Friday, January 30, 2009

Kasab or Raj Thackrey - what is the difference?

Greetings Earthlings!

It's been quite some time since I was last here. Since then, a lot has been happening in the world around us.

Good News : Barack Hussein Obama is now the President of USA. Bad News : Gaza Strip still knows no peace. Expected News : MNS activists rampaged a 5-star hotel & Mumbai University. More Good News : Slumdog Millionaire and A. R. Rehman are going places and getting famous there!

So much for providing news on the go... Time to ramble on.

Quite a few things have been said by a lot of different people that have left me so restless - with all negative vibes. For starters, the Chief Justice of India said that since terrorists should not be allowed human rights. Moreover, he detests people who represent these terrorists. Yeah right. In that case, Mr. Chief Justice, it's high time you first made a few changes in the Constitution. It's the Constitution that allows such terrorists to live. Not the lawyers alone.

Then, there is this whole new dimension about women going to pubs. Some mad-cap guy in Mangalore wakes up one morning and go about rampaging pubs and women. The newspapers think he is some big, long forgotten hero, decorate him on the front page will huge smiling images. It later on turned out that the mad-cap guy and his mad-cap gang meant to overthrow the government and set up their own king. Ram Rajya or something similar. Yeah right. They forgot one vital detail - India is still a democracy, & the largest one at that! To get things complicated, all the political parties have now joined the fray - there is a whole debate on which party should take what stand!!!

What I don't understand is why has there been no uprising about men going to bars, getting drunk and/or beating up their wives... Why has no one ever vandalized men who drink??? I never knew Rama or Krishna drank Kingfishers, Budweiser's and Old Monks?? Or did they??

As is expected, MNS is back to their rampaging ways again. First it was a 5-star hotel. I am still clueless as to why did they have to break glasses and destroy furniture of a 5-star hotel. Apart from that, when they were not allowed to meet the head of the University of Mumbai, they rampaged the place. The reason why they wanted to meet : Marathi should be compulsory.

Before I proceed, a quick flashback. This is an incident that happened a few months back. While I was waiting in the immigration queue at the Tehran airport, I happened to chit chat with the guy standing in the line behind me. He was an Iranian. As the flight was from Tehran to Mumbai, I asked him why was he flying to Mumbai of all places. He said he studied at the University of Mumbai. When I gave a puzzled expression he explained that there were definitely Universities in Iran, but none were as good as Mumbai University. The standard and syllabus of Mumbai University was quite high. That, coming from a foreigner, made me feel very proud of our Mumbai University and of being a Mumbaikar.

Return from flashback and I realize this is the same Alma Mater we are talking about here. It's such a sad thing - it takes years to build a good name and an even better reputation - but it takes only a few vandalizing MNS activists to destroy it all. I fervently hope and pray, the authorities at Mumbai University do not give in to their demands.

The Maharashtra State Government chooses to grin away at all these illegal vandalizing activities. If the MNS ONLY indulges in illegal, illicit & vandalizing activities, why is the government taking so long to declare MNS to be a terrorist outfit. What purpose does their existence serve apart from breaking bones, breaking news and disrupting life for the common man? I believe none whatsoever. If MNS is allowed to continue - it just means the government really does not care who does what. Kasab or Raj Thackeray - what is the difference. I am just reminded of a board that I had seen on the walls of Wipro. It said "There is black and there is white - there is no gray". So true. The gray area that the government chooses to stand behind does not exist. If the government does nothing to curb the menace, then our governments sides with MNS.

What options does a common man have in such circumstances? Very few.

There is another more surprisingly aspect. Whenever there is any such activity happening, the media fraternity reaches the place and gets live coverage of the incident. But Mumbai Police always manages to reach after the incident is over and most of the miscreants have escaped. So much like a Hindi movie. Simple question - how does the media find out what the police does not? And more importantly, if and when media finds out, why do they not inform the police so that the hooligans can be stopped before damage is caused? Very clearly, to create "Breaking News" media no longer cares what it has to break down. When the media has gone to the dogs, it only deserves to be curbed. It should be restricted.

To Dr. Manmohan Singh - I believe you are the ablest of Prime Minister my country has had for years. I believe in you and your policies. But is there nothing you can do to save the common hard working man of Mumbai? Please help us.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Breaking News - Kasab may not be punished!

