Not all those who wander are lost. Not Mrs. Sonia Gandhi for sure!

The headline of this piece is actually a quote by the famous J.R.R.Tolkien on travel. I just added the second line!

And this quote definitely does NOT apply on Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of UPA. She was drawn into the headlines, this week, after a much charged remark by Mr. Narendra Modi that Govt. of India had incurred an expenditure of Rs. 1880 crores on the foreign trips of Mrs Gandhi. Expenditure directly coming from normal taxpayer’s hard earner income!

The remark was made in the poll bound state of Gujrat already in mid of a pre electoral frenzy involving exchange of words between ruling BJP & opposition Congress. Against such a set up, the remark of Mr. Modi naturally shook the entire nation.

Lot has happened after that! The original RTI applicant Mr. Ramesh Verma from Hisar went on to say that he had not yet got any reply from the Govt. and that Mr. Modi had misquoted him. For records, Mr. modi had quoted this amount from a Gujrati Newspaper and in all probability, news of similar overtones had been carried in other newspapers too.

Whether it was correct or not correct, Modi had made a remark. In fact, he went on to ask the central Govt to correct him by providing the exact figure. And, very surprisingly, the Govt did NOT retort back with exact figures. This left the country wondering, as UPA run central Govt in the past had never left any opportunity to tarnish Modi.

Why did the Govt keep quiet? Why doesn’t it give answer to the nation? After all, Rs. 1880 crore is not a very small amount. To quote Mr. Modi himself, “This clearly means that more than the total yearly budget of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Rajkot Municipal Corporation combined has been spent only on the foreign trips of Sonia Gandhi and on her luxury hotel stays,"

And then all of a sudden CIC said that NO LOSS had been incurred over the medical expenditure of Mrs. Gandhi (whatever it means!) and went on to say that Mrs. Gandhi never gave any bills for reimbursement. Hello there! the question is on her foreign trip expenditure. Of course, world’s 4^th richest politician (as per Forbes) can foot her medical bill.

While we shall see if the Govt. ever shares the exact figures incurred on the foreign trips of Mrs. Gandhi, but I question the very need for incurring any amount on her foreign trips.

Ø      What official post does Mrs. Gandhi hold? So as to entail her for trips abroad!

Ø      What powers have been vested in her to sign any accord with any foreign country! So why the foreign trips?

Ø      What major decision has been ever taken by Mrs Gandhi internally so as to expect her to take one with regards to a foreign country! So why foreign trips

Ø      Chairperson of a ruling coalition is not officially the head of the state! So why foreign trips.

Of course, her private trips are her private affair. She is free to travel to Zug (banking capital of Switzerland) suddenly in mid of the huge protest by Baba Ramdev for bringing back the black money or she is free to make sudden mysterious trips to US for check up (which our great investigative media could not or did not investigate). BUT, when a statement by a senior leader is made on her foreign trips being paid out of tax payers money, she can not keep quiet. Govt. can not keep quiet.

And it is the same lady who had called Modi a “maut ka saudagar” but in midst of such a major, if I may call it, an allegation, she decides not to answer it and I am afraid, it can not be seen as a mark of humility or greatness…it leaves a lot to the imagination of public, perhaps yet another feeling of let down unless Govt clears the stance

An open letter to Mr. Sanjiv Bhatt

Dear Mr. Bhatt

Recently you once ‘again’ wrote a letter to Mr. Narendra Modi but I am not sure if you got an answer yet and whether you SHOULD ever get! You know, a Chief Minister of any state is a busy man and he should never reply to a letter written out of personal vendetta and bagful of lies.

I, of course, understand that every human being wishes to get his two minutes of fame and you are no exception, assuming that you too are a normal human being. Your craving for fame is well known.

In your case getting ‘fame’ has not been much difficult as we all know that you have enough friends in media, bureaucracy and a particular political party who are in opposition in Gujrat now.  In fact you are so popular that they offer and you ACCEPT costly mobiles as ‘token of friendship’ while you are on duty.

And I must congratulate you that some ‘reputed’ media houses are in the habit of letting you capture their prime time basis only your unproved allegations. What else can I say when SIT has actually nailed you on what you do the best- spreading nefarious claims but still you are on media. You are a very lucky man, Mr. Bhatt. Ohh yes, being a police officer, I hope you have full faith in SIT.

How strange it is Mr. Bhatt that in your letter you ask Mr. Modi to “introspect his true self concealed behind a meticulous imagery created by his media managers”, well before I move on, a big  WOW to you, kudos for your choice of words. In fact I seriously feel that you should become a novelist, now after all you are too good in conjuring STORIES. We all know that and with your powerful friends, you might as well win a Booker’s prize. Try it!

Coming back to ‘introspection’, do you yourself know the meaning of this word? I doubt because had it been so you would have resigned for the custodial deaths that you ordered while you were the SP in Jamnagar.  Since you are concerned about humanity, I wonder if a human being was killed in custody or an animal! And to think you also shared your ‘valuable unsolicited views’ on Sohrabuddin encounter!

In fact you were ASP then, right but you arrested people baselessly under TADA and successfully murdered a man in your custody. Now please don’t get offended when I use the word ‘murdered’…you too have been using this word too often. You killed and yet you got let away! You sure have brains and why not? You are an alumni of IIT-B.

Tell me Mr.Bhatt, you were also involved in a mega recruitment scam, isn’t it. At least some reports say so though your friends in media never highlighted it. Don’t worry, they will not too.

