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Draft Cinematography Bill 2010 - Curbs on Freedom of Expression

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:22:00 +0000

I'm pasting my letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which has published the Draft Cinematography Bill 2010 for public opinion. I read an article in The Outlook and figured if they want public opinion, they should get some. This document from the Alternative Law Forum has detailed comments on certain sections of the draft.

If you have any strong views on this, please send it across to the powers that be. Not really sure if anybody would read emails, but it's worth a try. Sending a normal snail mail is an option too.

From the people I mailed, a few bounced - specially the @nic.in IDs and Arun Jaitley's. I got the email IDs from the MIB website and the india.gov site.

to mib.inb@gmail.com,
msib.inb@nic.in,
secy-in@nic.in
cc sushmaswaraj@hotmail.com,
ajaitley@del5.vsnl.net.in,
brinda.k@sansad.nic.in,
ambika@sansad.nic.in,
ambika_aicc@yahoo.com
date Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 12:41 AM
subject Draft Cinematography Bill 2010
mailed-by gmail.com

Hi,

I'm writing this to express my concern at certain sections of the draft cinematography bill 2010. I believe that a progressive government needs to protect the fundamental rights like freedom of speech and expression. The Bill in its current form is very restrictive. A government in a liberal democracy should not decide what the people of this country should and shouldn't watch. At most they can advise us.

Certain sections of the Bill are very restrictive and instead of promoting cinema and free expression of opinions and views, tries to restrict it. I am extremely disappointed with the fact that no distinction has been made between documentaries/short films and films made for profit, private viewing v/s public exhibition etc. A documentary will have view which are against general public opinion, view which the government of the day need not endorse, but it is important that these views be aired and debated without censorship or restriction. The government need not be afraid of such views and want to curb it. We are a mature country where we can handle differing points of views. Right to Free Speech is sacrosanct in a democracy and it is the Government's responsibility to uphold it.

The Censor Board still exists in the draft bill. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, but I don't see any reason that the board will change its attitude with this particular act. The CBFC has acted more to censor films than to certify them. It is a good thing that the new bill tries to bring in the concept of rating instead of the blanket A or U certificate.

Also, the right to suspend a film given to DC etc is again regressive. If there is a breach of peace, the state should contain it and not resort to silencing unpopular views. Just as the State protects its minorities, it is duty bound to protect the minority view as well, no matter how unpopular.

I'm attaching a document with the objects as I mentioned to certain sections of the draft bill. This document was obtained by me from the Alternative Law Forum when I was googling for the bill after reading an article in a magazine. I am in no way related to the Alternate Law Forum, but I have to agree with all the points and comments by them in the attached document.

I am CCing MPs, who as our elected representative, are in a good position to debate and discuss the bill when it is placed in parliament and bring about amendments.

Thanks
Roshan

Jaago Re! One Billion Votes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:11:00 +0000

The Pink Chaddi Sena

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:36:00 +0000

The Pink Chaddi Campaign has caught the imagination of a large section of the nation. If you haven't heard of it yet, just Google for it. It's all over the internet. Many blogs have linked to it or have articles about it. Even BBC , Outlook and a few other newspapers have covered the campaign.

I came across their website last night and instantly forwarded the link to my friends. I really thought this was a very innovative way to protest against the moral police. A very satirical, funny mode of protest but it gets the point across - that people will not tolerate such violent moral policing anymore.

It is a brilliant campaign, not in its effectiveness in stopping Muthalik and his goons, but in rallying people around a cause. It is provocative, sarcastic and humorous at the same time. It has caught the imagination of a lot of people. Just read the various blogs and forum threads related to the campaign and you'll find that people are excited to be a part of this! My friend has already said she'll be buying nice pink lacy undies to be sent to Muthalik this Valentine's: and I've volunteered to drop it off if there are a minimum of 10 undies.

I think of all the ways people could have reacted to what Muthalik and his hoodlums have done, this probably was the best. People haven't accepted the diktats of the Ram Sene and given up their rights. People haven't gone ballistic and taken to violence to prove their point. Imagine where we would be if pub goers started attacking the goons of Ram Sena! People have resorted to innovative ways to protest. Method which are peaceful, intelligent, humorous - everything that Muthalik and his men aren't!

The civil society is finally asserting itself in India, and in Bangalore in particular. People have had enough and are protesting in their own ways. No politicians or political parties are involved in these campaigns. There were protest marches held couple of days back and there is one more planned on the 12th across Bangalore. These are good signs for us as a country and a society. People are asserting themselves and fighting for a society where a person's free will isn't stifled!

I'd really be interested to see how Mr. Muthalik and his men react on getting boxes full of pink undies. Would they get the message? Would they understand the point behind it? It would be interesting to see what he does with all the undies. As usual there'll be quite a few folks who will rant against this as well. I've already got comments in my previous post saying that if this happens then they'll start sending burnt bras to Renuka Choudhary. Well, go ahead guys. It is a free country. You can send them what you want. But, good luck getting the kind of support the Pink Chaddi campaign has got.

If your blood still boils on seeing the video of the Mangalore episode and if you feel strongly about your rights and freedom, just drop a pink chaddi at one of the drop boxes as a sign of protest at what the Ram Sena did. Or, if you are in Bangalore, you could join the protest March on the 12th. If we do not raise our voices, then Muthalik and his likes will start dictating how we should live our lives. Do you really want that?

Update: In response to the 'Chaddi campagin' Mr. Muthalik said his groups of men will roam the streets, catch courting couples, call up their parents, those who have their parents consent will be freed whereas those without will be handed over to the police with pink sarees and Bhagina.

Mr Muthalik said the Chaddi campaign showed the bad culture of Valentine's Day and low level campaign will be opposed by the Sena.

Is Karnataka turning into a Police State?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Bangalore Mirror had an article today on cops busting a party at the Dell office off Koramangala.Here's an excerpt from the article:

" They [the cops] landed at the office and demanded to be let in, but the security guards refused. “The police said they were acting on a complaint from a resident who could not sleep peacefully because of the noise in the party. We told the police that there are no residences in the area, but they were not ready to listen,” another Dell employee present at the party said.

An argument broke out between the police and the guards. After some time, the police forced their way in and seized the audio systems. A few security personnel were taken to the Airport Police Station for questioning. Though no techie was arrested, the employees were warned against holding late night parties "

If this isn't police high handedness, then I don't know what is! I agree that the music shouldn't be so loud that it disturbs the residents around. All that the cops needed to do on receiving such a complaint would have been to send a couple of constable and ask the employees to tone it down a bit. Confiscating the audio system and detaining the security personnel seemed uncalled for and smacks of police high handedness.

As soon as I read this article a couple of thoughts came to me. First of course was, are the cops entitled to do this? After all, the party was in a private property, not a public place. Can they barge in based on a complaint by someone and detain a few people and confiscate property? Second, shouldn't there be some laws in place governing such police acts? I'm no expert, but there must be rules laid down on how cops need to act in such situations. Otherwise it's like we are in a police state where cops can barge in to a private property anytime and confiscate property and arrest people.

I'd really like some legal expert to clarify this. And I hope he or she tells me that it's illegal for cops to do what they did at Dell. Otherwise it would mean that cops can enter any private property at their whims and fancy. I shudder to think what that would mean for ordinary citizens like me. Cops can come barging in my front door any day and confiscate my audio system because they received some complaint from someone. They could arrest me because I had a few friends over on the weekend and we played music past 11.30!!

Where are heading as a state? First the government restricts night life past 11.30. Instead of better policing, cops shut the city down by 11.30 and hope no crime takes place past that time. Then they ban dancing at pubs. They talk about banning pubs altogether now as that's where all the crime in the city happens apparently! Then they get into private property, the DELL office, to shut down a private party. That's important - to SHUTDOWN the party! Not ask the folks there to mellow their music down, but to shut it down and to warn them against late night partying! And next, it could be your home or mine. They could come in asking me not to drink past 11.30 or play music past 11 PM.

Where will this stop? For how much longer do we put up with this? Would we allow the state to dictate what we do inside our homes? Why were the techies warned against partying late night in private property? What business does the state have interfering with such high handedness in matters inside a private property, specially when there wasn't any henious crime or illegalities happening - except maybe for loud music? I'd really want to know if this is legal in India? Do the cops have such powers? Knowing how our police force is currently, I really hope to God that they do not have such powers!

Karnataka is slowly turning into a police state. One by one our freedoms are being restricted. We choose to remain quiet! I don't think people have realized that this will have dangerous consequences for all. We need to do something about such intrusive and unacceptable policing! By the way, I have music playing in my room as I write this. It's past 12.30 now and I'm hoping I don't hear a knock on the door now!

Cultural Intolerance – The Young need to speak up!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:14:00 +0000

We've all seen with utter disgust what happened in Mangalore the other day. I was shocked to the see 40 goons molesting and physically attacking women in the name of protecting our culture and preventing obscenities! I'm an Indian and a Hindu and I feel ashamed that these people claim to represent my culture and religion. I’m sure that my culture isn’t so fragile that it needs hoodlums to protect it!

This is not a one off incident. This kind of intolerance is rising across our country. Most times the bogey raised by these hoodlums is that of protecting Indian culture and values. But every time the reason for such attacks is political. These groups have in most cases tacit support from political parties and in few cases even from the state!

There are a lot of pertinent questions that arises when such incidents keep happening - Why is such intolerance tolerated in our country? Why do such people, their leaders and the organisation they claim to represent always get away without facing any consequences for their actions? What gives them the confidence to break the law repeatedly? There are many such questions, but I just want to talk about 2 aspects of this. Firstly, the lack of respect for individual rights and secondly, the fact that the youth is the easy target always.

We are a nation whose constitution ensures that we have the right to speech and expression. But every time a few narrow minded individuals and organisations attack us, they infringe on these rights. These groups do not tolerate any view which runs contrary to their world view. They do not accept the fact that in our democracy, I have just as much right to my views and opinions as they have to theirs. These people are nothing but terrorists in the guise of culture police. They use violence and threat of violence to try and enforce their view of things. Sounds terrifyingly like the Taliban, doesn’t it?

By trying to force their view down our throats, these groups are chipping away the very fabric on which our constitution and our country were built. The civil society of India should not allow such intolerant men to dictate how the people of India should lead their life. We need to stand up to such forces to ensure that the rights which we hold so dearly aren’t taken away from us. We need to take a stand to ensure that we remain free to speak out and express ourselves and have the freedom to have individual thoughts and opinions. The day we lose our fundamental rights, we cease to be free, liberal society and turn into a country where Taliban would feel right at home!

Invariably, the victims of such attacks are the young men and women of India. The fundamentalists infringe on our rights, trying to enforce their warped world view on us. No political party has been serious in tackling this menace. Who are the political parties trying to appease by being soft on these internal terrorists? Why is it that the voice of the youth and the rights of the youth do not matter?

The youth today constitute a majority of the population. We are almost 30% of the total electorate. Yet, only a handful of us really go out and exercise our right to vote. For the politicians we are an insignificant majority because we sit out during every election.

The fact that we do not participate in the electoral process makes it a simple decision for the political parties to ignore us. Election after election we remain aloof from the electoral process. And, as long as we continue doing that, our rights and freedoms will be infringed upon. As long as we choose to be silent spectators, our voices won't be heard and our rights will be trampled upon.

Think about it, most such attacks on the youth and the places they frequent often happen in bigger cities of India. Cities where there are many, many educated young people. If we need our voices to be heard and respected, we need to use this number to our advantage. We need to come out and vote every election and reject such parties which do not respect our rights and such candidates who believe that they can attack us in the name of religion and culture to appease their voting constituents.

We don't need to wait for some politician to take a stand and make a change. The change needs to start from each one of us. We need to use the power of our vote to get the politicians to hear our voices. If we don't, then get ready to lose our rights one by one. Get ready to be attacked again and again in the name of culture. It’s up to us! We need to decide if we want to go to pubs and malls and restaurants or if we want to be scared and stay indoors. You know it and I know it that we don't lose our ‘Indianness’ or our cultural identity by indulging in some harmless fun. It's up to us to drill this in to out politician’s heads by using the power of our vote!

Our first chance to make our voices heard loud and clear is the upcoming General Elections sometime in April-May. We need to get out and vote and reject those who support such narrow minded organisations! But first, to vote you need to get your name registered in the electoral or the voters list of your constituency. The JaagRe! One Billion Votes Campaing website http://jaagore.com is an excellent place to start the process of registering.

They have created India's first online registration engine. Registering with them is a 5 minute process and engine takes care of sending you the right form that needs to be submitted. The website also has one of the most comprehensive voting related FAQs. It would be worthwhile to spend time reading those as well. I would strongly urge each one of you to register with the website and start the process of being eligible voters. Also get your friends and family to register and get out on Election day to cast your vote in favor of free speech and right of expression!

Sex Education and our Politicians

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:55:00 +0000

Sex education has always been such a contentious issue in India. The way I see it, sex education would teach adolescents about safe sex, use of contraceptives and ways to prevent contracting STDs etc. Considering the high rate of AIDS cases being reported in India, I think sex education for teenagers was a good idea. I never really understood why our politicians were so opposed to it. But now, after reading some of the comments made by Maharashtra politicians, I see why they are opposed to it. I also see how STUPID they are!! We should make all these politicians sit through sex-ed classes.

Read some of the quotes by our enlightened leaders...

What is the need for us to appoint sex
gurus? Europe needs sex education because
of its declining population rates

– Nawab Malik, NCP MLA from Nehru Nagar

WTF is the that dude talking about!!

Sex education is against Indian culture. It will affect the character of students and will lead to more crime against women

– Bashir Patel, NCP MLA

Ok, that explains why women all over India feel so safe now...no sex-ed at all.

Sex education will only damage the socio-cultural fabric of the country. Children will learn
about the subject once they grow up.

– Mangal Prabhat Lodha, BJP MLA from Malabar Hill

Again, WTF!! socio-cultural what?

These guys are something else. Their comments smacks of their narrow mindedness. What do they think sex-ed classes are about? Teaching boys how to pleasure their women? Teaching girls how to make the fantasies of their man come true? Or maybe all of them sit and watch porn slowly tearing apart the 'socio-cultural' fabric of India, one fiber at a time!!

It would be funny and laughable if it weren't so real. I came across this first on India Uncut and followed the link there to Mumbar Mirror's article. Check both of them out.

Election time in Karnataka - Will you be voting this time?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:14:00 +0000

Elections are here again. It came sooner than I'd have wanted though. This time I'm all set to vote; got my name added to the electoral rolls and collected my voter's ID card last Sunday. Waiting for 10th May to go vote!

I was thinking, how many of us really go out and vote knowing who our candidates are? Do we vote for the person contesting or do we vote for the party? In this age of hung assemblies what would be better? Voting for a person or the party so that one party can get absolute majority? Or are you one of those who think it doesn't really matter, elections and voting are just not for you?

Talking about the candidates, do you know who the candidates are from your constituency? I know only the BJP candidate from constituency. And all I learnt about him from google is that he was in JD(S) earlier and defected to BJP now! Other than that I have no idea about who he is and what he has done as a politician till now. Reminds me of that ad that used to come on TV, where this guy's interviewing the candidate.

We cannot interview our candidates but there are organisations which will help us get more information about them. Karnataka Election Watch is one of them. They publish details of all the candidates contesting election. That should help us make better choice while exercising our franchise. Check out these links - bangalore praja discussion and Association for India's Development News flash. Check out their list whenever it comes out and make your decision based on that.

I'll go out to vote on May 10th. I hope all of you do so too. Let's hope we get a stable government this time. And I really hope that the government this time does not ignore Bangalore completely. Last 4 years were completely wasted in that sense. There's reason to be optimistic; Bangalore has more seats -around 28- this time. Higher numbers might get politicians to look at Bangalore too as a vote bank. The city and the state deserves better politicians and good governance.

You might find BangaloreVoterID.org to be a useful site. Do check it out.

Something more of us need to emulate?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:55:00 +0000

I found this interesting article online. A Bangalore resident saw cops collecting 'hafta' from a restaurant owner and lodged a complaint against the cops. The DCP, based on the complaint, took action against the errant cops and also informed other police stations about similar action if he received more complaints.

You can read more about this here http://www.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/111-policing-the-police.

Maybe more of us need to do this next time we see cops harassing the public. Comments?

IntelliBriefs: CPM govt bans Tibet rally in Kolkata, China envoy says absolutely right move

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:05:00 +0000

IntelliBriefs: CPM govt bans Tibet rally in Kolkata, China envoy says absolutely right move

Can the govt do this? Can they ban people's right to protest? I really don't think tibetan rally will get violent. I'm surprised that the central government is quiet. The fundamental right to express one's opinion is being stamped on.

What about the courts? Can the left government's decision be challenged in courts? Can the courts interfere in this if someone files some kind of petition in the court? I'm not sure where the law stands on this matter. But I do know that this is not right. And, no government in a democratic state should be allowed to get away with this without being challenged in the courts.

This again shows which nation's interest the CPI-(M) and other left parties in India are concerned about. It's definitely not India's for sure. Shame on them..but being communists they do not understand free speech and free thought. I'm sure if they could they would ban all such blogs posts and make sure nothing anti left or anti China is written or spoken anywhere. I dread to think of the day left comes to full power in India. I hope they never do.

And this is what our politicians spend time on....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:05:00 +0000

http://ibnlive.com/news/tdp-cong-in-tugofwar-over-naming-of-hyd-airport/61107-3.html

Who cares what it's named? All that the people want is an airport that is functional, safe and looks impressive! Just call it Hyderabad International Airport and leave it at that for god's sake!

I wonder when our politics will rise above such petty matters?

Videos that remind me of the old days!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 04:08:00 +0000

Makes me nostalgic :)Simpler times...reminds me of my childhood. For better or for worse, our society and the country has changed so dramatically!

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara...

Mahabharat

Hamara Bajaj Ad

Jungle Book

Ek Anek

Kill them, they're different from us!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:40:00 +0000

I keep checking a few of the Indian news website regularly to keep up with what's happening back home. Last week I read quite a bit about the Thackerays threatening north Indians in Maharashtra, causing violence in Mumbai. First it was Raj Thackeray and now it's his cousin Uddhav Thackeray. I can't say I was surprised with this. This is what politicians do in India and we seem to be ok with it. I'm sure there's an election round the corner in Maharashtra. But I definitely am disgusted and disappointed with these so called new generation leaders.

Earlier it was Bal Thackeray and his agitation against south Indians and now his nephew and son are going around threatening north Indians. Few years back Bihari immigrants came under their ire. Then down south we have the dravidian parties which also agitated against the Hindi speaking north Indians a few decades ago. In Karnataka we (our beloved leaders and politicians) used to regularly have problems with the Tamils and more recently with anybody not a kannadiga, specifically, north Indians. I'm sure the north Indians have problems with other north Indians, the south Indians and every other kind of Indian that can be thought of! I just am not aware of it. But we are Indians....everybody has a problem with everybody else. And the reason? Religion, region, caste, opinions...just about anything and people are ready to get down to violence to prove their point.

It is so easy to stir up people's passion. Get them to resort to violence, beat up a few people, burn a few houses, break a few cars and buses. It really is so easy! Just tell them that a bunch of people are not like you. They don't pray to the same god, or they don't speak the same language or just tell them they don't hold the same views and principles as you. And then tell them that these people are taking away your jobs, they are the cause of all ills you face. Voila! you have a mob ready to beat, maim and burn a few hundred people. Our politicians know this and make use of this to achieve their political ends. And like idiots we seem to fall for it every time.

But why do these politicians keep doing this? Simply because there is no deterrent. They know that they can kill a few hundred people and get away with it. Their supporters know that they will not be prosecuted for their crimes. And our law makers seem comfortable with this situation. Aren't the political parties of India supposed to abide by the Constitution of the country? The Constitution under article 19 states that every citizen is free to move through the territory of India and settle and reside in any part of India. And more importantly it also states that no person will be deprived of life and personal liberty except by procedures laid down by the law (art 21). How many people were deprived of their life because of our narrow minded politicians? And what has the law dealt with these politicians?

When elections are near why don't our politicians talk about how many roads were built, how many schools were built. How the enrollment in schools have changed. Why don't they speak about the abysmal public health care system in our country and what they plan to do about it? Why don't they speak about the infrastructure and their plans to improve it? Why is it that they always resort to stirring up people's emotions on caste, culture, religion or language? Why can't they understand that religion and culture are personal to an indiviual? Politicians shouldn't get involved in religion/culture/caste/creed. Yet, over the decades we've had politicians who do exactly that.

And you know why? Because we the people allow our emotions to be stirred up over trivial matters. We are worried about imaginary fears of north Indians/south Indians taking away our jobs, taking away our lands, destroying our culture! We forget the real things that we should worry about. We forget about the bad state of our roads when we see that there are more north Indians around us in good cars. When we see that the so called outsiders haven't learnt our language or our culture we're happy when the politicians beat them up and kill a couple of them. We'd rather have our politicians go around doing this than work towards a better state, a better country.

I'm not saying all of us are like this. I'm not generalizing But there are many well educated modern Indians out there who are glad that such politicians exist. Who carry around hatred for people different from them and wish someone would act on that hatred and send those 'outsiders' a message. Why don't we ask our politicians for something more than just mindless violence? Is it because we get the politicians and governments we deserve?

Maharashtrians hate north Indians and Biharis. Tamilians hate all Hindi speaking people, Kannadigas hate Tamilians and north Indians. North Indians dislike the 'madrasi'. They don't like the Biharis too much either. Why can't we see ourselves as Indians first and only Indians. Why can't we ignore everything else. I'm not asking you to forget your culture or your language. Preserve it and follow it. Enjoy it with others and enjoy their culture. Just don't force or wish everyone else love your culture or language.

Isn't the multiculturalism that makes India great? Isn't the existence of many languages in one country so special to us? I proudly tell a few people I met here in America that we have so many languages that I will not understand what another Indian is speaking. I tell them that this is what makes us unique and special. I'm proud of all the culture and religion and languages of India. I do not know all the languages or follow all the religions, yet I like to believe we as a people are united in the diversity we have. Maybe I'm wrong! But I hope not.

You know what is really disappointing though? That young leaders like Raj and Uddhav resort to such narrow minded rabble rousing and incite violence. I had expected better from our newer leaders. I hope these two are just an exception among our younger politicians.

Gowda: Disgusting and Greedy Old Politician

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:58:00 +0000

What the hell is wrong with Deve Gowda!!! Really, it's time he retired. He's so scared of losing power in the state. He wants to dearly hold on to it or make sure anyone he doesn't want to have power is ruling the state. He is a power greedy old man!

The state is without an administration for so long. Even small things like work on road repairs have been stalled for so long just because there is no minister to sanction the money for the project. Imagine the state of all other major projects in the state!! Gowda should for once stop thinking about his family, his sons, his land and think about the state. It's extremely disgusting that a former Prime Minister of India should act so petty.

I wonder when many of our politicians would start retiring from active politics and spend rest of their lives playing with their grand kids or in some old age home. Gowda should be the first to do so, really. Disgusting, greedy old man!! The contempt I feel for him cannot really be expressed in words.

Wondering about the outburst?? Read this and this.

Celebrations on 50 years of Atlas Shrugged

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:53:00 +0000

It's been 50 years since Atlas Shrugged was first published. It's one of the most widely sold books. 50th year anniversary celebrations are being held all around the world. Celebrations will be held in various cities in India starting 12th October. These celebrations are being conducted by the Liberty Institute. Cities where the celebrations will be held includes Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Patna.

