When the Indian Air Force bombed Aizawl

In the aftermath of the massacre of 76 security personnel by the Naxals in Chhattisgarh, a debate is on regarding the use of air power against the leftist militants.

While the government might still be contemplating about initiating such action, it wouldn't be unprecedented for India.

[I had, almost five years ago, posted a post on this blog, but am not able to locate it now. Thankfully, found it in the email inbox. Reposting.]

It is a little known fact but perhaps the only instance in history where a country conducted an air raid on its own territory, against its citizens. On March 5-6, 1966 the Indian Air Force carried out air raids on the town Aizawl, in Mizoram, to soften the situation, so that the Indian military can recapture the town.

This dark chapter of Indian anti-insurgency history remains shrouded in the classified files. Very few people have spoken about it.

Gen. (Retd.) DK Palit states "… 5th March was the crucial day. At last, at 1130hrs came the air strike, IAF fighters strafing hostile positions all around the battalion area. The strafing was repeated in the afternoon… (6th March)… There was another air strike that day and that put paid to the investment. The hostiles melted away."

[Gen. (Retd) DK Palit, Sentinels of the North East: The Assam Rifles, p. 264.]

Shobhit (in a comment to this post) asked for a more information on the incident. Here it is:

In 1958 there was a famine (locally called Mautam - meaning bamboo death in Mizo) in the Lushai Hills area of Assam (now Mizoram). Disillusioned with the lack of administrative aid during the famine, the Mizo National Famine Front (MNFF) was formed.

The MNFF in 1961 changed its name to Mizo National Front (MNF), an armed political organisation. The MNF waged a secessionist movement against the Indian state. In early 1966 parts of Lushai Hills including the district headquarters, Aizawl, slipped out of the administration's hands into MNF control.

The Indian government, in an attempt to regain control over the rebel occupied regions, called in Air Force fighter planes from the Tezpur air base. The town of Aizawl and Tualbung and Hnahlan villages were bombarded.

The administration also moved out people from villages in the hills and resettled them in regrouped villages along the highways as a counter insurgency measure.

Though the government was successful in regaining control over Aizawl town, the insurgency continued for 20 years and ended with the signing of the Mizoram Accord between the Government of India and the MNF in 1986.

Pu Laldenga, the founder of the MNF, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the newly crafted state of Mizoram in 1986.

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Against Terror. In all Forms

It's November 26. Said to be the day we commemorate what is often called India's 9/11. The date-month order may be transposed, but even after that bloody (and live) 72 hours nothing much else seems to be.

I still vividly remember the day and the ones following. Came home late, switched on the TV saw tickers running on news channels about some firing in Mumbai. Thought that the gangsters were back in business and turned it off.

The next day came early to work, at around 7:00 AM to find the floor abuzz. But it still didn't strike me. Everyone seemed busy, no one told me anything. I stepped down for an early morning pee and in the lobby my eyes fell on the six LCD TVs and they were all showing the same story. I stood, staring. A little later, a single word escaped my lips. Fuck!

Rushed back upstairs, turned on the PC, fired up the browser and ingested all that I had missed through the night. The day went off in a daze. Being more of an entertainment-lifestyle journalist this wasn't exactly my domain. But on days like these, there's only one beat.

When I returned home late that night, I didn't think of writing a blog post. I hadn't even after the July 11, 2006 train bombings (that was earlier India's 9/11. Unimaginatively termed 7/11. In India we don't refer to dates in that order). But later couldn't help, but let it out.

As on July 11, 2006 "I had nothing to say. Numbed. I didn't want to react. Couldn't."

Now a year after the Mumbai terror attacks, I cannot again restrain myself.

On this first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, more than Kasab & Co. it is the home-bred terror, that people just refer to by other names, that pesters me.

Terrorism isn't only about firing hundreds of rounds a minute from an Automatic Kalashnikov or triggering RDX to blow up trains. Terrorism is a mind game. The perpetrator tries to instill fear in the minds of the masses. The fear of a violent backlash. And all this isn't Al-Qaeda, ISI and their ilk's prerogative.

These are the 'respectable' terrorists. The kind that Bollywood stars give obeisance to. This brand of terrorists (or their henchmen) become lawmakers and the upholders of the law stand in attention to give them open-palm salutes.

They threaten, they main, they destroy, they kill and they spread their fear. They terrorise.

And they aren't restricted to any geographical periphery. In Bombay (Shiv Sena and MNS would like to terrorise me in referring the city as Mumbai), in Maharashtra. They terrorise not for the sake of the language, but for power.

Power, the ultimate goal of terrorists of every kind.

In neighbouring Gujarat, the experiments with state terrorism yielded favourable electoral results. The Communists had almost perfected their cadre-powered terror in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. Only that in Bengal they now have to confront Trinamool's brand of counter-terror terror. In north Kerala, the saffron and the red take turns to terrorise the populace.

Terrorism is almost a cottage industry in the North East. The formula is simple: Give fear, take money. To hell with 'independence' and ideology (Most terrorists believe in god). But the real terror in the North East isn't of the gun-toting renegades, it is the seeming innocuous students' unions and social organisations.

Their fact that there organisations - more often than not - are built around communal lines, their actions frequently result in violent communal conflagrations. Their writ runs large. Bandhs called by them are total (unlike the ones in Delhi), not because of popular support for the cause but their terror. Some such terrorist leaders have moved on to higher politics to become chief ministers and members of the cabinet.

Then there is the age-old terrorist - caste (and of course, religion and culture).