Another feather in your cap was how you unsuccessfully tried to implicate a lawyer in a fake narcotics case (straight out of a bollywood movie, you watch too many of them?). A criminal case was filed against you and it is still on and you talk of morality in your letter. Had you been moral, you would have resigned.

Are you a late riser, Mr. Bhatt? I am asking so because your ‘conscience’ woke up a bit too late with respect to 2002 riots. I wonder why? What kept you silent for some years?

You kept harping that you were in the meeting but seven senior officers refuted your claim? Why should NOT we trust the other officers? In fact it is a folklore now that how you pressurized your driver Mr. Panth to falsely testify against SIT but he later told the truth. He said how you put pressure on him. Why, Mr. Bhatt? Why put pressure to prove that you were in a meeting while actually you were not. And yes, Mr. Panth has a conscience, learn from him.

As a crusader of truth, I fail to remember if you ever asked any media to interview Mr. Rais Khan who was a colleague of your ‘very dear friend’ Ms. Teesta Seethalvad? Now if you are a champion of truth and morality, you should have demanded but you did not. Well you must have had reasons!

Mr. Bhatt the whole nation has seen through you and we know where you come from. A man who is himself maligned should first prove his innocence rather than point finger at some one else but being the intelligent man you are, you indulged in policy of  “offence is the best defence” but it has not worked. The cases are still against you.

Now Mr. Bhatt the onus is on you to become a role model. Clear your name, if you can, in innumerable cases against you. Once you do so, then introspect on the career that you should follow. My advice is that you can perhaps contest elections on Congress ticket but don’t contest in Gujrat. It won’t work.

I also hope and sincerely pray that you can ‘introspect’ and find honest and truthful answers to some of these questions during your  lifetime.

Warm Regards

Jaideep Bhattacharjee

MODIvated India!

Since the time I got my senses & started using my limited mental faculties, I have been hearing about the famous “Tryst with Destiny” speech made by our first PM from the parapets of Red Fort on the midnight of 14^th/15^th August 1947. Mostly, I have heard about the speech from the media who do not forget to air it every 15^th August, 26^th January and 14^th November. Of course, he was blessed with the Gift of the Gab.

But only gift of gab doesn’t always work…it is the substance in the person and his/her ideas/vision, which make people sit up and take notice of the person. India has seen its share of leaders ever since and many will remain immortal for us.

In the last decade, India has seen a transition. The biggest change was noticed in the behaviour of the Indian public. It had become aware and concerned to the political class of India. May be it was because we saw Governments of two extreme ideologies and Indian public has become smart enough to make the difference in terms of the ‘deliverables’.

While the last decade has created a sense of pride and despondency both, it also would be known for the emergence of one man who has time and again been ‘COVERED’ by media. I am referring to Narendra Modi. When I say covered, media covered Modi MOSTLY in the context of 2002 Gujrat riots. It tried to create a demon out of a man (thanks to its neutral interviews of known Modi bashers like Teesta Sheetalvad but amazingly it never interviewed people who questioned Ms. Seethalvad).

Did the media succeed? I guess not, because had it been so then media would have forgotten him after a while but they simply could not. Every discussion on democracy continues to be linked to Gujarat and Modi. What made the matters worse for the mainstream media was the relentless unequivocal unsolicited support of Indians from across the country for the man. This is not a sheer illusion. It can be verified on social network sites like Twitter, FB etc. May be this was also one reason which made the UPA government embark upon its ambitious initiative to quell democracy by banning these sites. It did not succeed!

Modi is a rare politician. Rare, not because of his devotion to serve india or not rare because of the kind of support he gets BUT he is rare BECAUSE despite media not highlighting his achievements in the state, the country still knows all about it. Isn’t it rare to be a politician,  not supported by mainstream media, to enjoy support from across the country?

Here social media came to his rescue and being the techsavvy that he is, he utilized the benefits with open arms and who benefited the most?-our country and we the people. This is simply because we too could start DREAMING of a strong nation under a strong leader.

Nation wants a road map. It wants successful case studies which can be replicated across. In such a background, Mr. Modi “faced The Nation” on 31^st August, 2012. Popular as Modi Hangout, it created a wave of excitement amongst people. The man was there himself ready to take on questions of people and answer them.

Which other politican has done so? In fact the current PM, if I can say so, literally shied away from the call of Mr. Advani to participate in a public debate on the eve of 2009 election! But then Modi is head strong and different.

Of course, during the Hang Out, the questions varied from secularism to Manesar and then back to Gujrat and Modi answered them ( the writer attended the session little late only to hear his comments on Gujrat but good old twitter came to his rescue with live tweets of people during the session). Now many people will raise the question that Modi used the platform as a election propaganda. So be it, what’s wrong in it?

Isn’t Congress going all over the place with their promise to Gujarat electorate and media covering it too? But the same media conveniently forgot to mention Modi’s highlights. This is wrong and unethical to people!

While world wide from US congressional Committee to Japan has woken up to the sheer persona and VISION of this man, but back home , many like Nitish Kumar, other ‘secular’ politicians , think tanks and media,  do not think so. They have not been able to move on from 2002 (not because of any humane thoughts but rather address their own objectives).  In such a situation, such hangouts are required!

In view of rampant corruption & loot of tax payers’ money as evidenced in last 8 years, India needs motivation! it needs a new “Tryst With Destiny” and may be the road map will emerge from Gujrat. May be it is time to rephrase the word Motivation with MODIvation, at least million in India think so!

Loyalty Redefined – The 10 Janpath way!

