Benazir Bhutto is assassinated and Al Qaeda, allegedly, has claimed responsibility.
Post 9/11, the world was asked, by George Bush, to take sides - either you were with America or against it. The Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf chose to fall in line, when faced with this tricky situation and ever since has claimed he is USA's ally in the "War on Terror". So this meant, he was fighting Osama bin Laden, who was (still probably is) supposedly hiding in the remote Pakistan-Afghanistan border area. This much is common knowledge.
But Benazir's assassination raises some interesting questions.
- Why did Al Qaeda (or other jihadi groups) target Benazir, who was last Prime Minister in 1996 and who was not an ally of the U.S., and not Musharraf, who should have been an obvious choice for the terrorists? Oh, of course, there have been "attempts" on his life in the last few years, but nothing that seems as well-planned and determined as those on Benazir's. Which is highly suspicious.
- The USA has been providing huge financial aid to Pakistan post 9/11. Is part of this money being diverted back to jihadi groups, by Musharraf and the ISI? Is this Musharraf's insurance policy against Al Qaeda and other jihadi groups? Which means the man could be playing a double game with the USA and the terrorist groups thereby ensuring that both need him at the helm of affairs.
- Most chillingly, is the George Bush government aware of all this goings-on and still chooses to look the other way? After all, wars make so much sense to the American arms companies, (and indeed, to the American economy) particularly to the stakeholders of the companies, many of whom are part of the George Bush government.
If the American government played a role in getting Benazir back to Pakistan and in Musharraf announcing elections, why did they wait so long and not do this a few years ago? From an American perspective, a friendly dictator in power in a third-world country is sometimes more convenient than a potentially-troublesome, democratically-elected head of state. Is easier to push through dirty business deals, which many American arms/oil companies are past-masters at.
In any case, looks like Pervez Musharraf has played his last card in this very dangerous game to ensure he survives. Nawaz Sharif has been sidelined by the courts, Benazir has been killed. Who else is there, but him that would be acceptable to all, may be his line of thinking. Guess time will tell who is going be in control of this troubled nation, which terrifyingly, is a nuclear state.
The neighbourhood just got more dangerous.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Mylapore!
Earlier this year I visited Mylapore, an area that predates the city of Madras itself. Of course, I keep driving past the area every few days, but it's not the same as taking time off to explore this wonderful part of the city by foot. Matter of fact, shockingly, I had never done it before! :-(
Here are some pictures that I took.
View of the temple.
I decided to walk from the temple, right up to the Santhome Cathedral via the Chitrakulam area and Kutchery Road.This was a quaint old house on Kutchery Road surrounded by modern apartments and shops. I had driven on this road several times, but never noticed it. Amazing how much you get to see when you walk!!
Another really old building with an interesting architecture I had not noticed earlier... about 150-200 metres before the Santhome Cathedral traffic junction. Did not see a board, but painted on the archway is, presumably, the year of its construction - 1635!! A close-to-four-hundred year old building, and not too many people know about it!
The Santhome Cathedral, looks really nice with its fresh coat of paint and all.
The tomb of St. Thomas, who it is believed, is interred here. The place went through a major renovation a year or two ago. The approach is now from the basement of a building behind the Cathedral, so casual visitors interested in history can visit the tomb without disturbing regular churchgoers.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Disaster-in-the-making?
The Tata's one-lakh car project, which has promptly triggered off a mad rush amongst competitors to manufacture really cheap automobiles, is in my opinion, going to have disastrous consequences.
In an attempt to improve my feeble understanding of economics, and the way markets work the world over, I am currently reading an interesting book called The Undercover Economist, written by Tim Harford. In this book, apart from offering other fascinating insights, the author talks about how automobile owners (and of course, the automobile industry) impact the lives of people in general in a way that few other players in the global market do. Buying a car has a far greater, negative impact on the world, than say, when you buy a washing machine. In the latter transaction, your use of the machine doesn't really affect anyone else's life negatively, but with a car, you become responsible for:
India, with its poor infrastructure, is hardly ready for projects such as the Tata's. I shudder to think of how things will be on Indian roads, if there is no improvement in the public transport system, a few years from now!
