat is apparently not shining as brightly as Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh. Yes! There are farmer suicides too! Now, don't go around asking for detailed stat. Please. It doesn't work that way.

In any case, just a few interesting reports:

In debt ridden Vidharbha, a 30-year-old woman, forced by her husband's suicide and extreme poverty, has replaced her bullock for ploughing her fields herself. It's a moving resemblance to the Hindi film Mother India, now played by Leelabai Devkar. Her 11-year-old daughter, ironically named Lakshmi, is sharing the burden. Leelabai's ageing father-in-law is guiding the plough behind them. [link]

Shankar Dabe Rao, a cotton farmer in Maharshtra's Buldhana District has been forced to fill in for one of his bullocks, which was washed away in the recent floods. The water took with it not just the bull, which was bought with borrowed money, but also Shankar's crops, his only source of income to re-pay the loan. And to break this cycle of ever increasing debt, Shankar says, he had no choice but to take the place of his bull and ask his 72-year-old father to help him plough the field. [link]

This is the hard reality of rural India, 10-year-olds replacing oxen to plough fields. The situation is so desperate that there is no dearth of human ploughs. In Sahpur village of Vaishali district, Bihar, small children are ploughing croplands belonging to Union Rural Development Minister, Raghubansh Prasad Singh. The man who supervises their job is the minister's younger brother, Raghuraj Prasad Singh. "If they fall ill, we will get them treated, but the work in these fields will be done by children only. If not these, then there will be others to take their place. But what is the solution to all this?" says Raghuraj. [link]

So, the Union Rural Development Minister's bro is asking for a solution to using 10-year olds as cattle. Think Mr. Modi may have an answer to that?

Sorry if we have annoyed you with boring details. We have more interesting stuff, so hang in there!

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra state administration is gearing up to develop the infrastructural facilities in Amravati, the hometown of President Pratibha Patil's husband.

"We expect that she may visit Amravati around five times a year and we are looking at strengthening the existing infrastructure, including airport and rail network, to facilitate her arrival and stay," Minister of State for Finance Sunil Deshmukh said. The existing airstrip at Amravati is 2,200 m whereas the length of the runway for her plane to land will be around 3,200 m," Deshmukh said.

Amravati in Vidarbha region is hometown of Patil's husband and former Mayor of the city, Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat. [link]

Of course, we can't simply let our first Citizen to not have world class facilities when she visits her Sasural, can we? Sure, there will be detractors.

"Vidarbha and Amravati has lakhs of families in deep distress. Over 3,000 families have been affected by farmer suicides. But the state government is not spending Rs 50 crore for food security but is ready to spend Rs 400 crore for a new airport. This is very unfortunate. We will talk to Pratibha tai and then take to the roads," Tiwari said.

Curiously though, from all accounts Amravati seems like a podunk with about 5 Lakh people. It is not like investors are scrambling to be there or anything like that. The place does not even have drainage facilities (Madam's husband was mayor), according to some folks. As a matter of fact, the place does seem to have an airport. Amravati is in fact only 3 hours away from the Nagpur airport.

As far as development goes, Solapur is a better candidate for infrastructure upgrade. More industrialized, higher population (8 Lakhs) and closer to Bombay. Also, you got to read this report about the Solapur airport to believe it!

We were somewhat astonished at this develoment. While we do agree that our Prez needs an exclusive personal airport, the whole plan of Rs. 400 crores seemed like an overkill. A careful recap of the presidential election and a light bulb went on. The thing is, there are still some skeletons in our Madam President's family closet that can stumble out during these election times and cause unnecessary hassles and indigination. Rs. 400 crore worth of work can do wonders to the motivation of supporters. Heck, forget motivation, for that kinda money, half of Amravati will swear in front of the supreme court that all those things were vicious Hindutva lies.

We just hope someone takes an inventory of the Rashtrapati Bhavan silverware before it's too late.

Saving the best bit for the last

At the time of writing, the lead story on the award (best Congress mouthpiece two years in a row) winning CNN-IBN website reports a certain film by one Subhradeep Chakraborty. Now, the question is, what merits a lead story? Was the film released today? The incident in question is over 3-years old, an allegedly fake encounter killing that happened on June 15, 2004. Now here is the timeline:

June 12, 2004: Girl from poor family skips out of her Mumbai residence, stating that "she was meeting friends", "she was going for an interview" in the various versions.

June 15, 2004: Girl dead in an Indica car in Ahmedabad. Co-passenger - one Mr. Pranesh Kumar Pillai alias Javed Gulam Sheikh (businessman from Bombay) and two Pakistani citizens.

Sometime in 2004: Indian media reports that an LeT website claims that Ishrat Jahan was a member of their outfit. Counter reports claim that the website is fake and put up by Gujarat police. Yet another counter report: website more than two years old, hence it is out of question of being a Gujarat police plant.

12 May, 2007: The alleged LeT website issues an apology that the author had been sick and hence did not have time to correct the mistaken story of the alleged link of the slain girl with LeT. Also issues disclaimer - the site has no link with LeT. Blames Indian media of sensationalism. As far as apologies go, it sure took a long time, but as they say, better late than never.

Between 2004 and 2007, various dates: Modi bashing, Hindu baiting, secular indignation, minority anger, editorials.

But - no mention of rape - SO FAR.

10 December, 2007 (day before Gujarat state assembly election): CNN-IBN lead story claims that Ishrat Jahan's sister claimed that Ishrat had been "shot between her legs", which indicates she must have been raped.

We don't know what the truth is. A girl from Bombay ending up with a man with two names and two Pakistanis in the same car in Ahmedabad is pretty strange. The thing is, India is being overwhelmed by an unprecedented media blitzkrieg. While the law caps election expenditures, it is clear that we have seen nothing like the amount of money and manpower being poured in these elections. Of course the indirect campaign by the media and NGOs does not count. There is something about rape that stirs up primal emotions like no other. During the Sikh insurgency there was this story making rounds of a 16-year old girl having been "interrogated" in a police station all night long. Apparently it is being claimed that Sohrabuddin's wife Kausar Bi had been raped before being killed, although her body was found to have been burnt. The various accounts of the Godhra incident has a tea stall owner's daughter pulled into the compartment, an 18-year old passenger being abducted by Kar Sevaks etc. Even Sonia Gandhi claimed on her campaign trail that incidents of rape are on the rise in Gujarat. Now, three years later, we discover, just the day before Gujarat elections that a 19-year old girl who was shot more than 3-years ago had also been raped. As if fake encounter killings aren't bad enough by themselves.

Malaysia: Where they have first claim on resources

A typical Hindu Temple in Malaysia

US congress-appointed panel has called for Malaysia to do more to protect sacred places and bring an end to alleged discrimination faced by the country's religious minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom cited the destruction of Hindu temples as a particular cause for concern and urged the Bush administration to raise the matter with Malaysia's government.

The commission's comments follow a protest last month by thousands of ethnic Indians against what they say are discriminatory policies by the Malaysian government in favour of the majority ethnic Malays. The protest in Kuala Lumpur was broken up by police using tear gas and water cannon and several protest organisers have been arrested.

The Hindu Rights Action Task Force, the group which organised the rally, says an average of one Hindu temple is being demolished every three weeks. (Source: Al Jazeera)

Sir, would you like some Nasi Lemak with that secularism?

Updated Stats

Graphic: Percentage of time party in power since independence

India Human Development Index Rank: 128 (out of 177) and falling.

Once again Gujarat is to blame.

Previous

Let's talk after Afzal is pardoned

So we have come full circle in the paradigm of social justice. Ramadoss the junior wants to send Doctors to rural areas. Doctors dig in their heels. Ramadoss the senior smirks. How come beneficiaries of reservation do not want to give it back to the society? Well, tough luck oldie.

The scheme that was supposed to foster equality is actually creating a whole new set of differential expectations. So beware.

In terms of speed to market, Ramadoss the junior created a record of sorts. From tabling the bill to signing into law of the land by our political president, the provision for 65-year age limit for AIIMS directors spent merely a couple of days in not so suspended animation.

1. Ramadoss tables bill.
2. MPs say aye.
3. Prez signs bill.
4. Venugopal ousted.
5. New director appointed.

All within a week. What's the big deal? Well, just the selection part usually takes days if not weeks or months.

But we digress. The point is, social justice is paramount, either way you look at it. Ordinary people or aam aadmi if you like, do not get Z-class security. It is not funny when shrapnel hits you in the stomach. Say you are eating chat with your family at a popular joint:

You: I don't feel so good in my stomach.
Family Member 1: Must be indigestion. Just take an antacid pill when we get home.
Family Member 2: Run!
You: Wait for me while I pick up my intestines!

We can't say if Afzal is guilty. In fact, we are betting on innocent. So many intellectuals couldn't possibly be wrong.

So, why not pardon this poor man? All it takes is a signature (step 3). Our Prez can casually sign it while watching Chak De with Shah Rukh Khan. Yet Afzal must spend an indeterminate amount of time incarcerated, hanging in limbo (not that hanging you fools). Can you let this monstrous violation of human rights take place right before your eyes and talk about "social justice"?