Loyalty is a very strong word and exudes stronger emotion…it is both individualistic and holistic. When I say individualistic, it can be like loyalty to friends, loyalty to family, spouse, fav singer/actor etc but the loyalty on a holistic level is loyalty for a larger cause or an ideology. Plainly speaking, I mean loyalty to nation and its people.

But, in both the cases, the basic fact remains that it takes a long time to deserve or get the loyalty of someone. Especially so in the case of politicians who have to go back to electorate after every five years.

A politician spends ages to get loyalty of his people, people who trust him and send him to power. We have seen leaders across parties who had earned loyalty of the people because the leaders were loyal to the country and its people.

But having said so, Congress party in last few years have redefined the meaning of loyalty. It has treated those people with higher regards & rewards who have remained LOYAL to 10Janpath ahead of the party, forget being loyal to state, electorate and nation. Though it has been a tradition within the party, this LOYALTY to 10J & getting rewarded for the same has assumed blowing proportions in last few years

Two glaring examples in last 31 days-

Mr. Tarun Gogoi – Mr. Gogoi is an experienced and cunning politician. Man who grew under the shadows of Late Hiteshwar Saikia, has always been known as 10J Loyalist and the inhabitants of 10J came to his rescue when he was targeted by one and all for his callous handling of riots in Bodo areas. Riots which continued for almost a week saw over 1.5 lakh people getting homeless apart from loss of life and property. The reason for the riots has been systematic pogrom of allowing Bangladeshi illegal immigrants who have moved over to the state and acted as precious vote bank for the Congress regime in the state. Gogoi did not do anything to control or contain the problem.

Instead of him being immediately replaced for not being able to control the riots, 10J showered all its blessings and support to ensure he remained the CM.

Mr. Ashok Gehlot – He is the CM of Rajasthan and a known loyalist to 10J. While he achieved nothing great but during his tenure, Rajasthan was in the news for the murder of Bhanwari Devi, a murder in which Congress leader Mr. Maderna, close to CM, was involved. CM did not take any action until media upped the ante and he could feel the heat.

This was followed by Bharatpur riots where again he was found acutely missing in action. Some 13 people lost lives.

In the last three days, Rajasthan has been severing under heavy rains which has already claimed 37 lives but what does the CM do? He refuses to visit the effected areas since  he found it more important to organize the welcome party for Ms. Sonia Gandhi and now he has also refused for a all party meet (demanded by BJP) to address the problems caused by the rains.

Both the CMs continue but did Congress party and 10J think even for a minute about the loyalty of the people of two states who voted them to power? Do they even consider the feeling of the people who feel cheated since they empowered these two people who did everything except delivering their promise to the people of their respective states.

But who cares since Congress has redefined the meaning of Loyalty!

Khamosh – Quiet India

So at last our Government does it!

I am sure soul of Joseph Stalin & Joseph Goebbels, must be very happy today, wherever they are.  Our country which basked in the glory of “Freedom of expression” has now made its citizens yearn for “expression of freedom” and sadly enough not much choice is being given. What else can be said when the Government is trying to gag its citizens.

While in the recent past, we saw, if I can call it. monarchies like Egypt which gave in to the voice of its citizens, but here in our own backyard, things are different.  Here, the Government of the “so called largest democracy of the world” is leaving no stone unturned in doing everything undemocratic. Why is it doing so?

The most important and undeniable fact is that Government is well aware of the power of the opinion and how, in the current date, this opinion is very much against its working , its ethos and its existence. And why not! What has this Government done to alleviate this feeling of despondency, disgust and betrayal from the minds of its citizens.

While this Government, since its first day left no stone unturned in breaking all records in corruption (though our brave smart and “witty” PM had assured nation that it will eradicate corruption in first 100 days-well yes this government knows how to joke) but then that killed the financial health of our nation which was known as Sone Ki Chidiya but UPA got all its motivation from British concept of “drain of wealth”.

BUT, the recent incidents which shook the social fabric of the nation were the final blow that this beleaguered nation could take.  These incidents manifested, yet again, the intent of our Government in NOT resolving key isues which can break our nation.

It yet again manifested the short sightedness of this government which can literally put our peace and unity at stake, for its mere survival.

While UPA had already shown its non-tolerance to Public angst on the midnight of 4^th/5^th June 2011 at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi which resulted in the death of a 51 year old Rajbala who was a “THREAT’ to the nation oops the government perhaps. But that is past!

The recent Assam riots which was a conflict between Indians and Illegal immigrants was ignored. Of course it resulted in over 70 deaths and millions going homeless but it did not register any urgency in the government.

If it was not enough, there were “incidents of small violence” at Azad Maidan, Mumbai on 11^th August. The violence happened at a ‘protest’ movement by a muslim organization Reza Academy which protested against Assam riots (but didn’t B’deshi muslim illegal immigrants take part in it) and so called violence against muslims at Myanmar! Reza academy is perhaps more concerned about incidents involving community members form other nations!

And the final crusher came in the form of mass exodus of NE Indians which was evidenced at Bangalore, Pune & Mumbai . The exodus happened after a SMS based threat created panic in the minds of NE Indians settled in these cities. Government quickly called the entire SMS a rumour which perhaps it was but fact remains it made thousand flee from one part of their own country to another. And case in hand is the Maharashtra Government which did nothing during the exodus from Pune but now is offering “chartered planes” to bring back the NE Indians. Hasn’t the maharasthra Government heard of something called Train which is more economical?

What did the UPA government do? Nothing? What did the “newly rewarded” Home Minister do? Nothing! Of course no media described the efforts of RSS to help our citizens from NE in all the cities. But it is a different story.