I have been a victim of such terrorism and continue to be so. And so are you, consciously or with you being unaware of it.

Compared to the AK-47 terrorists, it is the bandh-terrorists (for want of a better term) who are more successful. They get name, fame, money, power and in some cases Z-category security, all in their lifetime.

Kasab might also have a multi-crore security cover, but he'll have to wait to see if the promise of 72 virgins actually holds true.

The media glare fades our memories. The attacks in Mumbai on November 26-29, 2008 might have been the most impactful terror attack on Indian soil in terms of its duration and the resultant international interest. But if we look at the number of causalities, there have been greater tragedies.

Just in case you've forgotten, a little list (deaths in brackets):

- June 23, 1985 Air India Flight 182 (329)
- March 12, 1993 Bombay (257)
- July 11, 2006 Mumbai (209)
- November 26-29, 2008 Mumbai (172)
- May 13, 2008 Jaipur (68)
- Feb 19, 2007 Samjhauta Express (66)
- October 29, 2005 New Delhi (60)
- July 26, 2008 Ahmedabad (57)

While it is easy to compile together a list like the one above, it is difficult to put together something similar for the other kind of terror. They don't require a body count to show off to their masters sitting beyond the borders, their measures are different and vary according to need and greed.

A unfriendly country doesn't need to fund the militant outfits to create terror and mayhem. For much more and long lasting impact it just needs to donate the right amounts to certain party (and private) funds and union coffers (Who knows, they might already being doing do).

The fear of the AK-47 terrorists is short lived and gets revived after another attack or on an anniversary. But the other terror is sustained and always palpable. The intensity of the terror might vary, but it stays. Often for ever.

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Man of the moment - Manmohan Singh

Decisive - that's the word they are using to describe the Congress' (and the UPA's) victory in the 15th General Elections. Though the Election Commission is still a while away to declare the final results, the writing on the wall is in bold capital letters - MANMOHAN SINGH WILL BE PM FOR 5 MORE YEARS, and I hope he does.

Though the campaigning by the Gandhi family, especially Rahul played a major role (as evident from the party's performance in Uttar Pradesh), it was the image of the incumbent Prime Minister and the prime ministerial candidate that made people reaffirm their belief in the Grand Old Party.

As much as it is a win for the Congress, it is also a defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. Politics of hatred might work at the local level, but when it comes to the national politics Indians have higher expectations from its leaders. And the personal attacks also seem to have backfired.

The lesson for the BJP here is that it first needs to build a strong leadership, at this juncture Lal Krishna Advani doesn't seem to be the Prime Ministerial candidate for the next General Elections. And they shouldn't even think of Narendra Modi, the Modi magic turned out to be a hoax in the larger national arena and the Gujarat Riots of 2002 has tarnished his image for ever. Even dollops of development cream can't remove the ugly scars.

The party needs to develop a strong leadership, a leadership that Indians would not directly associate with its rightist leanings, someone like Atal Bihari Vajpayee (but who speaks with fewer pauses). The problem is who will it be?

While the BJP ponders over its leadership woes, it should also start rebuilding its image. And for starters that can play the role of constructive opposition instead of the usual disruptive and rabble rousing tricks that they employ inside and outside the House.

The next five years are very important for the BJP as they have a lot of undoing to do and the Congress would have already started projecting Rahul Gandhi as the candidate for the PM's post for the 2014 elections. They need to counter the Rahull factor too.

Though I admire Manmohan Singh, I sometime wish, like so many other Indians, that he was a little more assertive in speech. Sometimes words (and how you say them) are as important as the deeds that they articulate. But this is SMS's day, his stand on the Nuclear Deal was in a way ratified by the electorate.

Though a UPA win was expected, the numbers even surprised the Congress. Their internal calculations had given them a far lesser figure. About the exit polls, they weren't as off the mark as 2004, but the margin of error was big. I think it Dorab Sopariwala on NDTV who came the closest.

Congress sweeping Delhi 7-0 was also expected and the margins of victory are also impressive.

Having assembly elections with the General Elections undermines the importance of the Legislative Assemblies atleast in the national media. Though I believe that it should be the general practice, as it would save crores of public money.

The 2009 General Elections would be remembered for another thing - the beating that the Left got in its bastions West Bengal and Kerala. It was a long time coming. Nowadays ideologies seem to be a disposable commodity and clinging on to it might not always translate into votes. Beliefs should be firm, but at the same time flexible to meet the needs of the changing world. Else the world would just leave you behind.

Coming back to Manmohan Singh. It is unlikely that he would fight the next elections, though technically he didn't fight this one too (for a Lok Sabha seat), but the good gentleman should deliver what the common Indian expects of him. A clean and efficient Prime Minister is not enough, what India and Indians want is a corruption free and smoothly functioning administration. I know it is a tough task but someone sitting on the most powerful post is expected to work hard.

The Congress should also refrain from populist measures, they might be good for votes but not for the economy, that is slowly trying to recuperate.

Though I want to write a lot more, but after spending 15-hours inside a chilly television studio, working, I think my body deserves some rest. Moreover the head also doesn't seem to be working right. 2014 will be a far more interesting fight, provided the BJP plans it right.

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Seized video 'reveals dark secrets of LTTE'

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order has released a video "recovered from the possession of a dead LTTE terrorist by the 58 Division during ground advances made into general area South of Vellamullivaikkal."

Since the original file posted on the www.defence.lk website was an unwieldy 14 MB WMV file, I've reprocessed it in a more web-friendly format.



Sri Lankan authorities assert that the video proves "LTTE's use of civilians as forced labour."

"The video shows footage of terrorists in civilian attire firing at both security forces and fleeing hostages by a pedal gun fixed to an armour-plated 'Unicorn' type vehicle. In the background, civilians brought to build earth bunds are forced to camouflage the vehicle with leaves and branches. The video clearly shows another LTTE cameraman who is positioned to video any form of military retaliation towards the terrorists, taking cover among the civilians brought to forced labour. This is what they do and this is the very sort of footage extracted by international media to carry spread the LTTE's spin on the ground reality."

The Lankan government has also published images from 'Prabhakaran's family album': Album 1 | Album 2

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LK Advani Turns Blogger

With the general elections drawing closer and politicians slowly becoming aware of the increasing power of the internet to sway public opinion (though still limited in India, but not inconsequential) BJP's prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani is attempting to reach out to the electorate via his newly set up blog on his website.

In the very first (and till posting this the only) post the Advani describes the internet as

...the most democratic of all the communication platforms invented by mankind so far. Censorship of political communication on the internet is both impossible and unthinkable - except in communist and other dictatorships.

And the reason why he started this blog

My young colleagues who have created this website told me that a political portal without a blog is like a letter without a signature. I quickly accepted this compelling logic.

I am excited by the idea of using the Internet as a platform for political communication and, especially, for election campaign.

We should soon expect to see more politicians joining the blog brigade.

Related posts:

· List of Indian Celebrity Blogs

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Download Slacker Uprising Outside of USA, Canada

USA - love it, hate it, but it always interests you and so does its politics. And therefore would Michael Moore's new film - Slacker Uprising - that "traces Michael Moore's 62-city tour of the swing states during the 2004 Presidential election and records the thrilling - and frightening - response he received across the country," would have a potential worldwide audience.

The film is perhaps the first major feature film to be released for free on the internet. But unfortunately the official download is available only to people residing in the United States or Canada.

This is what the message says when someone from outside the two countries try to download the film:

SORRY!
Unfortunately, the lawyers tell us we are only allowed to offer the film to people residing in the United States or Canada. The computers think you are someplace else right now, and that's why you are seeing this page. If you really are in the US or Canada and our computers are confused, you may try accessing the website from a different network, at a friends house, etc. We're very sorry for the inconvenience, and really want as many people to see the film as possible.

But you here in India (or for that matter in any country outside the US and Canada) wish to download Slacker Uprising.

It's easy. You don't even need to bypass the geographical restrictions. Someone would have already posted the video (expecially since that it is free) at a place online from where you can easlily download it.

The obvious suspect is torrent. And it is available there (obviously unrestricted). But many people are not that comfortable with torrents and prefer direct downloads from the internet.

If you are one of the torrent wary types (there are many reasons to be) you can watch online or download Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising even from outside US and Canda here (someone has already done the good work for us). To download scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the 'Download playing' link.

Alternatively you can also directly download Slacker Uprising (obviously for free) from the link below. It doesn't matter if your are a non-US downloader:

[MP4 648 MB 01:39:23]

Blip.tv is a partner in the distribution of the film, and there is a possibility that they might take it off.

Trailer:

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Parliament Attack - an Awareness Drive

Mass For Awareness, an NGO headed by cartoonist Neeraj Gupta, has initiated a campaign to educate the voters about the people they choose to represent them at the highest seat of democracy in the country - the Parliament.

As a prelude to an extended campaign that would run upto the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, the organisation has released this poster:


A rough translation:
Do you want such saleable MPs in our Parliament...
If no, then...
...Do cast your invaluable vote during the upcoming 15th Lok Sabha elections.
And while voting do keep in mind whether who you are voting for is fit to enter the Parliament.
"Parliament Attacked"
Participate in an awareness campaign that keeps you alive.
Because if you are aware then you are alive.


If you wish to pass the message along, copy the code below and paste it on your blog/website:

<center><a href="http://massforawareness.org/project.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h53/soumyadip/Blog/masscampaign.jpg" alt="Sansad Par Hamla - An Awareness Drive" title="Sansad Par Hamla - An Awareness Drive" /></a></center>

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Party before Parliament: CPI(M) Expels Somnath

In an expected move (you can usually foresee what the Indian Communists would do) the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expelled the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the party.

This move by the CPI(M) would only add to Somnath's aura. He has already won a lot of hearts by his non-partisan role as the Speaker especially the during the dramatic trust motion brought forward by the Prime Minstrer Manmohan Singh.

With their dadagiri days at the Centre over, the Left will have a lot of firefighting to do to rebuild their image and this action wasn't surely an image building exercise.

I personally hold some of leaders of the Left parties in high esteem because of their personal integrity and commitment for a cause (whatever they may be) and their ability to make sensible (and legible) arguments (though not always agreeable). But as a collection of individuals under the red flag I (and many fellow Indians) are fast losing whatever positive vibes that we had for them.

We have all heard (and also seen) gory tales of red goondagardi in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. Not that other parties don't resort to such tactics, but theirs is more organised and deadlier.

The idea of Communism (though it does sound very good) has faltered in execution as real life and human behaviour tend to be quite different from the ideas enclosed in books.

Seems like it is time for the comrades to pool in some change from their Rs 3200 per month allowance to purchase some packets of the MNC manufactured Vanish to back some of the lost colour of the red flag.