There are quite a few India specific articles. Seems interesting. I plan to go through them over the weekend. If you are a fan of Atlas Shrugged or just curious, it'll be worth attending one of the celebrations. I'm not sure if there's any entry fee though.

CPI - Chinese Party of India??

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:35:00 +0000

The Indo-US nuke deal has been in the news for quite sometime now. The left keeps barking every so often and the Congress seems to have learnt to handle the left. It seems like the Congress has accepted that elections are imminent. A couple of posts back I had written about the PM and the UPA calling the left's bluff. Well, they continue to do so even now.

Maybe the left is also waiting for an appropriate time to pull out the support to UPA. Considering the Nandigram and SEZ issues in West Bengal and the left's disarray in Kerala, they better get their timing right if they have to go past 40 seats in the next general elections.

Coming to the nuclear deal, I'm no expert and haven't read the Hyde act or the 123 agreement. But when Manmohan Singh tells me that he believes this deal to be in our national interest, I believe him. I find it hard to trust Prakash Karat and his communist friends. No, not because I don't agree with communism as an ideology, but because history tells me that I cannot trust the communists. Some of these communists supported China in the 1962 war!! How can I trust them to be thinking of India's national interest?

Coming to think of it, in who's interest is it if the nuke deal does not go through? From what I understand and what our PM has to tell us, definitely not in India's interest. Unlike what the left tells us, we are not bound by the Hyde act. Neither have we said we'll stop nuclear tests. Agreed, if we do test, the 123 agreement doesn't apply. But we would have sanctions imposed even without this deal. So that's a risk we take for access to nuclear supplies. A growing economy like ours is power starved and nuclear fuel is going to bridge this gap. From corporates to aam aadmi, everyone will benefit from more power. With nuclear fuel for power coming from other countries, we can use our nuclear source for military purposes. I don't think anybody has stopped us from doing so.

This military angle makes this interesting. This will make one neighbor of ours very uncomfortable. No, it's not Pakistan I'm talking about. It's our communist friends in China I'm referring to. They have a similar deal with the US. But, they do not want us to have this deal. If we do, then China prefers even Pakistan getting a similar deal. It's quite clear they want to keep us engaged in a conflict with Pakistan. They do not want a powerful India. They do not want Japan,India,Australia and USA to form any alliance. And they believe this nuke deal is a starting point towards an alliance like this.

So when the Left parties make a lot of noise against the deal, it's quite suspect. When they call the deal anti national, I wonder which nation they are talking about. I came across this interesting article on India-China conflict. It's by the Power and Interest News Report (PINR). It's an independent organization that utilizes open source intelligence to provide conflict analysis services in the context of international relations. It's a very interesting analysis on China's thinking towards India. It's a must read if you're interested in such topics.

China's every step towards India is well calculated and in their national interest. We also need to realize where our national interest lies. Being friendly with China is ok, but, as the Left would suggest, being friends isn't. Their national interest lies in us not becoming a powerful nation. We need to be pragmatic while making decisions. Currently US is willing to help us, and this, is to our advantage. The PM and the UPA seem to have realized this and haven't bowed before the Left pressure. That's something I respect them for.

Back after a 2 month hiatus!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:57:00 +0000

That's right, it's been just about 2 months since my last post. Most of the time I've been busy with a few things and other times I've been just plain lazy. I was also on a 2 week vacation from which I didn't wanna return. Meanwhile I also got myself a new camera. You can see a few of the picture I took on my flickr page here

It's interesting times in Indian politics now. Lok Sabha elections seem eminent. The drama which unfolded in Karnataka was better than anything that Ekta Kapoor could come up with. I have a few posts in draft currently. I shall put them up as soon as possible.

Happy Indepedence Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:23:00 +0000

India is 60 years old today. We celebrate the Independence day today. In these 60 years we have achieved quite a lot, most of it in the last 15 years. But, what does Independence or Freedom mean to me?

Freedom to me means not just being free from foreign rule. Rather Freedom to me is

Being able to freely express my thoughts and opinion. Criticize the government and not be persecuted for it. This is the most important to me.

having certain fundamental rights and more importantly, protection by law against any violation of these rights. The text of the Constitution is available here. Fundamental rights are listed from Page 6 in the pdf.

Being able to live a life that I want, not a life that the state or the government wants me to live. This obviously follows from my 2nd point. I'm really glad we went the democratic way and not the communist way.

What does Freedom mean to you? Do you think India is truly a Free nation today or do we have a long way to go to achieve independence in the true sense? Let me know.

PM calls the left's Bluff

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 06:34:00 +0000

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally dared the left to withdraw support if it wants to. The US Nuke deal is on according to him. Prakash Karat and the left would never have expected this from the PM.

It's high time someone called their bluff. It'll be interesting to see how the left reacts. The current arrangement is perfect for the left. They have the power at the center and was able to veto any decision the UPA took. And yet they were not responsible for any of the actions. If things went wrong, it was UPA's fault. If it went well, they take credit. I don't think the left will withdraw support yet from the government. Interesting times lie ahead in Indian politics!