And if it was not enough, we got to know about the “father” of all scams- COALGATE which directly involved the PMO. It was but natural for all the citizens, who are also tax payers, to feel angry and vent their feelings?

And here comes the big question? How could people vent their angst when many and more think that many of the media fraternity (both print & TV) are not doing their desired job diligently. It is not sharing the news. In such an event, it was but natural for people to resort to social media to share their anger. What’s wrong in it?

But here our Government was “proactive” (maybe it is too inspired from Mr. Rahul Gandhi who thinks he is active for politics) to immediately ban some sites and taking this proactiveness, even further, it also banned some popular twitter accounts namely Mr. Kanchan Gupta & Mr. Shiv Aroor (both are eminent journalist, By the way). So is the Government so insecure as to get threatened by two people? Where is the equity of the Government, if it had any in the first place?

But the same Government was very quiet when people like Ms. Arundhati Roy vented her ire against our forces deployed in Kashmir, when she almost raised demand for free Kashmir? Why was Ms. Arundhati Roy NOT banned? Wasn’t she or rather ISN’T she a threat to our social and internal peace?

It is a time for a serious introspect for the Government. If it has to improve its image in the minds of the people, it should not just believe in placating those 500+ people inside the parliament but rather millions outside it. It should send right signals which encourages a public debate, it should take views in the right ernest and address them. Whether it does so, remains to be seen.

But till then, let it be Shotgun Sinha’s famous rhetoric for all o us – KHAMOSH because our government wants it so  

Tryst with Destiny - Sitting on a Time Bomb!

At mid-night, sixty Five years ago, our first Prime Minister made the nation and world ready for India’s tryst with its destiny…but years down that eventful date, I wonder what is the destiny of our nation? Have we understood and defined, quantified this word called destiny!

Two countries got their independence almost during the same time- India & China. While latter took their destiny seriously and grew leaps and bounds, India grew but not at the rate as was expected. Why? While comparing with China might be little unfair, as the laying foundations and principles have differed but after 65 years, it is time for us to retrospect on our destiny that was to be.

It is time to see the exact position of India, where it is. And I feel that presently we are sitting on a Time Bomb!

But before we proceed, let us consider indisputable facts :

v     Congress has ruled the country for 52 years

v     Out of the 52 years, one family has ruled the country for 43 years. (I have safely included the present Cong Govt of Dr. Manmohan Singh a part of the same family since his government is run by 10 Janpath)

So what has Congress, which ruled the country for the maximum time, destined for the country?

The country, initially ‘destined’ as democratic, secular, peace loving, developed country presents a different picture today!

The last 65 years has rather seen India getting more and more divided against getting united for a common cause, as was at least hoped for.  

While in terms of making a global presence, much more remains to be desired but internally too, today we are truly speaking of a nation on the brink of fragmentation. The situation can be drawn parallel from conditions before French revolution or in contemporary times, condition prevailing in USSR before it broke down.

This country has seen social divide beyond anyone’s imagination.  While riots on communal lines have been a regular feature, there have been new tendencies and upsetting trends, yet to be controlled.

No free independent country in history has seen an exodus of its own indigenous people out of sheer fear and threats but India achieved this dubious ‘feat’ when starting late 80s Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their own land of over 5000 years. The reason for this exodus was the complete blind eye policy of Congress regime under Late PM Rajiv Gandhi to the ever emanating threats of dissidence from the valley. Nothing was done then, Nothing is done even now.

 The Kashmir problem was the result of clear absence of anything closely resembling a policy, a short sightedness on the part of our first PM. Continuous suggestions from people like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee had gone unheeded and today we are facing this demon threatening our nation.

If Kashmir was not enough, the same mistake of ignoring warnings was followed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the daughter of the first PM, giving us the most unwanted and undesired problem of Sikh militancy. While the militancy was controlled, nation saw the riots of 84, which once again divided the country. It left a bad taste in the mouths of every Indian.

While talking of riots, of course 2002 Gujrat riots remains the reference point for all, but there have been riots at regular intervals before and after 2002 and most of them in Congress ruled states or during Congress at centre. No riot ends before leaving a sad memory in the minds of the nation, creating a further divide.

While the basis of secularism and democracy is all about giving same importance and opportunity to everyone irrespective of their case, creed, religion or gender, Congress unleashed and fanatically practiced the policy of “appeasement of few (read primarily muslims)  for their votes”. Of course, it won them seats but gave the country a mammoth problem. It opened a Pandora’s Box, which has not closed nor will, in a long time.

While congress did no thing to alleviate the conditions of muslims, rather it befooled the muslim populace but their canister of empty promises never ended.

While Shah Bano case is a clear example of apathy of the Congress in terms of its commitment to women and nation and brought forth its two faced principles, the appeasement of muslims has today created another problem called Assam (and many other states), a state which has seen a continuous influx of Muslim illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and sadly, instead of curtailing it, Congress ruled Assam encouraged it.  

In line with many riots in its past, Assam saw riots again in the month of July-August 2012, when the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh rioted with indigenous population of the state, with both State Govt and Central Govt remaining a mute witness for almost 3-4 days before some action was taken. Rather than taking control, Congress led UPA government changed the Home Minister (not as a punishment). To speak of priority!

The echoes of this fresh riot were then seen in Mumbai when muslim community led meeting turned violent and subsequently in states like Karnataka where people from Assam just started going back to their state after reported threats from the muslim community. This reminds of Kashmir of late Eighties when kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee from their own lands.