Meanwhile, read this article by Thomas Friedman (author of that brilliant book, The World is Flat), on the same subject. As for myself, I think I will buy that bicycle that I have been wanting to for a while AND use it as often as I can!
In an attempt to improve my feeble understanding of economics, and the way markets work the world over, I am currently reading an interesting book called The Undercover Economist, written by Tim Harford. In this book, apart from offering other fascinating insights, the author talks about how automobile owners (and of course, the automobile industry) impact the lives of people in general in a way that few other players in the global market do. Buying a car has a far greater, negative impact on the world, than say, when you buy a washing machine. In the latter transaction, your use of the machine doesn't really affect anyone else's life negatively, but with a car, you become responsible for:
- causing pollution leading to health hazards which in turn lead to fatalities,
- creating traffic congestion leading to stress to all including those who do not own automobiles,
- making the world unsafe for pedestrians, especially the elderly and children etc.,
India, with its poor infrastructure, is hardly ready for projects such as the Tata's. I shudder to think of how things will be on Indian roads, if there is no improvement in the public transport system, a few years from now!
Meanwhile, read this article by Thomas Friedman (author of that brilliant book, The World is Flat), on the same subject. As for myself, I think I will buy that bicycle that I have been wanting to for a while AND use it as often as I can!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Indian Communist's ideology
I am intrigued by the events of Nandigram and the sudden violence that has rocked Kolkata due to the Taslima Nasreen controversy. The Communists ruling W.Bengal, it appears, are facing their biggest test yet in the last 30 years. Would be interesting to see how they handle it, although recent events seem to suggest they are losing it. And quite badly at that.
Let's see...the Communists world over pride themselves to be anti-capitalists, atheists and therefore, secular. This would automatically suggest that they would come down hard on fundamentalist groups. But they way the ruling party in W.Bengal has buckled under pressure to a little-known right-wing group suggests otherwise.
In India, the Communists follow a unique ideology. For example:
Let's see...the Communists world over pride themselves to be anti-capitalists, atheists and therefore, secular. This would automatically suggest that they would come down hard on fundamentalist groups. But they way the ruling party in W.Bengal has buckled under pressure to a little-known right-wing group suggests otherwise.
In India, the Communists follow a unique ideology. For example:
- They will be anti-American and oppose the central government's proposed nuclear deal with the USA, despite being a part of the government, but will send their representative to the "evil nation" to woo investors.
- In India, they will consistently attack large corporations, thereby keeping their vote bank intact, but will invite the very same organisations to set up shop in W.Bengal.
- They, along with sympathisers, will organise protest marches and dharnas against curtailing of religious freedom in Gujarat when right-wing goons rough up an artist for "hurting" religious sentiments. But will be conspicuously silent when Taslima Nasreen gets roughed up in Hyderabad by goons belonging to another religious outfit rough up and threaten to "behead" her if she comes to the city again.
- They will protest about the treatment of minorities in different parts of the country. But turn a blind eye when China, the world's largest communist country, tramples upon the rights of minority Tibetans and their aspirations for autonomy.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thugs in uniform
I read this news item in today's Deccan Chronicle where a city-based agent was threatened first, and then beaten up by goons sent by the company selling bottled-water. The crime? The man reported the company to the concerned authorities for not adhering to the required quality standards.
The newspaper reports that the company also owns a textile showroom in T.Nagar. Ahem, that clue is a certain give away and am sure, people Chennai citizens have heard how this showroom has routinely been in the news for roughing up customers, employees and others.
The victim's wife and daughter tried registering a complaint with the local police station, but predictably they were not entertained and were asked to settle the matter "amicably".
This reminds me of something I witnessed several months ago. My friend had recently moved into a new office space in T.Nagar...they had seen an ad in the newspaper for the office space. After a few days a couple of men, presumably brokers, came to the office and demanded that they be paid a "finders-fee" for the house. It so happened, these men had shown my friend's assistant an office space a few weeks earlier in a different locality and that was the only interaction this organisation had had with these guys. But they now wanted to be paid for a deal they had nothing to do with!