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Manmohan is Still the Prime Minister

It was almost like a World Cup Cricket final and it seems that the better team won. And what a drama. A crore in cash displayed in the well of the house. Allegations of horse trading. Some brilliant speeches and many of the usual boring ones. Some hilarious too.

Amidst all the pandemonium in the Lok Sabha the Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee (rising above petty party politics) managed to get the voting done on the motion of trust proposed by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who was actually not allowed to complete his speech by unruly opposition.

But he began well:

Shri LK Advani has chosen to use all manner of abusive objectives to describe my performance. He has described me as the weakest Prime Minister, a nikamma PM, and of having devalued the office of PM. To fulfill his ambitions, he has made at least three attempts to topple our government. But on each occasion his astrologers have misled him. This pattern, I am sure, will be repeated today. At his ripe old age, I do not expect Shri Advani to change his thinking. But for his sake and India’s sake, I urge him at least to change his astrologers so that he gets more accurate predictions of things to come.

I think NDTV Imagine should ask McCann Ericsson to come up with yet another TVC for their Ramayan Ek Acchi Aadat campaign where kids are shown aping our Members of Parliament.

The final figures:

For: 275
Against: 256
Abstained: 10

And I believe its for the better. For now. As for the Left, there's not much left.

For the Akshay Kumar starrer Singh is Kinng, tons of free publicity.

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Mitra Speaks for His Friends

I didn't yet post a post on the recent Tehelka sting (Still am working on it and it'll be up soon). Though it wasn't an expose, it wasn't also a story to be disposed off. Everyone on both sides of the debate cannot refuse to agree with the facts (maybe a tad exaggerated). But there are many who try to see an hidden agenda in the whatever anyone else does. I was reading Chandan Mitra's piece in Outlook on the Tehelka sting and felt that the the editor of The Pioneer was just reflecting the opinions of those stung.

Mitra calls it a 'failed sting.' Failed because that the contents revealed as a result of that are no longer shocking and Narendra Modi was not directly implicated. But the findings, irrespective of the desired 'results,' needed to be released in the public arena.

He also questions the timing. My observation is that whatever time the sting might have been aired, detractors would always look for one or the other timing stick to beat their argument drum with. It is the easiest thing to do.

'Politically motivated' - it might have been (you never know) but if it is the truth (or even close to it), the movation is of secondary importance. And what motivates The Pioneer and the man behind the newspaper is no secret.

I don't feel like providing any more counter arguments to that piece as to an intelligent reader the truths would be quite obvious. But what surprises me is the quality of the column, something that I didn't expect from someone of Chandan Mitra's stature and calibre. Hope he didn't get it ghostwritten and forgot to edit the draft.

Ideologies and beliefs stand would exist and different people have different views, but how these views are expressed is very important. It is necessary to engross the reader and potentially raise doubts in the minds of an otherwise non-believing reader. The piece, unfortunately only expouses ideology, nothing more.

I'm not the only one who doesn't totally approve of Mitra's arguments. Mahesh Peri the publisher of Outlook writes,

The response that the sting has evoked from some among us is both shameful and dangerous. And when it comes from leaders - the so-called intellectuals and especially editors who are supposed to mould public opinion - it is despicable. I have read Chandan Mitra and I am constrained to say that I am happy not to have ever known or met him. I think I am freer than him because I can see, hear and process everything that is said on camera not through the prism of my own magazine, organisation or people.

And the fall of sting operations in India goes much before the Delhi schoolteacher episode. Shakti Kapoor. Remember?

On a different note, but still sticking to Outlook. A few lines from Delhi Diary by Bhaichand Patel:

I had stopped being a Marxist when I became financially comfortable.

Instead of telling a story straight, he (Vidhu Vinod Chopra) likes to show off the skills he learnt at film school.

Quite true.

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'RAW, Mossad, IRA join hands to bomb Pak'

The headline may sound as sensational as if it was from one of the television news channels (who are a major source of worry for the K-queen Ekta Kapoor). Though any such possibility might seem remote now (but you never know the ways of war) an Edmundian, Nitya Anand Chepuri has conjured this idea in his novel Tarbela Damned - Pakistan Tamed.

I'm yet to read the book (will go looking for it today) but the plot does sound exciting, especially for a generation who have been brought up on the idea that our 'pesky' neighbour is the reason for all our ills. Two men who studied together in school - St. Edmund's Shillong - and then went on to IIT Madras. The Hindu, Rahul Sharma joins the RAW and the Jew, Solomon Rabban, migrates to Israel and joins the Mossad. The Irish Republican Army angle is due to the influence of an Irishman, Brother Manahan, who taught them in School (St. Edmund's is run by the Christian Brothers founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice at Waterford, Ireland). They join hands in pursuit of their mission, taming Pakistan.

There might be some parallels in the story line with the author's life who had studied in St. Edmunds before passing out from the Defence Services Public School and graduating from IIT Madras. He then went on to join the army. The reviews say that "there is no off-putting jingoism and no cold-bloodedness," which is indeed welcome for a novel with a title like Tarbela Damned - Pakistan Tamed.

Tarbela Dam, built across the river Indus, is Pakistan's largest dam and is therefore of vital importance for the country. And Pakistanis on hearing of an 'imminent danger' to it are understandably worried. Anand pointed me to a Pakistani military and strategic discussion forum, where some members took the plot of the novel for real and posted interesting reactions. Here are a few samples (unedited):

* I can understand RAW and MOSSAD masterminding something but how does the Irish military come into this? Is this some troops in Afghanistan?

Anyway these dams need proper protection because RAW and MOSSAD can send mindcontrol zombies to do a suicide bombing on one of them. Dams are fragile and very hard to fix. I think its against the geneva convention to even bomb a damn during war.

* dams are not military targets, in war you are not meant to hit dams and if someone does then they will be nuked

* If the military stay in power then any such attack would be considered an act of war against pakistan. Doesn't matter who does it, Talibs or not, without dams pakistan would go down the drain. This is why we would ensure India goes down with us, meaning All nukes to indian and israeli cities. Also the factor of Indian nukes beng called a bluff, cause we're not sure if they can actually nuke us or not.

* Tell me a single time when the indian or israielies show honesty

* just imagine........
Bhakra Nangal Dam Damned, Bhangies tamed.
Ranjit Sagar Dam Damned, Bhangies tamed.
Gobind Sagar Dam Damned, Bhangies tamed.

Some comments were more realistic:

* it was just a novel by an indian writer. The West, including Israel is not interested in de-stabilizing Pakistan.

Well, I learnt another thing from the thread. Indians are referred to as Bhangies across our western border - maybe due to the still prevalent caste system in our country.

Most well-meaning Indians do not want an instable western neighbour even though we might have fought many wars, the scars of which might take long to heal. Pakistan's stability is good for India. Being surrounded by so-called failed states is a precarious situation in today's volatile times. If India has to develop into a super power that it aspires to be, there has to be political stability and economic growth in all of South East Asia. Because the ground realities here are much different from what existed in the American continents.

You can find more details about the book here.

[Tarbela Damned - Pakistan Tamed
By CN Anand
Published by Indialog Publications
198 pages
Rs 195]

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Outlook Attacked, Nothing New

The Outlook office in Mumbai was vandalised by 'suspected' Shiv Sainiks. Nothing new, nothing unexpected. My copy of the magazine, which was purportedly the reason behind the ruckus, landed on my doorstep this morning (the liabilities of being a subscriber, copies always arrive late). Though not as enjoyable a 60th Year of Independence edition as I would have expected, not too bad either. In comparison India Today's special issue which had come out in late June (Issue dated July 2, 2007) was a trivia treat.

Outlook's India at 60 I-Day Special carried a list of 60 heroes from the last six decades and 14 villains from the same era. Ideally it should've been a list of an equivalent number of rogues but then anniversaries are about celebrating the good things. The rogue list included the following: Nathuram Godse, Gaya Ram, the faceless terrorist, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Sanjay Gandhi, Narenda Modi, Mohammed Azharuddin, HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, Dawood Ibrahim, Beant Singh, Satwant Singh and of course Bal Keshav Thackeray.

And as always, the Sena supremo's followers took offence at the 119-word description of their leader which was accompanied by a cartoon (see accompanying image) which I think the cartoonist inside Thackeray (if it still exists) would've applauded. But in a democracy like ours, where you can get away with many a serious offence, offence naturally becomes the best mode of defence even on the slightest of pretexts. And the Sena is a veteran in these tactics.

In March 2005, the India Today office in Nariman Point was similarly attacked. India Today, rather it's sister publication Business Today 'transgressed' by inviting Mani Shankar Aiyar to preside over an award ceremony organised by the magazine. Aiyar had some comments on Veer Savarkar which the Sena and its allies found unsavoury. Marathi daily Mahanagar, which had been critical of the Sena was also the subject of its ire.

It's not that the Shiv Sainiks have a special liking for the press as targets; they also show an unbiased wrath towards BCCI offices, cricket pitches, hospitals, films, Pakistani singers, couples amongst innumerable others. This attack on Outlook is not an attack on freedom of expression, it is an attack in retaliation of a sacrilege. An unpardonable behaviour. And hence entirely justified. And this will continue till the day everybody toes the Sena line, however crooked that may be.

Thank god that Dawood hasn't yet taken offence...

Interestingly, Outlook didn't carry the illustration credits in this issue, something that they usually do.

Image courtesy: Outlook

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My Latest Adventures with Tintin

Tintin and his loveable whisky-loving and faithful fox terrier friend Snowy kept me in adventurous company during many a rainy afternoon. I owned very few of Tintin comics, the price was a big deterrent, but read almost all of them thanks to the comic exchange programme that we friends practiced. One which I missed was the very first one, published in 1929, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (the other was the last but semi-complete - Tintin and Alph-Art).

Wilfing on the Internet the other day, I accidentally discovered Tintin in the Land of the Soviets on Scribd. Though the artwork in Tintin's first adventure is a far cry from the ones later ones which carried our young reporter (though he's rarely seen doing what reporters usually do) and his four legged friend to different parts of the world (including India, particularly the kingdom of Gaipajama, complete with all the stereotypes of fakirs and the Indian Rope Trick).

The comic book though meant for children is also a critique on different existing political systems. Be it the coup curry of Latin America or the Japanese interference in China. Hergé or Georges Remi (this was a favourite question of quizzards during our time as the name Hergé is a result of transposition of Georges Remi's initials) did support monarchy as depicted by Tintin's friendship with the Maharaja of Gaipyjama or his help for King Muskar XII of Syldavia in King Ottokar's Sceptre. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets shows the Bolsheviks in a very poor light (very unlike what we were taught in the school texts during our time) and this was perhaps the reason why the comic was not available in India. A few examples:














Tintin had inspired a number of people to produce unofficial comic books - one being Tintin in Thailand where Tintin goes on a 'sex holiday' to Thailand (it also features almost all of the major characters) - and I too produced one. I was 14 and in Class VIII when I put my very own Tintin adventure on paper (with pencils, a black Pilot pen and Camlin sketch pens), titling my work Tintin in Shilliont, keeping alive Hergé's tradition of fictitious lands based on real places. Shilliont was Shillong. But unfortunately, I lost that comic. If I remember right, Kisholay Ray (now a budding photographer), a good school pal, who had a much better hand at drawing than me also had his own version.