On the other hand we have North East (again ruled through out by Congress) which is showing trends of friction. These seven sisters are simply tired of the complete apathy shown by, in their own words, India (spoken as a different nation). The entire North East, maybe barring Arunachal Pradesh, is a hot boiler of complex issues. This is another example of Congress’ complete lack of Pan India vision.

If this is not enough, we have the menace of Naxalites which has become more pronounced in the last seven-eight years. It has moved from one state to another looming large over our internal peace. Has our Congress Government put in place a single robust policy to combat this threat… answer is NO.

While politically today India has parties galore but the point to be considered is that MOST of these regional parties are breakdowns from Congress and as a result just added to the chaos.

And if this is not enough, we have something called Communal Violence bill (again a Congress creation) waiting to be presented n the parliament and if passed, will break India beyond any repair.

With caste and religion based politics has been the ethos of Congress, the nation has paid the price. Today we are indeed sitting on a time bomb with the prayer that it gets diffused. Even if a non Congress Government comes in at 2014, it will take a long time to undo the errors done by the Congress.

Welcome HOME sub-inspector Shinde!

So in the immediate aftermath of a major communal violence witnessed in recent times in Assam, UPA suddenly decides to go for a major cabinet reshuffle. Only that UPA did not care to find any HOME for more than 1.50 lakhs HOME less victims.

Not that otherwise our situation presents a very rosy picture elsewhere! With ever threatening menace of Naxalite attacks, the menace of terrorism continuing unabated, unrest in Telangana, demands for Gorkhaland, unrest in entire N. East...the list can continue. So, in such a, ‘not too friendly’ situation and times, the decision to suddenly usher in a ‘novice’ as our Home Minister, defies common logic.

Then what can be the reason? Is it that suddenly Mrs Sonia Gandhi and HER team of government, including our Prime Minister, realized that the incumbent of the position was inefficient?

No, it is not because had it been so, he would NOT have been made our Finance Minister. A Ministry which, during Mr. Chidambaram's old tenure, made many controversial decisions. Decisions amounting to scams worth Lakhs of Crores of taxpayer’s money!

But the decision has been taken!

I only have few questions here pertaining to the appointment of new Home Minister

Q) Why now? Which silver lining was seen in the clouds by UPA to elevate a man from shadows to forefront?

Q) How long will the new Home Minister take to understand, forget solving, our internal issues, our set of problems?

Q) As a starter, will the Home Minister take head on the problem of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants?

In a boiler like situation, a man without any prior experience (in Home Ministry) has been made Home Minister overnight!

Is it really such an unimportant post that decisions can be taken so fast?

Doesn’t the decision have the ability to upset many systems?

How does the Government expect this man to resolve issues which his predecessor could not?

How will the country feel confident when hours before becoming our new Home Minister, he could not solve what was perhaps the biggest crisis he ever faced – the complete black out of the country thus earning a dubious world record in the process!

If complete failure, to provide a solution, was not enough, his response to this mammoth crisis was equally discomforting and spoke of his attitude. I quote “We got electricity in a matter of hours... people should appreciate how work is done at the grid,". This is NOT a response we expect from our future Home Minister. We don’t want our HM to say, after god forbids another terror attack, that we are controlling terror and people should appreciate.

Mr. Shinde was a sub-inspector in Police (I hope an honest one) before Mr. Sharad Pawar drew him to politics. It is again intriguing as to what special qualities INSPECTOR Shinde had as to draw attention from a man like Pawar.

But, since he was in police force, I hope that he would understand the needs of our forces better than his predecessors. He should be able to support our forces and give them confidence in situations like Batla House encounter.

The man who lost the Vice president elections but now, upon appointed the HM, started talking about him being a dalit! Was it required? When the country is already besotted by so many problems, casteism amongst them, a Home Minister should not have harped so much on dalit factor. But we should not forget that Congress politicians play politics over national interests.

Mr. Shinde, stop ranting about being a dalit…the day you joined a job and then politics and now upon becoming a Home Minister, you are not entitled to call your self a dalit (in terms of hardships and government benefits).

Moreover, if you are suggesting that Cong cares for dalits, then should I assume that same Congress does NOT care for upper castes as P.Chidambaram was upper caste? Then I should be worried

Today’s India needs a strong man as our Home Minister who can lead the counter offensive from the front, who can define and register the INTENT but I am not sure if a man who has been named in Adarsh scam has the credentials to give a shape to our expectations. I harped on credentials, since experience, in his case, is anyways missing!

The timing though is ominous since there were talks of Rahul joining the cabinet but suddenly out of nowhere we have Shinde becoming a Home Minister. Is it something to do with Rahul’s willingness or unwillingness, unpreparedness, unready ness to join the  

Government. Only God and Sonia Knows.

Well congrats Mr. Shinde on your new job. You have proved again that blessings of 10 Janpath is more important than blessings of entire nation. With these words, I welcome you HOME and hope that you actually consider this country as your Home when you start as its HOME minister.

Just Another Incident: Situation Under Control

Now I am guessing if the title of this blog is apt…coz I wanted the title to sound similar to what, would eventually, be the official statement of Union & Assam Sate Government.

I think it would be more or less the same because for them the ongoing ‘incident’ at Kokrajhar is not something major as no major media house yet has covered it properly…

50000 people have been rendered homeless and it continues, needless to mention the fatal loss to twenty one lives (as per official report) and unknown loss of property. Does the magnum of such an ‘incident’ render it as small or it qualifies as a riot. A communal riot rather.

While not much has come from the Indian media, BBC reports that illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh had clashed with local  bodos at Kokrajhar.

As per BBC report “Police say that the clashes began when unidentified men killed four youths on Friday night in Kokrajhar district, an area dominated by the Bodo tribe.They say that armed Bodos attacked Muslims in retaliation, suspecting them to be behind the killings. Soon afterwards unidentified groups set houses, schools, and vehicles ablaze, police said, firing indiscriminately from automatic weapons in populated areas” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18964870

The word to be observed is Retaliation…when do people retaliate? Answer is when they are attacked. So Bodos were attacked first and then the retaliation happened. Secondly, in the retaliation both sides inflicted injuries & deaths upon each other. And at the time of writing this blog, shoot at sight had been ordered. So I assume it is not just another incident.

Herein I want to particularly discuss the roles of A) Media and B) Congress Party

What appalled me was the sheer ludicrous approach of our local media. What happened to their ‘never ending’ quench to find stories, to reveal truth? Or is it that they found bigger story in who was going to dine & who was going to miss the Presidential dinner? Or they did not find covering Kokrajhar riots worth an effort?

v     Whatever happened to these vanguards of our society who took up virtually every possible cudgel against Narendra Modi Govt, in fact they continue to do it even now very earnestly.

v     Did they see riots happening ONLY in Gujarat? They raised so many questions again Modi Government but why are similar questions missing now?

v     Why are they not making Tarun Gogoi Government of Assam accountable for a very poor response?

v     Will media ask Mr. Tarun Gogoi why he sent para military forces so late!

v     Why doesn’t media show the same eagerness to interview the ‘victims’ of Kokrajhar, what provoked the riots? Like they did in Gujrat

v     If Gujrat is part of India, so is Assam, so why is INDIAN media so overtly cool about the Kokrajhar riots?

v     Will media keep referring to Kokrajhar riots every time a debate comes up on Congress rule, like they do in the case of Gujrat riots?

Congress has played even a better role. While the party and its allies continued to merry and dine over the selection of a arranger as our next president, no body even remarked once about such a major loss of lives.

So do they have the moral responsibility to question Modi when such riots are happening in their own state? Needless to mention, 84 Sikh riots, Hashimpura, Hyderabad riots which ALL happened in Congress run states? But they still criticize Modi because Muslims were attacked… so what?

The value of any loss of life is same but Congress saw loss of lives only in Gujarat

Kokrajhar riots are a result of a sustained policy of Congress implemented over decades to fulfill just ONE objective- creating vote banks. It allowed rather encouraged a continuous inflow of illelgal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and today we know the price. A loss of life. Not to mention, employment and economic problems states faced because of these unwanted guests.

Despite regular warnings from BJP & RSS, the illegal immigrant issue remained unheeded. Should politics be played over the interests of the nation and its own indigenous people. Guess Congress thinks so!

While I sign off, I leave this picture (source-BBC) to leave us all pondering if this is what should have happened to our own state & people facing riots from illegal immigrants

It is NOT just an incident and situation is yet NOT under control but it better be

Actively Inactive - Hail The New Leader

So at last it happens! The scion of the ‘first family’ of Indian politics decides that he is going to play a more active role. Only that this realization or decision happened after spending almost a decade in Indian politics!

May be for Congress, the position of Gen. Secretary or President of Indian youth congress, of course at a ripe ‘young’ age of 42, does not tantamount to playing an ‘active’ role. So was Mr. Rahul Gandhi really so inactive at such important positions.

And in retrospect, I should congratulate Congress for being so daring as to leave the entire UP state elections campaign planning at the hands of a man who was not ‘active’. So should we assume that Congress took the electorate of UP so lightly. Perhaps it did! Kudos!

Does it also speak about the party for playing its role of, living upto the expectations of 10 Janpath before the interests of the nation, to the core? It needs no second thought to guess that yet again the party manifests its undying ‘loyalty’ to a family rather than party democracy forget national interests.

Congress has done it in past, and I am sure it will continue to do in future…at least till the time children of Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi too realize that they are ready to play an ‘active’ role in politics and government.

Coming to the bigger question, is running a government equal to running a personal business that ministry and role are offered to someone just because he ‘feels’ that he is ready for it. Well Rahul can not be blamed for it since he has been made to believe that running the government of this country is his family business.

Who is Rahul Gandhi ? what is his claim to fame?

Isn’t his surname the only claim to fame in his arsenal? Has he done anything worthwhile, till now so as to elevate him in the minds of critics like me to accept hims for his qualities and NOT his surname?

Hasn’t he time and again failed in his missions, his campaigns, his plans , his ideas? doesn’t action speak thousand words …so what great action, does he think he has done, which suddenly prepares him for a role.

Apart from making false promises to poor villagers of Vidharbha and UP and making simply absurd statements on terrorism, what has he done? How many times he has ‘spoken’ in the parliament. My memory fails me because I have never seen him speaking in parliament but just reading and that too only once or twice in so many years and we should look at such a man to ‘declare’ his readiness to head a ministry! Was it his maturity on the anvil when we saw hi comparing people of UP as beggars in Maharshtra? Haven’t we had enough of incompetent ministers already? We can not add one more.

Can any one recall, on their finger tips, at least his ten achievements…has he done anything worthwhile in his constituency? Answer is NO. Can any one share one path breaking idea of his, a person who is looked upon as future of India’s oldest political party! Answer, sadly again, is NO.

Congress and UPA have to answer the nation. It simply can not work on pure whims and ‘feelings’ of an individual even if he has a Gandhi surname!

Rahul has not proved anything till date enabling him to become a MP in the first place, leave alone heading a ministry…and worse is that Congress sees in him our future PM.

An Oasis or a Mirage? Yeh hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!

“Ei Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahan”

“Zara Hatke Zara Bachke Yeh Hai Bambai Meri Jaan”

Eternal lines from an eternal movie! These lines, besides being evergreen, had, more importantly, picturised a cult image around the city of Mumbai. A city which was, is and perhaps will, for a long time, be considered the ultimate symbol of consumerism, a city on the move, a city that never sleeps.

Ever since the song happened, much has changed. While Bambai or Bombay as it was more popularly known became Mumbai, the city itself metamorphosed into a labyrinth of sorts! And, the metamorphosis is still on, every day and every moment!

So, what is Mumbai? What defines Mumbai? Why is there an aura around Mumbai and is it really worth it?

Mumbai definitely is not just another city, it is a statement in itself. There is always something in the air, an under current of excitement and purpose. There is no doubt that it lends a different meaning to the concept of city dwelling but is the city itself responsible or the people living in it responsible for this image. Rather who lent this image to Mumbai?

Mumbai did not become what it is today overnight. Rather it was Kolkata which was the commercial capital of the country before Mumbai emerged on the map. But over the years Kolkata decayed and Mumbai prospered.

The confluence of different people, with many enterprising amongst them, catapulted this city as the economic capital. There was in place an invisible effect of people getting into a work hard mode automatically. Perhaps, this was and is still missing in other cities!

Economic prosperity pull people, there is no second doubt on it but then may be Mumbai’s identity rests only on its economic highs. The mills and factories flourished and so did the rags to riches story of people like Dhirubai Ambani. May be the city played a role but wouldn’t Dhirubai Ambani have succeeded equally, if not more, had he lived in any other city? But in mid of all this, Mumbai itself got associated with this rise, just like the rise of many other such names. And this association brought in many more wannabe Ambanis et al.

With economy develops society and with society develops crime. While Mumbai even today remains the safest city for the fair sex, yet it also has the dubious claim of being the crime capital of India! The city produced names like Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Vardharaj Mudliyar and the biggest of all Dawood Ibrahim. It became the refuge of small time criminals who found employment in one and more underworld gangs operating out of the city. With rich economy and industrialists galore, there was a regular source of income for such men through abduction and kidnaps.

Of course, Bollywood and its movies, with its full quota of high voltage dialogues definitely worked as a catalyst in getting dreamy eyed people from across the country either for testing their luck in Bollywood or find a sustenance. Bollywood remains another highest point of Mumbai, lending it its character and attitude. The silver screen has presented Mumbai in different avatars, which often attract people.

I have been in Mumbai for now over three months and every day as I look around myself, I wonder if the city is inhabited by human beings or robots in form of humans. Or how else could we understand this 24X7 madness, a never stopping rush, a constant squirm to survive. Why is the city so impatient? Why are the people living in this city so impatient?

Why does the city live, eat and breathe by its watch. Why does the city refer their watch for everything perhaps even for washing their teeth in the morning!

Yes the lifeline of the city is local trains but isn’t it also a fact that a better part of everyone’s life is spent in traveling in these trains! So where is the fun? What is the meaning of a life where people get perhaps a few hours to spend with their loved ones!

Why is the city always on the move and does everyone even know their destination? Is there any place in the city, where the robots actually remember that they are humans after all and live the life as it should be?

A strange spectacle greets the eye every day with the most modern cars on the road outlined with slums. Big high rise costly apartments happily co-exist with slums.

A city where I fail to find a place where children can play and yet families keep moving in by hordes every new day. Why?

A city where the celebs and power-czars rub their shoulders and yet a large population goes to bed with nothing more than a plate of vada pav as their three meals. So what is so great about this city? Isn’t it a mere illusion that Mumbai provides for all.

It is indisputable that the hype around the city pulled more towards it but I wonder that once people start living here, is it really so different from others but then Mumbai has two set of residents- one who are born and brought up in Mumbai and one, like the writer, who has come in recently (recently can extend till last 10 years). Maybe the city presents different meaning to both these set.

May be there is something in the air which makes people accept Mumbai with all its follies. Like a popular saying goes, Mumbai offers only two choices- either love it or leave it but I am sure quite often people keep living without loving it.

Maybe Mumbai is the eternal lover whom people just can’t leave behind. It is that mrigtrishna which keeps pulling people towards it. Yes Mumbai is an Oasis for it provides for many and yet it is a Mirage coz it always remains an illusion to other many but whatever it might be, zara hatke zara bachke yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan!

Where are you, Poirot?

Hercule Poirot, the famed detective creation of Agatha Christie, while working on different murder stories, often muses that there should be a pattern. Very true, there should be a pattern.

Moreover, I feel that in every murder case, each and every one , except the person dead, is a suspect and thus calls for a through investigation. There has to be a very STRONG MOTIVE before one human being decides to take the life of another unless he/she is diabolical or suffering form severe psychological disorders. Rest of the details is more or less a matter of system.

India too has had its own share of infamous murder cases but the unfortunate incident involving the double murder of fourteen year old Aarushi Talwar & her domestic help Hemraj assumed blowing proportions. This became the talk of the household as the needle of suspicion was trained at the dentist couple Dr. Ramesh Talwar & Dr. Nupur Talwar, the parents of Aarushi.

Much water has flown since the eventful night of May 15^th 2008. UP Police initially handled the case and within a few days announced that the parents were involved. Later on though CBI more or less exonerated the parents of the charge but now SC, upon the insistence of the same CBI, has ordered that Talwars have to stand the trial.