It was obvious that they were politically connected and they repeatedly visited the office demanding money. One day, when I was visiting my friend, a cop came over and claimed that these men had "registered a complaint" that they were not paid for their services. Again, very quickly it was obvious that the cop was there just to intimidate my friend and his colleagues into coughing up the money.
When I casually told the cop that he should check with the landlord if he had engaged the services of these men, he started getting a little more aggressive. He then said, if the money was not paid, there could be "problems". When I asked him politely, what "problems" he anticipated and from whom, he stood up abruptly and after muttering something about me being stubborn, he left.
Unfortunately, the episode did not end there. I later heard that my friend, tired of being intimidated in this fashion, went straight to the local police station and tried registering a complaint. And surprise, surprise, guess what they were told?? Well, simply to pay up, of course, and forget the matter!!
When policemen do this instead of upholding the law, one can't help thinking that many of them are just thugs in uniform. I am sure there are honest policemen out there, but they seem to be increasingly in the minority! Of course, this is not surprising in state where the police are nothing but pawns in the hands of the ruling party...much more than most other states in this country.
The newspaper reports that the company also owns a textile showroom in T.Nagar. Ahem, that clue is a certain give away and am sure, people Chennai citizens have heard how this showroom has routinely been in the news for roughing up customers, employees and others.
The victim's wife and daughter tried registering a complaint with the local police station, but predictably they were not entertained and were asked to settle the matter "amicably".
This reminds me of something I witnessed several months ago. My friend had recently moved into a new office space in T.Nagar...they had seen an ad in the newspaper for the office space. After a few days a couple of men, presumably brokers, came to the office and demanded that they be paid a "finders-fee" for the house. It so happened, these men had shown my friend's assistant an office space a few weeks earlier in a different locality and that was the only interaction this organisation had had with these guys. But they now wanted to be paid for a deal they had nothing to do with!
It was obvious that they were politically connected and they repeatedly visited the office demanding money. One day, when I was visiting my friend, a cop came over and claimed that these men had "registered a complaint" that they were not paid for their services. Again, very quickly it was obvious that the cop was there just to intimidate my friend and his colleagues into coughing up the money.
When I casually told the cop that he should check with the landlord if he had engaged the services of these men, he started getting a little more aggressive. He then said, if the money was not paid, there could be "problems". When I asked him politely, what "problems" he anticipated and from whom, he stood up abruptly and after muttering something about me being stubborn, he left.
Unfortunately, the episode did not end there. I later heard that my friend, tired of being intimidated in this fashion, went straight to the local police station and tried registering a complaint. And surprise, surprise, guess what they were told?? Well, simply to pay up, of course, and forget the matter!!
When policemen do this instead of upholding the law, one can't help thinking that many of them are just thugs in uniform. I am sure there are honest policemen out there, but they seem to be increasingly in the minority! Of course, this is not surprising in state where the police are nothing but pawns in the hands of the ruling party...much more than most other states in this country.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Making of a Criminal
This happened some 15 or so years ago. My neighbours had a watchman, presumably one of those young men from a village who came to the city in search of a better life. Like millions of other nameless men in this vast country. In fact, I didn't even know his name or get to know him during his brief tenure. The man had his meagre possessions in the garage and this is where he practically lived.
The man who owned the house had rented it out to a senior executive of a software firm and his family of wife and a small child. They were from N.India and didn't speak Tamil. The watchman, appointed by the landlord, knew no other language than Tamil.
There was an arrangement where the landlord's supervisor collected the rent and the watchman's salary from the tenant and in turn paid the watchman. Only problem was, this was never on time. The watchman was a taciturn fellow. He hardly spoke to too many people. But when he did speak to a few, he was heard complaining about the work timings and work conditions, and specifically about the delay in getting his wages which was paid as late as middle of the month or even later. One guesses that he came from a decent, although, poor family and I remember him to be quite a dignified man, quite unlike the kinds you see in the cities. He was unused to borrowing money and being a proud chap, went hungry, I was told, quite often, living practically on tea and biscuits while he waited for the supervisor to pay him. Which was, like I mentioned earlier, pretty erratic. (A lot of this information I got to know much later.)