Two places

India slips two places to a rank of 128 on the UN Human Development Index. This does not come as a surprise - we are used to such numbers and statistics shoved at our faces. We have come to expect India to win barely one or two medals at the Olympics every four years. A fiery editorial castigating us for our greed shows up on almost every newspaper every other day.

Yet, there is something disconcerting about this. In 2004 we were told that India was not shining. In fact, India was stinking. Poverty was rampant, so was social inequity. Then they came back with their schemes and plans. We made feeble protests. We were called names. They claimed that they would fix India once and for all. Bridge the rural-urban divide, make our society more equitable, provide better opportunities for the needy. Social justice became our mantra.

But in 2007 India slips in Human Development Index ranking. Two places.

Communists on the moon

More here.

Freedom to bend over

Stewardess hopefuls for the upcoming Beijing '08 Olympics
practice properly bending over. Among numerous other
measures to beautify the city: no fat or bald Taxi drivers allowed.

So Nandigram happened and then Taslima happened too. We raised our eyebrows and went back to our business - knowing fully well that some sort of rational explanation will surely be provided by our intellectuals. Then the commie brigade issued a statement of sorts. Apparently one of them subsequently withdrew her signature from the statement. Since then, they issued a clarification to the original statement. This is very confusing and over dramatic, so much fuss when they can simply issue a statement: we are left and you are wrong.

Meanwhile, CNN-IBN hosted many shows on the Taslima Nasreen fiasco. They called the riotous mob at Calcutta and elsewhere that were demanding Taslima's scalp: religious "right wingers". Alliance opportunity for BJP? In these shows, they invited a host of politicians who almost unanimously agreed that Taslima Nasreen must be thrown out of the country.

We also had the privilege having no less than the Goddess herself on Devil's Advocate. Talk about missed opportunities - Karan Thapar didn't ask any question related to freedom of expression in communist regimes. We don't blame him, Thapar looked positively flabbergasted by the rambling, incoherent mutterings of Roy.

Arundhati Roy: Well, neither. She does not have any choices. She is just like a person who has now got the protection of the mafia which is the state in some way. She has nowhere to go. She has no protection. She just has to blunder her way through this kind of humiliation and I really feel for her.

Karan Thapar: You used an interesting phrase. You said she has to blunder her way through this humiliation. Was withdrawing those three pages, admittedly under pressure, a blunder?

Arundhati Roy: I don’t know.

* * *

Karan Thapar: So you're saying that given the fact that many people are vulnerable, freedom of speech for them should have no caveats, it should be absolute and that’s their only protection?

Arundhati Roy: I think so because if you look at the facts, you have outfits like VHP or the Bajrang Dal or the CD that the BJP produced during the UP elections, you see that they do what they want to do. The powerful always do what they want to do. It is the powerless and the vulnerable that need free speech.

* * *

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you some of the things that she said, not from Dwikhandito, but from an interview she gave to Anthony McIntyre, The Blanket in 2006. She says, [...] To me that sounds as if it goes perhaps beyond a simple critique and into deliberate provocation.

Arundhati Roy: It sounds like Donald Rumsfeld or some Christian fundamentalist.

* * *

Karan Thapar: Aren't you evading my point? You’re questioning what is meant by modernity and education but you and I know that the levels of sophistication in terms of being able to handle offence to your religion or criticism of your God vary hugely.

Arundhati Roy: What I am saying is that level of sophistication is far better in rural areas than urban areas.

Karan Thapar: You mean that rural Indians are better able to take criticism of Ram or Allah?

Arundhati Roy: If you look at the kind of riots in rural and urban areas, you’ll see that, historically.

* * *

Karan Thapar: So you really do believe, when you use phrases like the deep state that there was a conspiracy, even though we don’t fully understand it, to deflect attention from Nandigram to Taslima and to perhaps put her in a position where under pressure she was forced to leave and the government didn’t actually have to physically throw her out?

Arundhati Roy: I wouldn't use the word conspiracy [...] No one ever gets to the bottom of anything. It is always like, who benefits, why did this happen now. I would like to know, why it happened now.

We would very much like to know too, but so far the interview provided few clues, except there were some hints that BJP or Donald Rumsfeld may be involved.

Karan Thapar: [...] Now you're saying that there was almost Machiavellian intent, not a conspiracy but a Machiavellian intent behind the way they have played this game out?

Arundhati Roy: You are making it sound like I have a very deep insight.