Remember the 1993 Bombay Riots?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:21:00 +0000

As I wrote previously, the 1993 Bombay blast case trial has finally come to an end. All those convicted in that case have been sentenced. 12 have been given the death sentence and quite a few life sentences. All of us are happy. After 14 long years many of those responsible for that horrendous act on a Friday afternoon of March '93 have been brought to book. The TV news channels cannot stop talking about the verdict, more so because Sanjay Dutt was convicted. This is a good point to slightly divert from the topic of this post. Here's an article by T V R Shenoy related to my previous post. It talks about how nobody is above the law and about the priorities of our gazillion news channels.

Getting back to the topic here, I was wondering if justice has really been done. Sure, justice has been done to all those who died in the blast that Friday. Justice has been done to their family and also to the over 700 people who were injured in the blasts. But any of you remember the Sri Krishna Committee report? Haven't heard of it you say? Well, I wouldn't be surprised. That report has been gathering dust in some corner of some government office, ignored by the governments since 1998. The media is oblivious to it, no wonder you don't remember it.

Justice Sri Krishna Committee was set up in January of 1993 to probe into the communal riots. Full report is available here (use IE, not firefox). The committee finally submitted it's report in 1998. Many top police officers of the state were indicted of showing bias towards Hindus. Politicians including Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray were named as responsible for inciting violence. Since then government after government has conveniently ignored the report. No action has been taken against anyone responsible for the riots.

It really is a sad state of affairs. It's shameful that even the congress, which is in power today in Maharashtra, has turned a blind eye towards the report. Ironically, they are the ones big on Muslim welfare and demand reservations for them everywhere. Let the congress give them justice first! Show that they mean business and truly care for the community. Token reservations to gain votes is not enough. I know it's too much to expect from the congress government, any government for that matter. Our politician believe in 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'. Shameful, it really is! Where is their moral compass I wonder?

Couple of questions, why is it that a committee investigated into the riots? Why wasn't the CBI or some other agency probing it? Enquiry committees in Indian politics is just an euphemism for denying justice. The enquiry goes on and on and if it does submit the report the government is in no way obligated to implement its recommendations. An enquiry committee is not a court of law where it's verdict has to be followed. Quite convenient for the politicians, don't you think?

14 years and the victims of the riots still await justice. No politician or government is interested in trying to bring to book those involved in perpetrating the violence. We've had many more riots after that. Gujrat happened and the congress made a lot of noise about minority rights, protecting the Muslims. We expect the BJP/Shiv Sena to behave in a certain way, but the hypocrisy of the UPA is just disgusting.

Riot victims in our country seem to never get justice. The 1984 Sikh riots, 1993 Bombay riots, and Gujarat riots of 2002, the victims haven't got justice. Invariably politicians are always involved and they know how to set up enquiry committees, how to stall the reports and manipulate the system to prevent justice or closure to the riot victims.

When the UPA government came to power they promised to bring some kind of law to prosecute those accused of rioting. It's been three years since, there is no sign of that law. Only such a law, dealing exclusively with riots, would help bring justice to the riot victims. Our politicians need to be made aware that they cannot get away with rioting and killing innocent people. If the Bombay blast accused were terrorist, so are those who involve in mass murder and genocide in the name of religion. We need a system that ensures that not only are the victims of the Bombay blast given justice but also the riot victims of the 1993 riots. Otherwise we will have to see more Bombay blasts in the name of avenging the victims of riots. We'll see more people moving towards extremism and fundamentalism and terrorism.

Just Dial, a Great Service

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:18:00 +0000

I'm at home today, happily skipped work. I wasn't feeling up to it. Maybe it was the weather, I was feeling cold and just didn't want to ride all the way to work. Anyway, since I was at home, I thought I'll do something productive. So I decided to do something to fix my broken desktop.

It's been lying there refusing to boot up for weeks, gathering dust and lots of dog hair. It's just not detecting the hard disk! Maybe all the dog fur has got something to do with it not working. So I picked up the phone and called Just Dial for info on computer service and repair 'people'.

You can call them from your city by dialing 3999 9999. I told the lady at the other end that I wanted the numbers of Computer Service and Repair companies. I Instantly got 2 SMS' with the information and even an email! But wait, I got to experience customer service at its best.

I didn't have to pick up the phone again to call the numbers I had got. Within seconds of disconnecting the Just Dial call, I get a call from a person inquiring what was wrong with my computer and when he could come to fix it. Just like that I had a person coming over to fix my broken system. Not just that, after that I got 4 more calls from other companies wanting to fix my computer!

This is just great service. I love it! And it makes excellent business sense for these companies as well. Capitalism at it's best where customer is the king.