One morning, I woke up to find some commotion in the neighbour's house. I knew they were away on a brief holiday and was surprised to find cops outside the house. There had apparently been a break-in and the watchman was missing. So were some jewels, cash and other valuables. The police took the fingerprints, registered the case and started the investigation.
Meanwhile, out of the blue, a couple of days later, the watchman returned! The police were summoned and he was questioned. The watchman said some men came in an autorickshaw late in the night of the robbery, threatened him at knife-point and robbed the house. He said, they then made him accompany them to the outskirts of the city and boarded a train and dropped him off several kilometres from the city. Since he didn't have any money he basically walked/hitchhiked his way back and hence the delay of 2 days!
The average Indian policeman, protected by the weak human rights laws that prevail in this country, of course has a way of treating people from the poorer sections of the society. They didn't believe his story and got a confession out of him after, I am sure, beating him black and blue. I heard that the fingerprints in the scene of the crime matched with his. Don't know about the jewels, cash etc., but I think they managed to get some back. Sure enough, they threw him jail and that was practically, it. No news about him thereafter and everyone involved in the incident went back to leading their normal lives.
But the irony is this. The chap was not a criminal to start with. He had no prior criminal record and was just a decent, but impoverished man, chasing a dream and a job who came to live in the city. He certainly did not take up a job as watchman so he could rob houses where he worked! As is evident, he did not have it in him to pull off a slick heist, and predictably enough he panicked after the enormity of his act dawned on him and returned hoping he could spin a fantastic yarn and get away with it. Of course, now he had a criminal record and whether he liked it or not, the society would treat him as such however hard he tried to, to use an old phrase, turn into a new leaf!
Driven by hunger and injustice thousands of people commit crimes in the heat of the moment, that they normally regret later. This man was one of them. Whose fault is it that he became a criminal?
The man who owned the house had rented it out to a senior executive of a software firm and his family of wife and a small child. They were from N.India and didn't speak Tamil. The watchman, appointed by the landlord, knew no other language than Tamil.
There was an arrangement where the landlord's supervisor collected the rent and the watchman's salary from the tenant and in turn paid the watchman. Only problem was, this was never on time. The watchman was a taciturn fellow. He hardly spoke to too many people. But when he did speak to a few, he was heard complaining about the work timings and work conditions, and specifically about the delay in getting his wages which was paid as late as middle of the month or even later. One guesses that he came from a decent, although, poor family and I remember him to be quite a dignified man, quite unlike the kinds you see in the cities. He was unused to borrowing money and being a proud chap, went hungry, I was told, quite often, living practically on tea and biscuits while he waited for the supervisor to pay him. Which was, like I mentioned earlier, pretty erratic. (A lot of this information I got to know much later.)
One morning, I woke up to find some commotion in the neighbour's house. I knew they were away on a brief holiday and was surprised to find cops outside the house. There had apparently been a break-in and the watchman was missing. So were some jewels, cash and other valuables. The police took the fingerprints, registered the case and started the investigation.
Meanwhile, out of the blue, a couple of days later, the watchman returned! The police were summoned and he was questioned. The watchman said some men came in an autorickshaw late in the night of the robbery, threatened him at knife-point and robbed the house. He said, they then made him accompany them to the outskirts of the city and boarded a train and dropped him off several kilometres from the city. Since he didn't have any money he basically walked/hitchhiked his way back and hence the delay of 2 days!
The average Indian policeman, protected by the weak human rights laws that prevail in this country, of course has a way of treating people from the poorer sections of the society. They didn't believe his story and got a confession out of him after, I am sure, beating him black and blue. I heard that the fingerprints in the scene of the crime matched with his. Don't know about the jewels, cash etc., but I think they managed to get some back. Sure enough, they threw him jail and that was practically, it. No news about him thereafter and everyone involved in the incident went back to leading their normal lives.