Of course the trials /investigations , if ordered again, will be for a murder that happened three and a half years ago. It will depend upon a lot of secondary sources. Moreover, the media had over played its role by interfering in every aspect of investigation. That did not help the cause either.

I am an avid follower of crime related stories and to some extent, like to study about criminal psychology. The mind and logic behind every crime is worth a read.

So, here I try to understand the Aarushi murder case and also the different aspects of it.

The first action which somewhat confused me was the quick announcement that talwars are responsible. Though here it is important to note that till the time Hemraj’s body was discovered, police thought he was the murderer. So, here I raise a few points-

1)      The most pertinent question in any murder case- MOTIVE. Who benefits from the death of the person? Often there is a monetary angle in it. Was Aarushi going to inherit some wealth and upon her death, it was to be passed on the parents. NO. then what else could be the motive.

Here we need to understand that Aarushi was the ONLY child of their parents. People said they were loving parents, so is it humanly possible for any parents to kill their only child? Even the most pressing reason will not make a parent take way the life pf their own creation.

2)      Another reason given for justifying the arrest of Talwars was the way Aarushi was killed. Apparently, the way she was killed resembled a surgical precision. So? Is it enough to needle the suspicion on the parents as they too were doctors. Were they really so stupid to have killed Aarushi in such a medical way, so as to enable everyone suspect them. Isn’t it possible that the person who killed (who was of course a hard core one) did it intentionally to point the needle of suspicion at the parents?

3)      The third most absurd and yet, as per police, a convincing reason was that it was a honour killing! Whose honour! Has any one come forward till date to give evidence that there was a trouble brewing at home and the fact that a 14 year old kid was having an affair with a 45 year old domestic help. Isn’t it a mere conjecture, that too a weak one but enough for the police to arrest the father. Then media did its job.

Herein, again the emotional angle comes in. even if there was a slight truth in the so called affair of Aarushi with Hemraj, was it a reson for the highly educated parents to take away the life of their daughter? IF at all someone were to be killed, perhaps they would have killed the servant and perhaps ensured that the death looks like an accident, so as to not make Aarushi develop any strong emotions against them.

4)      There are some strong points to be considered.

A) As per the people present, Talwars cooperated with the police and provided all the possible help but seems the police was in a hurry.

B) Hemraj had prepared dinner for him too but did NOT eat? Why? When do you not eat what you have prepared- when some bocy suddenly comes in? so did some one come that night to the house.

C) As per CBI 1^st report there was a 5^th person present and apparently drinks were consumed but surprisingly the police did not take the finger prints from the bottle! But surprisingly, the CBI 2^nd report said that there was NO fifth person. Is CBI sure of what it is saying?

5)      There was no clothes of Talwars found which had blood in it. Here, it is important to note that the driver said that whichever dress dr. Talwar was wearing the previous evening, he was wearing the same next day morning and there was NO blood in it.

6)      How could police find the dead body of Hemraj bang 24 hours after the discovery of Aarushi’s death? Doesn’t this raise question mark on their abilities and we are expected to accept the report of such a ‘capable’ police team!

7)      Had the parents been involved, they could have stayed outside at some friends place for the night (as a alibi) and yet get a professional to do the job. It is not easy to kill your own child, you know. Did they do anything of such kind. Was it their fault that they slept in the night (when every normal person does) and two murders happened in their home?

Doesn’t the above points indeed raise a question mark on the so called involvement of the Talwars BUT the murder has indeed been committed, so there has to be a murderer! So I would like to look at the following angles

Angle 1) It was definitely not robbery, so is it possible that of the two, one murder was accidental? I mean it was not supposed to be committed but got committed? I ask this question because apparently Hemraj got killed first, so is it possible Aarushi saw who killed Hemraj and then the murderer in a state of panic killed her? But yet, why would he kill her  with such precision. Because, any other way, it would have created sound and perhaps Talwars would have woken up.

Now this raises the question that did Aarushi know the murderer since she did not create any noise. Is it that the murderer was amongst the group of people she knew. Here, I would like to add that there were two more Nepalese who were working for Talwars/their friends.

Angle 2) this is to support the first angle but with a difference. Is it possible that Hemraj knew something too disturbing for comfort to Talwars and he needed to be silenced? So a killer is arranged, given the keys and he does the job and as a matter of chance, Aarushi wakes up, and the murderer kills her too?

Angle 3) Some psychological aspect – herein I mean that is it possible that there was some one in the friends circle of Aarushi who may have been involved. The friend too might have been a kid but we know of stories where kids, influenced by TV or some psychological stress, kill people. Was it that Aarushi complained to some friend about Hemraj and the friend decided to take matters upon his /her hands and perhaps after the murder of Hemraj, Aarushi got scared and the murderer , getting panicky, killed Aarushi too? Did police / CBI question the friends/ school teachers / neighbours of Aarushi?

There have been lots of theories including an extra marital affair that Dr. Ramesh Talwar was having with one of his colleagues. So? Yet, it doesn’t create a connect strong enough to suspect Dr. Ramesh Talwar. Moreover, in this case the parents have been shouting from the roof top asking for CBI investigation! They want justice for her daughter.

Yes on the night of May 15^th 2008, there was madness in the Talwar household but there was no method in it or as Poirot says, “there was no pattern in it”

I am sure both Delhi Police / CBI has brilliant officers and perhaps there brilliance can be used before the verdict is drawn. They have to do their work as they can’t ask “where are you, Poirot?”