Karan Thapar: No, you have a deep distrust and a huge suspicion.

Arundhati Roy: That's true [...]

So far, she managed to avoid any references to a certain religion. For that we had to wait a little longer.

Arundhati Roy: [...] Sure it's tough to take the kind of things she said about Islam but she should be put in her place, intellectually and otherwise. Not like this where she will become a martyr to somebody else.

To get the stunning insight we have come to expect from Madame, we had to wait till the very end of the interview. So, it became a punchline of sort:

Karan Thapar: What's your advice to Taslima Nasreen?

Arundhati Roy: I really don't have any advice. I feel very bad for her because, let me say this, her’s is actually the tragedy of displacement. Once, she has been displaced from her home. She has no rights.

There you have it folks! It is a problem of displacement. Doesn't ring a bell? Narmada Dam? Diaplaced people? Get it?

* * * Standing Ovation * * *

No Ghoonghat! Wow!

Public Service Announcement

If you are a Gujarat based BPL (below poverty line) person and reading this blog, please be advised that should Congress win the assembly elections, you will get a free color TV so that you can watch on CNN-IBN why you should have voted for them in the first place.

That is all.

All about Malaysia

You will be happy to know that obscenity charges against this singer have been dropped by the Malaysian moral police. You couldn't really fault Malaysian authorities when in our own backyard artists like Khushboo are continuously hounded.

Yet, there is a sign that conservatism is on the rise in Malaysia.

In August, pop star Gwen Stefani was told to dress "modestly" for a concert after the National Union of Malaysia Muslim Students protested on the grounds that she would bring an "American hegemonic background," said the group's president, Hilmi Ramli. Last month, singer Beyonce Knowles canceled her Nov. 1 debut concert in Malaysia. [..]

Authorities have required Malaysian rock stars to cut their hair or forfeit the opportunity to appear on TV or radio, and frequently remind Malaysians of the consequences for openly addressing "sensitive" issues such as race and religion. In 2005, the standards were extended to foreign performers, who were required to be covered from shoulder to knees and prohibited from hugging or kissing fellow artists or audience members, jumping or shouting, cursing, or exchanging objects with the audience.

"They have to dress decently ... and behave in a manner appropriate in Malaysia," said Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim. [link]

Student groups are very active supporters of these measures. As Rushdie said in his book Midnight's Children, it is funny that in these cultures students actually clamor for more control!

Of course, none of this really concerns us and according to some, shouldn't concern us. Alas, if only everyone accepted this dictum of national boundaries and statehood vs. identity. We have a situation where if a butterfly flutters its wings anywhere, we get into trouble. There is a pattern and predictability to these things, for instance, all the bloggers protesting against the crackdown on ethnic Hindus are actually ethnic Chinese.

Yeah, okay, calling the economic and social hardships of Malaysian Indian society an "ethnic cleansing" isn't exactly the smartest thing in the world you could do, because 1) no one will take you seriously, and 2) it only offers the Government free ammunition. (Re: Tian Chua.) Also, the people of Darfur would like to have a word with you. It was an outrageous statement, and the Hindraf leaders can't possibly be stupid enough to believe it.

But at the same time... it worked, didn't it? Hindraf's been around since, what, May? Now, I haven't been in Malaysia since February, but I seriously doubt most people even heard of Hindraf. (I did, but never heard from them again.) They were about as effective as, well, a Malaysian opposition, really. [link]

Before coming to the ethnic cleansing claims, one more from the same blogger:

Everyone's dodging the real issue, of course: that Indians have been fucked around more than any other race in Malaysian history. Don't give me that nonsense about how other races have it bad too - no one has it as bad as the Malaysian Indians. It's not even up for debate. The Malays have the bumi thing going for them. The Chinese have the business world practically locked up. (Yes, I'm generalising here. Doesn't make it less true.) What do the Indians have? They don't even have opportunities. (Again, generalising, but you get the idea by now.) So let's not pretend that "we're all suffering equally". [emphasis in original]

However, none of this is surprising or new. It is hardly surprising that only the ethnic Chinese will support the Hindus in Malaysia, just as it isn't surprising that the Chinese will not have too much problems in Malaysia. First of all, ethnic Chinese people control all the powerful and economically advanced states in the region - China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. If Malays mess with Chinese they will get their ass kicked all over South China Sea. What is important is how strongly the Malaysian Government reacted to the allegations of ethnic cleansing:

In a statement reflective of the growing tension in Malaysia over ethnic clashes, the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Sunday offered to resign if the allegation of ethnic cleansing of Indian Tamils was proved. Outraged at the allegations levelled against his government by a local Hindu group, Badawi said the statements were aimed at dividing Malaysia. "I rarely get angry but this time I am very angry and this is something I cannot accept," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. [link]

This is merely the PR front, action is being taken behind the scenes as well. The Government has ordered the detention of Hindraf leaders. Contrast this with the allegations of genocide in India and the reaction of our people friendly Government.