But the irony is this. The chap was not a criminal to start with. He had no prior criminal record and was just a decent, but impoverished man, chasing a dream and a job who came to live in the city. He certainly did not take up a job as watchman so he could rob houses where he worked! As is evident, he did not have it in him to pull off a slick heist, and predictably enough he panicked after the enormity of his act dawned on him and returned hoping he could spin a fantastic yarn and get away with it. Of course, now he had a criminal record and whether he liked it or not, the society would treat him as such however hard he tried to, to use an old phrase, turn into a new leaf!
Driven by hunger and injustice thousands of people commit crimes in the heat of the moment, that they normally regret later. This man was one of them. Whose fault is it that he became a criminal?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Dr. Abdul Kalam
Read this brilliant blog by Rajdeep Sardesai (written a few weeks ago) on why Dr. Abdul Kalam is going to be a tough act to follow!
In my opinion, if there is one reason why people should vote out this bunch of unprincipled charlatans that is ruling this country, then it should be for denying this man a much-deserved second term of Presidency.
In my opinion, if there is one reason why people should vote out this bunch of unprincipled charlatans that is ruling this country, then it should be for denying this man a much-deserved second term of Presidency.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Bittorrent and old Hollywood classics!
It's good to blog again after a gap of 3 weeks....
The last couple of months my wife and I have watched some great old Hollywood classics from the 1940's and 50's. All thanks to Bittorrent! For the uninitiated, Bittorrent is a great P2P (peer-to-peer) software that allows you to download movies!
Some of the movies that we watched were of the film noir genre...Double Indemnity, Out of the Past and Sunset Boulevard. Great black and white movies made in what was the golden era of Hollywood. Surely beats most of the tripe that has been dished out by the movie studios in the last decade or so.
The last couple of months my wife and I have watched some great old Hollywood classics from the 1940's and 50's. All thanks to Bittorrent! For the uninitiated, Bittorrent is a great P2P (peer-to-peer) software that allows you to download movies!
Some of the movies that we watched were of the film noir genre...Double Indemnity, Out of the Past and Sunset Boulevard. Great black and white movies made in what was the golden era of Hollywood. Surely beats most of the tripe that has been dished out by the movie studios in the last decade or so.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Congress and the aam aadmi!
Last evening I watched, briefly, an interview on Times Now with Jyotiraditya Scindia, the suave, articulate scion of the Scindia family and Congress MP.
The chap, in all earnestness, without batting an eyelid said that the Congress' main focus is on poverty alleviation, the aam aadmi and related issues. What a joke!! He is either incredibly naive and stupid or just another wily, politician-in-the-making in the strongest Congress tradition.
The Congress party has been in power for roughly fifty of the sixty years of independent India!! The people of this country, have given mandate after mandate to this party and six decades later, the average Indian farmer earns around Rs. 12000 p.a and many people in this country live on Rs. 20 a day!!
The 'Con'gress-game continues!!
The chap, in all earnestness, without batting an eyelid said that the Congress' main focus is on poverty alleviation, the aam aadmi and related issues. What a joke!! He is either incredibly naive and stupid or just another wily, politician-in-the-making in the strongest Congress tradition.
The Congress party has been in power for roughly fifty of the sixty years of independent India!! The people of this country, have given mandate after mandate to this party and six decades later, the average Indian farmer earns around Rs. 12000 p.a and many people in this country live on Rs. 20 a day!!
The 'Con'gress-game continues!!
Phony Secularism
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the Hurriyat leader and the Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir seem to have a problem with Gandhian philosophy and a fellow-muslim, the J&K Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, espousing these causes. Check out this story reported on Times Now channel. Geelani has even sarcastically suggested that the Chief Minister, of whom I am no great admirer of, change his name to Ghulam Gandhi Azad!!
Even for someone like me, hardened over the years by incredibly stupid, inane and uncivilised statements made by politicians, this was shocking. A couple of no-good religious fanatics are questioning a democratically elected Chief Minister of an Indian state for asking people to follow the teachings of the man whom Indians consider the Father of the Nation?? Incredible!
Will they get away with it? Most probably. Will the media play this up the same way they play up utterances by certain other religious groups? I doubt it. Will the Chief Minister or the party he represents, treat these reactions of these clowns with the contempt it deserves? Oh no..on the contrary, am sure they will soon be grovelling before these two and the religiously intolerant groups they represent.