Though an animated series on the Adventures of Tintin had appeared on television, which I rarely missed (now I'm again rerunning them on my mobile), nothing beats the experience of the comic book in paper.

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Pratibha Patil, the Precedent

Shekhar Gupta (as always) puts forward an articulated argument why Pratibha Patil is not the right choice for President in his aptly titled column in The Indian Express - National Interest.

Excerpts:

The Congress’ guilt is not so much about who they chose for the job as it is about how it trivialised that job, to begin with...

You have to first decide what the presidency is all about. Is it about political experience? Is it about respect? Or, put another way, is it merely a ceremonial office, or is it an important political office? It cannot be both and that is one more reason the Congress sounds so unconvincing — and unconvinced...

The way the party and its allies - at least those that it consulted - went about selecting the next president, it seemed it was the least important sinecure in the Republic. Now you can’t defend yourselves saying, don’t take notice of any adverse revelations about her, after all, come July 25, and she will represent the glory of the Republic...

And, how’s this for irony? This is the same party that was so exquisitely careful in choosing its prime minister.

More on Pratibha from The Express:

* 'Tai may become President, what about us who have been cheated?' (June 30, 2007)

* Probe how bank was sold dirt cheap, file criminal case: order came in April (June 30, 2007)

* 'Govt seriously considering compulsory sterilisation' (June 30, 2007)

* Her latest gem: 'Mughals respected women so much that purdah came in' (June 29, 2007)

* After women & veil, it's now dead man talking for Patil (June 27, 2007)

* Patil was aware of her bank mess, top defaulters her kin (June 27, 2007)

* BJP says country faces prospect of 'tainted President' (June 27, 2007)

* Pratibha bank waived loans for kin before RBI shut it down (June 25, 2007)

* Forcible sterilisation of those with hereditary disease: Pratibha Patil's 'Emergency' idea (June 24, 2007)

* Clarify on Rajani's allegations, says BJP (June 24, 2007)

* Congman's wife drags Pratibha name into allegations, NDA distances itself (June 23, 2007)

* Sugar mill started by Patil sealed for loan default (June 23, 2007)

* Patil’s purdah remark courts controversy (June 19, 2007)

* Pratibha who? (June 17, 2007)

* CV of first would-be ‘woman President’: backed Indira, backed by Rajiv (June 15, 2007)

Previously on Cutting the Chai:

* Pratibha Patil: Who, Why?

[Image courtesy: The Indian Express]

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Pratibha Patil: Who, Why?

You can call me politically ignorant, but the headline of this post was my first reaction on reading the 'Breaking News' scrolling on my office PC. The second thought that came to my mind, before the news came in about her real status, was that she might be Shivraj Patil's wife. It seems I wasn't the only one to think so:

Pratibha Patil was such a dark horse that a DMK leader even asked innocently whether she was the wife of Shivraj Patil when he was first told her name.

Outlook's cover story reads "68% Feel Pratibha Patil is the Right Choice to be the President." What a revelation! I have played with statistics for a few years of my life and know how to make them tell your angle of the story. The poll conducted by Cfore on behalf of Outlook interviewed 1,238 women, but forgot to ask their respondents a very crucial question - Did they know who Pratibha Patil was before her name cropped up? In case they did, I would like to know of the results.

Another question should've been - Who would you opt for, Kalam or Pratibha? The cover story will have been a lot different then, but then it wouldn't augur well with the Congress' point of view.

A woman President is a welcome change. But I (and I believe the majority of the nation, irrespective of 'opinion polls') need to be convinced more about a certain Pratibha Patil. After all, after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam our expectations have risen.

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On the Great Revolt and More

It's been a hectic and exhausting last week. Therefore no posts. Tonight as I sit on my newly formatted PC (a real pain to format and install all those programs big and small that you seemingly can't do without).

I attempt recall all those ideas and observations that I tried hard to keep in an easily retrievable portion of my brain. But like in the computer hard disk, there are things which refuse to reveal themselves even with the help of wildcards.

Last week marked the 150th anniversary of a momentous event, the Mutiny of 1857 or the First War for India's Independence, depending on how you wish to look at it. With my limited sense of history and irrespective of what a few MPs feel, I would go with Veer Savarkar's interpretation. All the previous battles were with a motive to regain or retain territorial sovereignty and had an impact within a specified geographical domain and the participants had a greater degree of homogeneity. But 1857 was different.

My first contact with the turmoil of san sattawan was through Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's eulogy of the Queen of Jhansi - Rani Laxmi Bai, which formed a part of my primary school Hindi text.

सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी
बूढ़े भारत में आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी
गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी
दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी

चमक उठी सन सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी
बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी
खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झांसी वाली रानी थी

[Complete text of the above poem can be found here. For the poem in Roman script along with an English translation click here]

The intermittent years between Subhadra Kumari and the higher class history text were filled by tales of valour and horror fed to me by my ever eager elder brother.