Greetings Earthlings!
The past few weeks have been relatively calm. The calm is only relative. Complete global peace is still delusional.
Very recently, I came across a piece of information and have been feeling very disturbed since I have learnt about it. This time I hope to achieve more than ramble on about it. Though the issue is quite serious, most of us choose to take it lightly and ignore it. Let's get started right away.
The issue of the day - complete information.
Scenario : Approximately 10 cold-blooded terrorists enter Mumbai city. Rampage the city's finest hotels. Kill people ruthlessly. Commandos and the likes capture Kasab alive. Judiciary comes into action and Kasab needs to be tried in court - so that he can be punished. Lawyers refuse to represent Kasab. A few dare come forward. Brainless MNS activists rampage their homes/offices/lives.
Now, I am sure, most of you are updated so far. More or less. Now, here is the important part. Unless we try Kasab in court and he is declared guilty he cannot be punished.
Now, let's go back in time. Most of us have heard about the Parliament bombings that happened some time back. In case you have not been following up on that case - let me take the liberty of providing a short brief. Some time back, a few terrorists had managed to break the high security around Parliament House and had bombed / fired at the Parliament at a very close range. After all that ensued, one terrorist was caught alive - Afzal Guru. Lawyers did not wish to represent him. He was tried in court. Here comes the twist. Although he was tried in the court and found guilty, he could not be punished. He is still alive and breathing. The death punishment, that he so rightly deserved, could not be meted out - simply because, he claims he did not get a fair trial. Even President Kalam as unable to do anything about it. And when I say this, I am aware that the President of India has the power to release a guilty on appeal or punish someone, if needed.
The reason - the Indian Constitution cannot punish someone until and unless they are proved guilty. If a person does not get a fair chance at trial, he/she cannot be proved guilty as there was no one to speak for the accused. So, no fair trial equals to no punishment.
However, when Afzal Guru could not be punished, the media played it's great part in misleading us all. They told us what the newsreader thought, what the opposition said, how the ruling party reacted, what the "experts" had to say, etc. No one told us what the real reason was. All we know is Afzal Guru cannot be punished.
Like in most cases, media had absolutely no idea what was happening. The misled kept misleading...in the name of TRPs.
Welcome back to reality from the flashback.
Now, it's time we punish a bigger criminal/terrorist. An inhuman like Kasab deserves nothing less than death sentence. However, we need to remember there has been not many changes in the Constitution of India so far. So, if Kasab goes to trial - without a lawyer - he will never be punished. Moreover, the citizens of India will keep paying for his food, housing and security. What a shame!!
Now, that I know about this, I hate these mindless buggers. There are two groups of people I have come to detest. One is they lawyers. I understand a common man not knowing much about the nuances of Law and the Constitution, but I refuse to understand how a whole community of lawyers feigning to know nothing about it. When they say, they do not wish to represent someone like Kasab, they turn a blind eye to what happens if they don't. On a second thought, I now believe, these lawyers are the very enemies of the nation. They should be ousted before Kasab.
Secondly, the mindless-guerrilla-power-groups-like-MNS.
When Mumbai was burning and simpering, when Mumbai was looking for help and brotherhood, groups like MNS chose to go underground. In hiding. I know why. They are the original terrorists of Mumbai. Apart from trying to drive people away and turning a cosmopolitan city to a trash can, what productive or helpful thing have they ever done? None that I can think of. If they really cared even 1% about the city, they would have been out there - helping people. But from what I understand about them - they will not help with the Taj and Oberoi- just because these places are typically have more foreigners than Marathi Manoos. No Marathi Manoos no help. As far as CST is concerned, I can bet their next argument will be that these places too do not have many Marathi Manoos. So, typically, if you have not attacked Shivaji Park or some place like that - the MNS will not help.
When they go attacking lawyers, they men/women have absolutely no clue as to what they are doing. They refuse to acknowledge things like - Law & Order, Constitution, Rights of Citizens, Duties of Citizens, etc. They are a Law unto themselves.
Last but not the least, I feel unadulterated anger towards the media. Media in this country cannot be trusted anymore. All they care about is TRPs, sponsors, money, sales. The real news is now elusive.
I now know, the real terrorists are the citizens of my own country. The lawyers, MNS activists, media. The Police, commandos, army and NSG will save us from the external terrorists. Who will save us from the terrorists within?