Which brings me to the question, what is secularism? Secularism fundamentally represents all practices that are free from religion. This, of course, is the universally accepted definition of the term.
But in India, the term has another meaning, perpetuated constantly by the Congress, the Left and other parties that claim they are left-leaning, liberal etc. These parties, by their reactions, actions, or the lack of it at times, have deliberately twisted its meaning to allow some religious groups considerable leeway in matters such as extremist views, while they come down extremely harshly on others. In other words, they practice a phony kind of secularism.
Religious extremism, indeed extremism of any kind, does not have a place in the civilised world and has to be dealt with an iron hand. Now if this is of the right-wing or the left-wing type should be immaterial and a truly democratic and secular nation should show no tolerance whatsoever for these kinds of dangerous thinking.
But with phony secularists at the helm, this is, at least for the time-being, a tough ask!
Even for someone like me, hardened over the years by incredibly stupid, inane and uncivilised statements made by politicians, this was shocking. A couple of no-good religious fanatics are questioning a democratically elected Chief Minister of an Indian state for asking people to follow the teachings of the man whom Indians consider the Father of the Nation?? Incredible!
Will they get away with it? Most probably. Will the media play this up the same way they play up utterances by certain other religious groups? I doubt it. Will the Chief Minister or the party he represents, treat these reactions of these clowns with the contempt it deserves? Oh no..on the contrary, am sure they will soon be grovelling before these two and the religiously intolerant groups they represent.
Which brings me to the question, what is secularism? Secularism fundamentally represents all practices that are free from religion. This, of course, is the universally accepted definition of the term.
But in India, the term has another meaning, perpetuated constantly by the Congress, the Left and other parties that claim they are left-leaning, liberal etc. These parties, by their reactions, actions, or the lack of it at times, have deliberately twisted its meaning to allow some religious groups considerable leeway in matters such as extremist views, while they come down extremely harshly on others. In other words, they practice a phony kind of secularism.
Religious extremism, indeed extremism of any kind, does not have a place in the civilised world and has to be dealt with an iron hand. Now if this is of the right-wing or the left-wing type should be immaterial and a truly democratic and secular nation should show no tolerance whatsoever for these kinds of dangerous thinking.
But with phony secularists at the helm, this is, at least for the time-being, a tough ask!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Shame on you, N. Ram!
May 2006 - Dr. Abdul Kalam returns the Office of profit bill to the parliament. N. Ram, Editor, The Hindu, in his editorial of June 1, 2006, terms it "A case of presidential overreach".
October 2007 - The Supreme Court bans the T.Nadu from going ahead with the bandh. N. Ram calls it his editorial today as "Constitutionally off-track".
How can this man be so blatantly, shamefully parochial and biased? His opinions sound more like that of a mentally imbalanced politician, rather than a journalist!
Check out these reactions to his earlier, anti-democratic pronouncements.
- Ramachandra Guha's response to Ram's biased account on China in the Frontline seven years ago.
- The Friends of Tibet web site.
My own reaction? To terminate the subscription to The Hindu, out of sheer disgust! Guess, I should have done it earlier...
October 2007 - The Supreme Court bans the T.Nadu from going ahead with the bandh. N. Ram calls it his editorial today as "Constitutionally off-track".
How can this man be so blatantly, shamefully parochial and biased? His opinions sound more like that of a mentally imbalanced politician, rather than a journalist!
Check out these reactions to his earlier, anti-democratic pronouncements.
- Ramachandra Guha's response to Ram's biased account on China in the Frontline seven years ago.
- The Friends of Tibet web site.
My own reaction? To terminate the subscription to The Hindu, out of sheer disgust! Guess, I should have done it earlier...
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Karunanidhi and atheism
Sagarika Ghose of CNN-IBN in her blog suggests that "Ram has transformed Karunanidhi into the god of Indian atheism". Have to disagree, since she is being highly unfair to the grand old man of Tamil politics!
Since Karunanidhi's problem seems to be only with Hindu Gods (unless someone points out instances where he has been consistently critical of all gods/religions), he can't be termed as atheist! :-)
Since Karunanidhi's problem seems to be only with Hindu Gods (unless someone points out instances where he has been consistently critical of all gods/religions), he can't be termed as atheist! :-)
Who are they kidding?