Whether we can support Hindraf or not, we should be thankful to them for forcing an objective evaluation of terms such as genocide, pogrom etc., which are being thrown around too casually for far too long.

Sagarika Begum's folly

Every time they recover from tough political situations and go back to their usual routine of H-bashing, our liberal intellectuals get another one thrown at their teeth. Since encashable incidents are hard to come by, they have to manufacture different types of shows, TV programs, seminars etc. to keep old issues alive.

The Taslima Nasreen issue has opened up like a bad boil too painful to be ignored but not yet ripe enough to be squeezed. Like most other issues, the intellectuals have taken a compare and contrast approach to this. Of course the control incident in this case is that of M F Hussain, the lecherous dude and a potential stalker of film star Madhuri Dixit (he bought all the tickets at a theatre for a show of Aaja Nachle in UAE - almost reason enough to keep him away).

Now, there are several ways to deal with the Taslima fiasco. We understand the political leanings and compulsions of CNN-IBN. They could simply report it as news, without resorting to analysis. That would be an honorable escape. They could even report it and as a footnote mention the fascist threat to Hussain - thus maintaining a semblance of neutrality.

Instead, CNN-IBN, spearheaded by their star reporter Sagarika Ghose, has embarked on a campaign of bizarre rationalization of the issue. It is quite obvious that Sagarika Ghose is way out of her depth and knowledge of the issue she is dealing with. To rationalize something, you gotta have a sound knowledge of it. She does vaguely understand the dangers of treading too far:

Can a religious tradition, which is as great and magnificent as Islam be damaged by something written by a writer? Whether it's the Danish cartoons or this Taslima case, can they really damage a centuries-old religion? [link]

Quite obviously the participants went round and round instead of answering her. Perhaps Mr. Owaisi has the answer to her in this video. Watch the last portion, Owaisi not only rejects Taslima's withdrawal of certain pages from her book, but confidently suggests that Taslima will surely make mischief in future as well.

Sagarika has obstinately refused to call a spade a spade. Contrast this with the unambiguous and intense criticism meted out to other parties. BJP has been excoriated for no uncertain terms in the past. As a matter of fact, most reports of Taslima coverage starts with BJP bashing. For instance, BJP capitalizing on Taslima controversy etc. Is that really the central issue here? Also to be noted, a complete insulation of Congress from all these controversies.

She also hosted a chat with readers. Here are some of her comments from the chat (strangely titled The issue isn't Taslima, the issue is freedom, raising deep metaphysical questions):

Freedom of expression does have its limits and the limits are generally laid down by the Indian Constitution when it comes to public actions and speeches but when it comes to art, I believe that freedom is absolute.

As Nehru said, freedom is indivisible. (Ed. If the dude believed in it, he certainly didn't practice it - several books critical of Nehru were banned and still remain banned).

Taslima the individual is not that important, but what she represents IS of great importance. (Ed. Ayn Rand fans will have something to say about this)

A number of Muslims have spoken out on the need for her to stay in India: there are many liberal and moderate Muslims who oppose the fundamentalist forces within their own community very strongly. (Ed. Example please?)

Protests against artists are all politically organised. If you went to an exhibition and saw a painting of a nude Saraswati, what would you do? Immediately lead a morcha against the artist and start screaming for his murder? No, right? (Ed. Could an equivalent rhetorical question about other religions be asked by the host?)

Husain does not just face legal cases: many groups have issued death threats on him, said they want to gouge out his eyes and behead him. I wish such anger was reserved for the corrupt and the criminal, not directed at those who harmlessly paint pictures or write books. (Ed. Encounter killing? Hmmm)

I think religion only becomes stronger is artists are free to question it in whatever way they want.

Democracy is not only about casting votes. It is about abiding by certain values: values of social equality, artistic freedom, engagement in civil society, and participating in public life. Sitting secluded in our own homes, trapped by suspicions about everybody is not democratic behaviour. (Ed. Must she spoil it all by throwing in such plebeian stuff with alarming regularity?)

The best Sagarika can hope for is for the issue to tide over so that she can go back to Gujarat election covering. She can rationalize or right-size the issue in her mind and feel justified in her political belief, but her rationalizations will not be acceptable to those they are targeted at.