Why Sanjay Dutt musn't be treated differently

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:46:00 +0000

The 1993 Bombay blast trial has finally come to an end, at least for now. The biggest news from it is that 12 people have been awarded the death sentence and Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced to 6 years in jail under the Arms act for possessing an AK-56. The quantum of punishment under the Arms act is between 5 and 10 years. He got 6. Harsh, really?

A rich, famous and powerful person has been convicted and sentenced. It doesn't happen too often in our justice system. Maybe the Dutts never tried to manipulate the system. But some of the arguments against the verdict have been quite irrational to say the least.

We are a nation of strange people. We always seem to lament that our justice system does not punish the high and mighty, but when it does, we cry foul and call the sentence too harsh! Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, our very own control freak, calls Dutt's crime unintentional. I'm sorry, an AK-56? Unlicensed! Obtained from friends of the underworld. I don't think it was unintentional at all.

I have nothing against Sanjay Dutt. He must have changed and become a better human being after that. But unlike what a few say, that's no reason to let him go unpunished. What makes Sanjay Dutt special? I'm sure out of the 100 sentenced in the case many would have changed and become better persons. Why is nobody calling their sentences harsh? Does starring as a Munnabhai make Dutt above the law?

Then there is the argument that Sanjay had suffered a lot over the course of the trial, so he does not deserve such harsh punishment. Well, again, I'm sure all the 100 odd accused have suffered a lot of agony and mental trauma over the years. Should we let them go as well? What about all the other unknown, unnamed convicts who have suffered over the course of their trial and who repent the crime they have committed, do we let all of them go as well? What happens to 'you do the crime, you do the time'? All the arguments given by Dutt sympathizers are not legally tenable and sends the concept of equality before law for a toss.

Again, I have nothing against Sanjay Dutt. He is a great actor and I'm sure a wonderful human being. But a union minister coming to his defence and questioning the courts decision is just not done. They must realize that Sanjay Dutt isn't the only person convicted. I'm sure he isn't the only person who has reformed and repents what he did. If the court had let him off on these ground than it certainly would have been a sad day for the Indian justice system.

As I write this, CNN-IBN has a show on with Rajiv Masand telling us all how great a person Dutt is and subtly questioning if the verdict was fair! I lost a bit of respect for CNN-IBN after they spoilt Harry Potter for me by revealing a bit of the plot, but then, that's another story altogether.

India's First Woman President

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 12:37:00 +0000

India got it's 13th President and it's first woman President today. Pratiba Patil overcame a bitter campaign to win a majority in the electoral college. I just hope that she rises to the occasion and proves to be an independent thinking, impartial president whose loyalty lies with the Constitution and not with the Nehru-Gandhi family.

President Kalam brought his own charm to the Presidency. He managed to create a lot of interest in the Presidency among the people of India. Obviously, Pratibha Patil lacks the charisma of president Kalam and she may not be able to evoke popular interest in the Precidency.

I hope she does not bring any disrepute to the post of the president. In the next 5 year I hope she does not become a mere rubber stamp for the congress party. Let's hope she does not blindly sign any bill sent to her. Remember, president Kalam had returned the Office of Profit bill recently. A rubber stamp would have signed it obligingly if it made the 'high command' happy.

Now that Mrs. Patil has become the President, I'm willing to give her a chance. Believe me, with the politics what it is today, there are going to be lots of controversial bill coming her way to be signed. I hope she does not betray the trust that the people have in the post of the President.

Related Post: No to Pratibha Patil

And the communists think China is our best friend

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:20:00 +0000

I hate the hypocracy of our commuists. Anything US/western is bad for us and anything Chinese and communist is good. But read this and decide for yourself.

Registry fot Pregnancies!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:04:00 +0000

Indian government wants to register all pregrancies. Now how absurd is this? The intentions might be good and noble, but with this, the government will be interfering a bit too much with people's personal business.

Some how I do not trust the Congress led government of protecting and respecting individual rights. The government must try and enforce current laws preventing pre natal sex determination. Not go around getting a list of all pregnant women in the country! They had no problem repealing POTA as soon as they came into power. The argument was that existing laws are sufficient to tackle terrorism. Well when they can take that chance with terrorism, I'm sure they can use the existing laws to curb female foeticide.

This government seems to be interfering too much with people's personal matters. They have told us what to watch and what not to. They've told us what will adversly affect our morality and must be avoided. And now they now want to know if women are pregnant and how they plan to go about the pregnancies. I really doubt that this proposal if made a law will stand the test of the constitution and the courts.

It's time the holier than thou ministers realise that their country men and women are as capable as them and can take care of their private matters. The ministers are better off putting they thoughts and energy to more useful purposes.

Useful RTI website

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 06:13:00 +0000

I'm a big supporter of the RTI act. One of the few good legislations enacted by the UPA government. I've written about this earlier as well. I found a great site with lots of details on RTI called Parivartan. This I found while going through this blog, INI Signal.

Thought I'll put it up here. Hope it helps you sometime.