According Karunanidhi, his party leaders and his allies, most notably the Congress and Communist parties, there was no bandh yesterday in T.Nadu and life was normal!! Ask the Chennai citizens who are not die-hard DMK supporters and the answer will be totally different. I am one of them and was out yesterday and witnessed what happened.
I saw DMK party cadres in auto rickshaws waving flags, although I did not see any violence or direct intimidation. It is true that most people preferred to shut shop because they were scared of a backlash. It was definitely not, as Karunanidhi tried to make us believe, because of people's support for the cause he was supposedly fighting for!
When educated and articulate politicians like Jayanthi Natarajan and Priyaranjan Das Munshi (who, horror of horrors, compared Karunanidhi's protest to that of Mahathma Gandhi on the eve of the great man's birth anniversary!) talk irresponsibly and favourably about the DMK government after what happened yesterday, one shudders to think what kind of future India is heading towards with these charlatans at the helm!
- As far as I could see there were no buses that were plying...at least I did not witness any when I drove from Besant Nagar to T.Nagar and back.
- Many colleagues who normally travelled by bus couldn't make it on time. Many of them had to take a "share" auto, many of which luckily were in operation and proved to be the lifeline.
- I am told, the suburban train service was also in operation although I have no idea if normal services were.
- In T.Nagar, where my office is situated, the hotbed of trading activity, there were hardly any shops open!
- My colleague and I walked down Pondy Bazaar just after noon and it wore a deserted look with no restaurants open. We then drove upto New Woodlands in Mylapore for lunch.
- It was only around 4 p.m. normalcy started returning, although I still did not see buses in operation even at around 6.30 p.m.
I saw DMK party cadres in auto rickshaws waving flags, although I did not see any violence or direct intimidation. It is true that most people preferred to shut shop because they were scared of a backlash. It was definitely not, as Karunanidhi tried to make us believe, because of people's support for the cause he was supposedly fighting for!
When educated and articulate politicians like Jayanthi Natarajan and Priyaranjan Das Munshi (who, horror of horrors, compared Karunanidhi's protest to that of Mahathma Gandhi on the eve of the great man's birth anniversary!) talk irresponsibly and favourably about the DMK government after what happened yesterday, one shudders to think what kind of future India is heading towards with these charlatans at the helm!
Monday, October 1, 2007
A red letter day for Indian democracy
Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, terming the T.Nadu bandh called by the DMK and its allies as illegal, is a huge, huge step forward for Indian democracy!! This is likely to send shivers down the spines of the various state governments, particularly the communist-ruled ones, who call for a bandh, hartal etc., at the drop of a hat.
What is commendable is the determination and willingness shown by the honourable judges to convene on a Sunday to pass this landmark judgement! As many people have indicated earlier, I too feel that the judiciary is what prevents India from slipping to the levels of a banana republic, similar to the ones we see in the third world.
This morning (I decided to announce today a working day after I heard the news about Supreme Court ban yesterday afternoon), I went to office only to find that the buses were not plying, most shops closed and generally less crowd on the streets of Chennai. I guess many private organisations, having declared a holiday couldn't react in time to revert the decision and stayed closed. But the rest of what I saw seemed to go against the very ruling and observations of the Supreme Court, that all essential services should not be affected or incovenience the general public! Needless to say, the DMK party goons must have issued a covert threat to most shopkeepers and businesses. But it was sad to see the general public capitulate to this pressure in the most spineless manner. In my office complex in T.Nagar, we were the only company that was functioning apart from a local neighbourhood newspaper's office!!
I think, this time though, the wily old man of T.Nadu politics got it wrong and strayed too far from the limits of constitutional authority. It was great to see him call of his fast in a hurry and scurry back to work at the Secretariat , with his tail between his legs, after being rapped on the knuckles by the Supreme Court this morning!