Pity the celebrations had to coincide with the Uttar Pradesh election results and all the celebratory joy was drowned by a greater din of a socially-engineered election victory. It was clearly obvious even before the elections that Maya would successfully cast her spell on the most populous Indian state and yet again psephologists were way off the mark, the only thing that they got right was that the BSP would be the single largest party, but got the figures all awry. It is time that the 'electoral pundits' are relegated to a small box or a ticker scrolling across the screen and spare us from their gaseous pontifications.

Coming back to 1857, it was a year which neither literature nor cinema could make the best of. There would've been so many tales to tell which just remained a part of the folklore, ever more distorted by each passing generation. Even my village has an 1857 connection - some mutineers had stayed overnight there (or something similar that I was told during my younger years). I can hardly recollect any notable Hindi films based on the life and times of the Great Revolt other than Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Junoon and Mangal Pandey.

Even the media did little justice to the epic event. The Election Commission should've taken note and adjusted the dates accordingly. Talking about the Election Commission, do read the transcript of the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's interview with Shekhar Gupta on NDTV 24x7s Walk the Talk. The problem is that the sense that the Election Commission talks incites fear within the political class and therefore they are hardly implemented as many of them would require modification to the current set of laws. Anyway, I get to meet the CEC in person tomorrow (unless the boss thinks otherwise).

Map courtesy: William Carey University

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SC Stays OBC Quota

First the news:

SC stays 27 per cent quota for OBCs in IITs, IIMs

NEW DELHI: In a setback to pro-reservationists, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the central law providing for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elite educational institutions like IITs and IIMs.

(A copy of the Supreme Court's judgment can be downloaded from here [txt 38.7 KB]. Thanks, Ajay)

This further strengthens my faith in the role that the courts play in strengthening our (far from perfect) democracy. I had posted about my beliefs on a number of previous occasions.

The Great Indian Middle Class having lost all hopes on the political fraternity and the bureaucracy is left with only a solitary succour – the judiciary and more particularly the Supreme Court. The courts can stick to their stand, which most often are for the better of the nation and they have been able to do it with consistency because they aren't directly accountable to the forces of populism.

The elected representatives have repeatedly disgraced our democracy; the occasional dignity which the judiciary attempts to inculcate is looked upon as an infringement on the terrain of the legislature and there is a flutter of political activity to put things back in their populist state ... Thank the Constitution for a body like the Supreme Court, which from time to time ensures that all's not wrong with the Indian state.

The Supreme Court's decision is undoubtedly a welcome one, but the pro-quota mandarins wouldn't obviously take it in their stride. The debate will again heat up and the populist mindsets will get back to do what they are the best at. Twisting and twirling legislations to suit their needs aka promulgating regressive statutes to garner votes and will expectedly find ample support in a myopic intelligentsia.

...To win votes at the bottom of India's caste system. parties will promise yet more "affirmative action" - caste-based quotas for government jobs and places in schools and colleges. These have proved largely ineffective in reducing inequality, but have lowered standards and increased corruption. Yet the government will pass what its leading lights know are bad news, extending quotas in the hope of short-term electoral gain.

- Simon Long. "Back to earth." The Economist - The World In 2007 21st edition. 2006: 77

So while they get busy with taking the country to new glooms here's a video made by a Bangalore-based filmmaker, Varun Agarwal.


[00:03:43]
[The video has been recoded to reduce the size for smoother play on low-bandwidth connections]

The video is also available on YouTube.

Moreover, I've uploaded some high-resolution anti-reservation photographs for free download (a credit though not necessary will be welcome) for creative forces like Varun. They (207 photographs in all) are in 12 zipped files (total 95 MB) and can be downloaded from the links below:

* Anti-reservation photographs 01
* Anti-reservation photographs 02
* Anti-reservation photographs 03
* Anti-reservation photographs 04
* Anti-reservation photographs 05
* Anti-reservation photographs 06
* Anti-reservation photographs 07
* Anti-reservation photographs 08
* Anti-reservation photographs 09
* Anti-reservation photographs 10
* Anti-reservation photographs 11
* Anti-reservation photographs 12

Low-resolution versions of select photographs are available here.

My writings on the reservation issue are all here.

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The Real Parliament Attackers Revealed

December 13, 2001. The Indian Parliament is attacked. A dozen dead, including the attackers. Massive deployment of soldiers by India to the border with Pakistan. Relations strained. Many arrests made. Some convicted, others acquitted. One now in death row, seeking clemency.

In five years, a lot has been happening, moving and changing. But inside the highest seat of the world's largest democracy, not much has changed except for the people occupying the treasury and the opposition benches. They termed the December 13 attack as one on Indian democracy. I wouldn't reproduce on this blog what actually were the people's reactions (there's a strong possibility of getting blocked). Everyone knows, or can very easily guess how the common man would have reacted.

The most crippling attack on the form of government that this country practices is not from the terrorists or militants from outside, rather it is from the ones inside the House. Every session is an unending assault. This is what cartoonist Neeraj Gupta says through his exhibition 'Sansad Par Hamla' (Attack on Parliament). The exhibition was inaugurated yesterday, by veteran cartoonist Sudhir Tailang at the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, 1 Rafi Marg (Opposite Rail Bhavan), New Delhi 110001. The exhibition is on till Sunday, December 17, 2006 from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

I know Neeraj (Neerajsir to me) since my university days in Bhopal, where he was a cartoonist with Nava Bharat. He was someone who fitted my visualisation of a cartoonist to the hilt. The other two that I met in flesh and blood were quite different. The great RK Laxman came across as acerbic (maybe because of his age), but not without wit and I didn't believe that Sudhir Tailang was Sudhir Tailang until he drew a caricature of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on my notebook (but Narasimha Rao remains his best), he to me looked quite un-cartoonist like.

