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.