I know this is going to (looks like it already has with some members of the DPA questioning the Court's judgement and "interference") intensify the tussle between the legislature and the judiciary. Which politician wants to be held accountable or kept in check? But in the meantime, let's rejoice! For these are the kind of days that prove democracy in this vibrant, but definitely flawed, nation is alive and kicking!
What is commendable is the determination and willingness shown by the honourable judges to convene on a Sunday to pass this landmark judgement! As many people have indicated earlier, I too feel that the judiciary is what prevents India from slipping to the levels of a banana republic, similar to the ones we see in the third world.
This morning (I decided to announce today a working day after I heard the news about Supreme Court ban yesterday afternoon), I went to office only to find that the buses were not plying, most shops closed and generally less crowd on the streets of Chennai. I guess many private organisations, having declared a holiday couldn't react in time to revert the decision and stayed closed. But the rest of what I saw seemed to go against the very ruling and observations of the Supreme Court, that all essential services should not be affected or incovenience the general public! Needless to say, the DMK party goons must have issued a covert threat to most shopkeepers and businesses. But it was sad to see the general public capitulate to this pressure in the most spineless manner. In my office complex in T.Nagar, we were the only company that was functioning apart from a local neighbourhood newspaper's office!!
I think, this time though, the wily old man of T.Nadu politics got it wrong and strayed too far from the limits of constitutional authority. It was great to see him call of his fast in a hurry and scurry back to work at the Secretariat , with his tail between his legs, after being rapped on the knuckles by the Supreme Court this morning!
I know this is going to (looks like it already has with some members of the DPA questioning the Court's judgement and "interference") intensify the tussle between the legislature and the judiciary. Which politician wants to be held accountable or kept in check? But in the meantime, let's rejoice! For these are the kind of days that prove democracy in this vibrant, but definitely flawed, nation is alive and kicking!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A walk through Fort St. George
Yesterday I was part of a small group of 40-50 people that was taken on a guided tour through Fort St. George organised as a part of the week-long Madras Day celebrations. As many of you may be aware, August 22 is Madras Day and an excellent initiative by a few concerned citizens of the city - historian S. Muthiah, publisher Vincent D'Souza and others - has resulted in this event being celebrated annually since 2004. Check out this site for more details.
Being a Saturday morning, the Fort was free of people. We started at 7 a.m. and were accompanied by Vincent D'Souza and Archaeologist (and Madras-expert) Dr. Suresh. The walk lasted approx. 2 hours. Unfortunately I couldn't visit the Fort Museum since it opens only at 10 a.m. since I had to rush to work! I recommend a walk through the Fort to all residents of this city because this is where it all started!
Above is a pic that I took of St. Mary's Church the oldest Anglican Church (the oldest East of the Suez I am told!) built in 1680.
Friday, August 24, 2007
First Blog!
Am one of life's great procrastinators! Been slow to get onto the blog scene...but there's a lot to write about.
This is a very interesting time in history. The Internet is changing the way people live and interact. Technology such as this one, which allows me to blog is an exciting way to reach and interact with people.
I am particularly interested in observing the way things are unfolding in my country. On the one hand economic growth has never been faster. More and more people I meet, particularly those urban Indians, are upbeat about the nation's future. Which is great! But I also notice several disturbing trends - in society and politics - that worry me. Stuff that impacts the way we live, our choices and aspirations. It is about these particulary, that I wish to write about.
Of course, a lot of what I write, will, I am sure be random stuff. (Which is what blogs are meant for, I guess). Stuff like Cricket, Movies will surely find a place in my blog sometime.
So here goes....
This is a very interesting time in history. The Internet is changing the way people live and interact. Technology such as this one, which allows me to blog is an exciting way to reach and interact with people.
I am particularly interested in observing the way things are unfolding in my country. On the one hand economic growth has never been faster. More and more people I meet, particularly those urban Indians, are upbeat about the nation's future. Which is great! But I also notice several disturbing trends - in society and politics - that worry me. Stuff that impacts the way we live, our choices and aspirations. It is about these particulary, that I wish to write about.
Of course, a lot of what I write, will, I am sure be random stuff. (Which is what blogs are meant for, I guess). Stuff like Cricket, Movies will surely find a place in my blog sometime.
So here goes....
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