Monday, March 25, 2013

Terror and Entertainment

Hello citizens. Apologies for the delay in posting this article. In these past 25 days, a lot of incidents have transpired, which makes me question our legislative and judiciary. First to one of the most recent topic of conversation- Sanjay Dutt's sentencing. Sanjay Dutt was convicted and sentenced to 5 years jail for possession of illegal firearms. He had weapons which had been procured from one of the most dangerous dons in Mumbai, at the time of the 1993 serial bombings. He served 18 months in jail, and is out on parole since 2007. Now that he has been told to complete the rest of his time in jail i.e. three and a half years, there is a huge outcry asking for him to be pardoned. Bollywood actors, his fans, Congress' Digvijay Singh, and also former CJI Markandey Katju (?!) have come out in his support. Though Sanjay Dutt has certainly done good films and tried to reform himself, he should not be spared prison only because of his status and political clout. That Markandey Katju should even contemplate an official pardon for a proven criminal is a shame for the country. If people who commit such serious crimes are let off the hook for such frivolous reasons, then we will lose hope in the judiciary, one of the least corrupt organs of the State. It is a great shame that the courts took 20 years to deal justice. One of the accused died in that period. And people in high posts support Sanjay Dutt - that is nothing if not preferential treatment. Any other guy in his shoes would be on the death row right now.

Please, don't mix terror, crime, entertainment and acting talent. That mash-up even Bollywood won't try. If it had happened, who knows, the terror organisations we know might have become the FBI (Filmi Bombs of India) and Bollywood might have become Bollyboom. Picture this - An actor blows up a real building with real people, and some terror organisation calls it tasteful film-making. That wouldn't be fun, would it?

Next thing we know, Salman Khan gets married and has kids in order to impress Justice Katju. At least he would get away from the hassle of the hit-and-run and blackbuck-poaching cases. (Note: This joke is stolen from 'The Unreal Times' satire website. I hope I don't get arrested for defaming the aforementioned actor.)

And finally -

Justice Katju, you have disappointed me.




Friday, March 1, 2013

The Non-Resident Indian

Non-Resident Indian - Today, when I was reading the newspaper, I saw the word NRI mentioned 28 times. 28 times, and that was it different articles. One of them mentioned that the government was receiving an amount that ran into millions from people who did not live in their homeland. This amount was sent in order to help their families staying in India. And the government encouraged this and thanked them.
I see this as a failure of the system, where the government itself cannot take care of its people, and the citizens have to go abroad for job opportunity. India has one of the world's largest population in the age of 20 to 30, meaning it has a large labour force and human resources. But why are our people forced to emigrate. Why do they then hesitate to return to their own country? This again is food for thought.

We, in childhood are told that if we study well and sincerely, we can go abroad like our cousins and other relatives. Why is it that we are never told that we'll grow up to make a better country? The idea that other countries are the ideal countries for living is drilled into our heads.

All I have to say is, by encouraging our young and talented minds to go abroad, we are, as the Hindi phrase goes, 'hitting our own foot with a hammer'. India needs its bright minds, today more than ever. We need intelligent politicians who work for the country.

Please, don't encourage your children to go abroad. We need them. Our generation will bring change. Whether good or bad, that depends on the availability of talent.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Of Asaram Bapus, Mohan Bhagwats and 'India and Bharat'

Who is responsible for rape? Drunkards, chauvinists and the like? If our most venerable and idiotic saint Asaram 'Bapu' is to be believed, its the victim's silence. She should call her assaulter 'Bhaiya' i.e. brother. Then, according to him, this would have melted the molester's heart and he would stop raping the woman. Really, Mr Asaram? If what you say is true, then:

" And then Draupadi said to Dusshasana: 'Bhaiya, please leave me alone' and the Mahabharata didn't happen and everybody lived happily forever."

You may wonder why I am saying all this so many days after the Delhi rape. This is because even though the whole nation rose up in anger over the case, the government took no action that was preventive, and now the issue itself has been overshadowed by the beheading of one of our brave jawans, allegedly by Pakistani soldiers along the LoC. 

Another "great visionary leader" of our country, Sir Mohan'ji' Bhagwat, says that rapes happen only in India (Urban) and not in Bharat (Rural). He says Westernisation has destroyed our morals. Then, why, Mr Bhagwat, do 80% of rapes happen in rural India, and western countries have a much lower number of rape cases?

 

Monday, January 7, 2013

The world's largest 'Democracy'

India - The World's Largest 'Democracy'
and
Questions of women's safety in it

India's the world's largest democracy, or so the government claims. What has gone unnoticed is that it is such a democracy where people are arrested for posting harmless cartoons against the so called representative of the people. The representative who is supposed to serve the people but instead has tons of bodyguards and servants. The representative who is supposed to have a salary of 20000-30000 rupees and yet travels first class (Air and rail) wherever he/she goes. A democracy where the president's son makes unforgivably sexist remarks, yet does not have the decency to apologize and his SISTER apologizes.A democracy where votes are not won by hard work and sincerity, but by lies, bribes and liquor. A country where all genders are supposed to be equal but women are blamed for heinous crimes against themselves. And we are the world's largest democracy. What a joke.

***

Recently, the nation surged in anger over the heinous rape and subsequent death of a New Delhi girl, christened Nirbhaya and Damini by various publications (Nirbhaya: Fearless ; Damini: Lightning). What is even more shocking is that even after the police discovered the victim and her friend, who had been badly hurt, on the roadside, they took their own time in taking them to the hospital, because they were arguing under whose jurisdiction the case would come. Such behavior  if not bad enough was further followed by misogynistic and chauvinistic comments of politicians and renowned people. The president's son (aforementioned) commented on the women protesting against the rape, calling them "dented and painted" women, who had come there to show off. Such an irresponsible comment in such a sensitive situation. The RSS Supremo, Mohan Bhagwat is even worse in his ideas. He thinks that marriage is a contract, and the woman is the contractual servant, while the husband is god. He says if women stay at home and perform menial tasks, they will stay safe. These statements betray a sense of chauvinism in the leader. If the husband is god, why do married men rape? If the woman is safe at home, what is domestic violence. Such questions invariably come up, and rightly so. What we need is modern leaders, not leaders with centuries old malpractices drilled into their heads. We need active leaders, not ones who blame each others' political parties. Until and unless this happens, the world's largest democracy will become something we all laugh at - a JOKE.

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Here's a picture for you all: