For those who have evolved...

The ugly head of hypocrisy rises once again...

I got goosebumps when I read about Dr. Sen being convicted to a life sentence for sedition... My senses have now reached beyond the point of asking if this is fair..because most things in this world aren't..

May be we humans have evolved, and are continuously evolving, into vegetative beings. May be George Orwell was right, if slightly pre-mature...May be we are incapable of thinking, incapable of feeling...May be the time has come when we have lost it all...

There are those like Dr. Sen who truly believe in human rights, and not just for the sake of talking about it..And then there are those like us, who read (some of us at least read, thankfully), may be think, feel momentarily (those that are less evolved still may have the vestiges of emotion), but as evolution catches up with us, we just cannot react..cannot voice out what we feel..

Off course, there still exist those primates, less evolved, more violent, ready to fight against that overwhelming tide of vegetativeness, like Julian Assange..

We, the evolved, august beings, criticize this man for putting lives of many in danger, but evolution helps us in selectively choosing to forget the millions who have already died due to the acts of "Big Brother"..

Here's to the rise of Evolution...

The new Dark Ages??

For the past few weeks, all that the newspapers have been reporting is the heinous "Talibanised" statements and acts by the self styled "immoral" police in Karnataka. The goons have claimed to be the upholders of the Hindu law in India and even plan to get the couples out on valentine's day married!!!

The actually appalling part is not that some idiot is saying stuff like this, but it is the fact that it makes for front page news in the print media. The electronic media is no better- at the Mangalore pub, according to one eye-witness account, the cameras had reached before the goons did. There was someone who called "action" before the ruffians entered the pub!! So much for the "activist" role of the media.

Next, which culture or religion's tradition are these men trying to retain? If they really mean Hinduism, they are surely misguided. Ravana in Ramayana did not molest Sita when he abducted her- he upheld his dignity. Draupadi's was the character with immense strength in Mahabharata- it was the insult to her that actually led to the war of Kurukshetra. Do they even know one shloka from the Gita? And I am not even asking them to recite the Vedic Ruchas!!

The Sriram sene workers should be registered as sex offenders for molesting the women in the mangalore pub, and should not have been allowed to go free on bail. They just need another pretext to harass and molest innocent young women, and not safeguard our "culture".

And whose culture is it anyway? Hinduism in the Vedic ages never talked of the subjugation of women. At some point between the Vedas and the Upanishads, came the scriptures of Manu, which sowed the seeds of the lower status of women by men in the Hindu society. It was only after the invasion of Islam in India that the concept of Ghoonghat and Zenana came into existence in the Hindu social fabric. So who's values are they actually guarding?

The most outrageus part is the non-action on the part of the state and central machinery on this issue. What kind of justice is it to release these men on bail? Why aren't the state as well as the central ministries-the ones that the same public, which is being held to ransom by a pack of bestial bigots, voted- aren't taking any action to ensure security to the citizens? Why aren't these outfits being banned for terrorising common people? Why aren't the police making precautionary arrests so that people can do as the please without fearing their for their dignity or their lives?

Why do I read Muthalik's atrocious statements on the front page instead of Yedyurappa's and Manmohan Singh's assurances of safety and security?

Yes, can we really?

Barack Obama is being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Widely billed as the "Candidate of change", with not only the Americans, but the entire world rallying behind him with calls of "Yes, we can!"

But seriously, can we, really? can he bring in the change that we all are hoping for, or rather desparately seeking?

With Gaza, Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, all conflicts escalating at the very time when Obama takes charge of the Oval Office, will he bring in a radical change in the foreign policy of the USA? Personally, I don't think so. For one, his defense secretary Robert Gates is a Bush appointee.

Clinton supported Israel, and so did all the presidents before him right since Lyndon Johnson. Check the link "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction" for reference. And although Obama has all reasons NOT to support Israel, he still hasn't condemned the Israel attacks on Gaza; instead he has reportedly gone on to say that Hamas deserved the ruthless attack. The Gazans may starve to death, but Obama will continue to support Israel. And God forbid, but if this war escalates into a full Middle East conflict, then he might even use military intervention, causing the entire of west Asia and the Indian Subcontinent to be in jeopardy.

His views on Pakistan may be different from those of President Bush's, but then, who knows pre-election political rhetoric better than us Indians? I donot see him pressurizing Pakistan into extraditing the terrorists. But in fact, it could very well be that the White House may just bide its time into dilly-dallying and sweep this issue under the carpet, leaving the Indian parliament watching wide-eyed and mute-mouthed.

Another major issue that comes up in my mind is his stand on immigrants, especially the Asians. The Americans have built their country on the shoulders of the immigrants. Whatever they are, it is because of the hard work of those who nurture the great American dream. But now the growth has not only been saturated, but it is also receding fast. Now, suddenly, the lawmakers realised that they don't really need the brains and sweat of the immigrants; the work has already been done. So out the immigrants go. And the worst hit, could be you and me.

I am sorry if I appear pessimistic about the larger-than-life icon of hope and change in the world order. But his stand on outsourcing, immigrants and Israel leaves a lot of questions about his future course of governance unanswered in my mind.

Please note: The opinions are personal and I respect all those people who continue to support Mr. Obama. I donot wish to enter any debate regarding the credibility of Mr. President. Time can only tell.

Some of the Changes I thought of

The response to my first post encourages me to write more. All I want to do is set your minds thinking. One of my friends actually thought of writing his own blog after reading mine. Well, that is encouragement enough. Thank you all for reading my first post.
Let us face it, when we talk of change, we are talking of an upheaval of over 60 years of lethargy and apathy that has set in the system. And bringing about change isn't as easy as a military ruler either. The army is an arm of self defence, and it will only protect the constitution, not disregard it. So our basic constraint to bring about the kind of political rennaissance that we need today is to work within thee frameworks of democracy and uphold the basic principles of the constitution.

1. Basics first. A degree of graduation should be mandatory for any candidate contesting the elections. No previous criminal records and a declaration of financial assets (the latter already exists). If there is a lower age limit for candidates, then there should be an upper age limit too. Gone are the days when age=experience=capability. New Dehli shold take a leaf out of corporate India where nothing except ability=capability.
2. A two party political system. We donot want innumerable regional parties, coalition politics, or a day when Mayawati can call herself the next Prime Minister.
3. An extension of point 2, I have an entire procedure in mind. (I have learnt of this from a very learned and experienced professor of Law who had contributed for the Constitution Reammendment Committee. It is something that had been recommended to then President K. R. Narayanan but was never implemented.) If there are more than 2 candidates contesting from any constituency (most likely scenario in our country) , then generally the one who wins has't been voted by the majority. It is just that the vote of the majority was divided and hence, a particular candidate, who had the most votes (not necessarily the majority of votes) wins. In the recommended system, the first phase of elections takes place between all the candidates, then the second phase takes place between the top 2 candidates. Hence, the majority vote counts here. Not a fool proof method, yet it is worth considering.
4. A prime ministerial debate on the lines of the presidential debate. Here, the two parties shall field a candidate each as the nominee before the assembly elections, and they shall debate on their policies on law and order, health, education, finance, defence, etc. If a prime ministerial debate is too much to ask for, we can at least demand the stand on each of these portfolios from the candidates of our constituencies. We should be given the chance to make an informed choice.
5. Lastly(because of the lack of space, not because of a dearth of ideas) a referendum from the public on all important bills that are to be passed in the Lok Sabha. The reservation controversy may not have happened if the people were allowed to decide.

Signing off for now, waiting for your comments on these points.

Negative Voting

I realised people had not heard about this concept of "protest vote" or "negative vote".
Here's how:
49(0) - Caste your vote for no one
Rule No. 49(O) in the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 says:
"Elector deciding not to vote - If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17 A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer, and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark."

Steps for doing this :
1. while registering the name at the time of voting, convey to the booth officials that you want to go for 49'O.
2. Fill the 49'O form available there.

If the number of 49'O count is larger than that of the winning candidate's total vote count, then a re-election is called there.

Mumbai unplugged

It is exactly 1 week since the terrorists opened fire at CST and went on to take not only Mumbai, but the entire moderate ideology hostage. Hundreds lost their lives; but the casualties included the death of the political apathy of the man on the streets.

He rose from his daily dose of chatting over a cup of tea about the problems the country faces, to protest against the ineptitude and impotency of the lawmakers sitting in their safe havens in the national capital. People were out on the streets in the metros- especially in Mumbai right opposite the epicentre of the 26/11 terror attacks. Some radical, some pacifist, some channelised, some wild, everyone had views that they wanted to express. And predictably, the media was in a frenzy to cover an unprecedented public outrage, the first when all classes of the society were out to lash the politicians, whether of the ruling parties or those of the opposition.

But, there is a word of caution here.
Donot forget this anger. Because steam when let out all at a time leaves a vacuum inside later. Because the fire should continue burning till there is a change. Channelise this anger into proactiveness. Street marches are fine. But come out in the same numbers to vote in elections 2009.

PLEASE DONOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF BOYCOTTING THE ELECTIONS. IF YOU DONOT EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE, SOMEONE ELSE WILL CASTE YOUR VOTE.
By not voting you will only ensure that the next government will be even worse than the present.

INSTEAD, IF YOU REALLY THINK THAT NONE OF THE CANDIDATES ARE WORTHY OF YOUR PRECIOUS VOTE (WHICH IS MOST LIKELY), THEN REGISTER A PROTEST VOTE.
Ask the presiding officer at your election centre to register your vote in favour of none of the candidates. If all voters make use of the protest vote, the politicians will realise that the REAL INDIA (yes, the one with lipstick and powder on its face) is unsatisfied. And to attain a position of previlege, they will have to serve the people- not themselves.

One last thought.
If the government is inept at carrying out its duties, nobody is to blame, but us- the people who voted them into power. The politicians are the result of our own apathy, lethargy and complete indifference towards political proactiveness by chosing to vote (or not vote) in the wrong kind of people in the Parliament.

Not Just a Blog.

Why am i writing this blog??
I talk a lot about a lot of things. I have strong political views. I want to make a difference and I don't know how. It's time I reach out to the community with my opinions on the world of politics and the politics of the world.. The least I can do is write them down for other people to read, think,contemplate, introspect, act..
I promise I shall not be neutral. This is not a direct report of news, but an impassioned account of how the news touched me, how it shall affect the community, and what we can do about it.
C9omments shall not only be appreciated but are recommended. This thread is intended to be a discussion, a movement-not just a blog.