Neeraj is jovial man even in the most adverse of circumstances. Someone, who isn't afraid to take risks and face challenges, even if the costs involved are great. One fine day he gave his comfortable job up and landed in the city of dreams, Bombay, in pursuit of his dreams (later also took me along on my very first visit to the city and played a gracious host). When things didn't work out the way he would have liked them to be, he bid adieu to Bombay and landed in Delhi in his tried and tested vocation as a cartoonist with Dainik Jagran. Not very satisfied with the ways of the media, he joined Samsung India Electronics, where he is the Creative Director.

If you happen to visit the exhibition, do chat with him He's interesting to talk to. Makes you feel comfortable.

Here are a few cartoons from the exhibition (tried to translate them for readers who are not comfortable with Hindi, but much might be lost in the process).


Hope you remember? Repeated boycotts made me forget the way to the Parliament


... and this is an extinct species of a Parliamentary etiquette following MP


It is hereby informed that this premises is not for commercial use ... shut your shop from here ... else this place would be sealed. By order - Public


Live Telecast


Breaking news! Today the Parliament managed to get some work done


The Great Indian Comedy Show


In our sport steroids are an absolute necessity


Walk out

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'For Activist Judges, Try India'

The Great Indian Middle Class having lost all hopes on the political fraternity and the bureaucracy is left with only a solitary succour – the judiciary and more particularly the Supreme Court. The courts can stick to their stand, which most often are for the better of the nation and they have been able to do it with consistency because they aren't directly accountable to the forces of populism.

This is often interpreted as activism, and the legislature is expectedly uncomfortable with the way the things are going and hence a bill proposing a National Judicial Council, which in turn will frame a 'ethics code' for the judges, is waiting for the Cabinet nod.

Things become more interesting if looked through a foreigner's eye, who doesn't have a direct stake or is impacted by what is happening. Time has this story by Simon Robinson (the title of this post is from the story)

If you think the US has a problem with activist judges, take a look at India - this country's judiciary is among the most opinionated and interventionist in the world. The Indian Supreme Court regularly wades into national debates; nudges lawmakers by making its opinions and, therefore, its possible future rulings, known; and criticizes government policies. The judges' contribution certainly adds a wonderful air of rowdiness to the public discourse of the world's biggest democracy, but it can sometimes seem that the Supreme Court, as much as the government, runs the country...

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The Cat Loves Milk with Cream

The elected representatives have repeatedly disgraced our democracy; the occasional dignity which the judiciary attempts to inculcate is looked upon as an infringement on the terrain of the legislature and there is a flutter of political activity to put things back in their populist state. Appeasement and populism have a long history in our not-so-old democracy. We have seen free electricity lowering the water tables and driving boards bankrupt; a law promulgated to wrong a right which the court had ordered; free colour televisions and rice for Rs. 2. We have seen more of such shameless vote garnering gestures and our gullible hoi polloi manages to fall for such cheap poll tricks which have grave long run implications.

Thank the Constitution for a body like the Supreme Court, which from time to time ensures that all's not wrong with the Indian state. And it angers a common man like me when those shameless conscienceless wretches (would have used a more vile term, but this is a public blog) attempt to again wrong a right. Our issue hungry 'intelligentsia' will go out of their way to support the ideas of the very people they would otherwise despise. Long arguments will take place on live television and newspaper columns. Similarities would be drawn between dissimilar systems and practices to prove an invalid point. Unverified and inauthentic statistics will be cited. Because expressing support for the 'underprivileged' is the in-thing, even though the very ideas might end up doing more harm than good to the very people whose causes they are supposedly voicing.

The same is happening with the Supreme Court's directive on the creamy layer of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which states that they shouldn't be getting the benefits of reservation. The counter argument is that the Constitution speaks about only social and educational backwardness and does not mention economic backwardness and also alleges that the judiciary is encroaching on parliamentary functions. Some have even pointed fingers at the 'upper caste composition' of the courts.

My argument is simple, I will not again delve into the rights and wrongs of reservation, will just quote someone I heard on television, "If reservation has worked in the last five decades, then we should no longer need it; if it hasn't, what's the need?"

The issue of mixing or separating the cream and/from the milk. One question, "What's exactly wrong in excluding the creamy layer of the backward classes?" Expecting some convincing answers in the comments (convincing on the part of commenter, not necessarily this blogger).

Now to what is right. The purpose of reservation was to uplift the people who have been historically discriminated against (who fits into the definition depends on politics not socio-economics). The creamy layer that the Supreme Court is talking about are the ones who have reaped the benefits of the practice of reservation and should therefore now make way for others. If this is not done, then it will be the creamy layer of the SCs, STs and OBCs who will continue to make the most of the practice, unfairly. The remainder of the backward classes will remain where they were or would go further deeper in the vicious cycle which six decades of lofty promises and multiple-amended constitution have failed to get them out of. And they said reservations will usher in social justice.

Then our lawmakers would come up with another brilliant idea (translates to 7.5 per cent more votes), further raise the reservation levels, so that the remainder can be easily accommodated and the cream doesn't feel any discomfort. Milk to many, tastes better with cream in it. The scum, previously referred to as the General Category, will remain.

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