Pay as you go Bandhs – II

Two years back when people of Mumbai suffered losses due to bandhs organized by Shiv Sena and BJP, they had a bunch of petitions asking the parties to pay for the losses. Don’t know what happened to that. Now in Kerala, the High Court has asked CPI(M), and DYFI to pay some money to a textile shop owner. His shop suffered damages in a strike called by these parties for miscellaneous reasons such as protesting againt the sun rising in the east.

In view of the High Court’s earlier judgement that political parties and organisations who call for strike (hartal) and bandhs and who enforce such calls are liable to pay compensation for the loss suffered by them, “CPI(M) and DYFI ‘vicariously’ are liable to pay compensation to the petitioners,” the court held.
Though both CPI(M) and DYFI denied having made a call for hartal, the bench, however, said there was no reason to disbelieve newspaper reports in this regard[HC directs CPI(M), DYFI to pay compensation ]

In Kerala where strikes are rampant, this could be a new way of earning a living.
See Also: Pay as you go Bandhs

BBC withdraws Vinod Mehta's slanderous article

When the Shankaracharya was arrested allegedly for conspiring to murder Sankararaman, the media went overboard with their character assassination. A major critic was the editor of Outlook, a Vinod Mehta. He went on BBC Radio and gave his version of the story.

Two days later the talk was published as an article on the BBC website with the title of “Murder, Mystery and Politics in India.” Straight away Mr. Mehta set the tone. “The charges are a tabloid journalist”s dream – murder, sleaze, debauchery, greed and sex,” he said. The story he went on to recount was meant to illustrate each of these “charges.” But it was overwhelmingly fictitious and certain crucial details stood in contradiction with the findings of the Supreme Court of India, made public some three weeks before Mr. Mehta delivered his talk on BBC Radio Four. His tabloid dream was of his own making.

When the devotees of the Shankaracharya complained about the inaccuracies in the article to the BBC, they acknowledged it, but refused to remove it from their web site. Finally the devotees engaged some lawyers in London and when faced with the prospect of a lawsuit, the BBC withdrew the article. They also apologized and reimbursed the expenses.
Update (1): M F Hussein is found guilty of hurting Hindu sentiments by a court. According to the court, “Hussain had been found guilty of ‘making objectionable paintings to hurt the feeling of a community and of disturbing communal harmony’.”
Update (2): Various Hindu groups have been fighting the State Board of Education in California on what is being taught in textbooks. Now they have decided to take the State Board to court.

Lockup deaths in Kerala

In the review of the new Malayalam movie, Vargam, Rishi Raj Singh writes about lockup deaths

The film Vargam serves to portray police officers as they are: both, at times philanthropic and at times swayed by mean desires involving graft and physical torture. There is only one point of disagreement with the theme — where the death of a young boy in police lockup is shown not properly investigated by senior police officers or the ever-alert press. In a highly literate State like Kerala, this kind of police brutality is neither possible nor plausible.[ A love story in police style]

1988, a movie called Piravi (Birth) was made by Shaji Karun on the disappearance of an engineering student in Kerala. This student was tortured and killed by police and is based on the real life incident of Rajan. That particular incident happened during the time of emergency when the police ran wild in India. Recently a parade was held in the Central Jail in Trivandrum to identify police constables in connection with the lockup death of an Udayakumar. That is not the only one and there have been allegations about other deaths as well.
The incidents of police brutality might be less due to a highly literate and political population, but it is certainly there.

Terrorist attack in Varanasi

They were normal people like you and me. They were old people like our parents who are religious. They had gone to pray to Hanuman in Varanasi, the holy city for Hindus and now they are dead due to the handiwork of few murderers.

The first blast came as devotees gathered for evening prayer at a 16th-century temple dedicated to Sankat Mochan. Tuesdays are particularly busy there, when special services are held for the Hindu monkey deity, Hanuman, who is known as the Liberator From Troubles. The second blast went off 45 minutes later at the main train station, Reuters reported. It was unclear how many people died in each place. Unexploded bombs were also found across Varanasi, including the maze of narrow streets in the oldest quarters of the 2,500-year-old city. Varanasi, also known as Benares, has a Hindu majority and a large minority of Muslims.[Bombs Rock a City Holy to Hindus, Killing at Least 15]

Also note their targets.

“The bomb was placed near a tree where women usually sit and take rest,” Singh said. “Moreover, a wedding was just over when the blast took place. Had the blast taken place a few minutes earlier, the toll could have been more.”[Indians Protest, Fear Violence Will Spread]

50 people in Delhi, 20 in Varanasi and God knows how many more to come.
The Indian Blogosphere comments on this mass murder: Die #$* Infidels!, Terrorists attack Varanasi, Caught in the cross-fire, Bomb blasts in Hindu holy city, What the Varanasi attack really is

The New Communist Hero

Shops in the city’s predominantly Muslim Charminar quarter were closed in protest of the president’s visit, The Associated Press reported. Several hundred communist and Muslim demonstrators chanted “Bush go home” and carried posters of Osama bin Laden.[Under Tight Security, Bush Arrives in Pakistan]

Osama bin Laden, responsible for the death of an estimated 2,825 people on September 11, out of which 34 were Indians is now the hero of the Communists and the Muslim demonstrators. After admiring mass murderers like Stalin, Chairman Mao and Pol Pot, this was the next logical step for these anti-nationals.

The Clueless Protestors

What’s that?
This is the best answer you get from the nearly one lakh people protesting against President George W Bush’s visit, when they are asked about the nuclear deal.
Interestingly, this was after several leaders from the Left and Samajwadi Party launched tirades against the nuclear deal, thundering that India was compromising its sovereignty. “I have no clue about this deal,” said D S Negi, a protestor from Rohtak, Haryana.
Even as A B Bardhan, general secretary, Communist Party of India, came up on stage and started complaining about the deal being a setback to Indian sovereignty, the masses remained unaffected. Most of them were seen scratching their heads or wearing a blank expression on their faces, while Bardhan spoke about the nuclear deal.
Another interesting answer came from Sarvesh Kumar, a Samajwadi Party leader from Benares, Uttar Pradesh – “I don’t know what the nuclear deal is all about. I only know that my leader, Mulayam Singh, opposes Bush’s visit and so am I opposing his visit. Netaji is never wrong in politics.”[Protestors clueless about the nuclear deal]

It is very common for political parties to pay money and bring truckloads of people for any protest. These people don’t really care what the issue is about. There was one Malayalam movie which made fun of this when a hired protestor goes to the wrong demostration and starts raising the slogans of the rival party. I am sure Arundhathi’s gorillas also find this amusing.
It should also be noted that there was no protest in Jammu and Kashmir from political parties as well as separatist groups. Also 99.99% of Indians did not protest this visit.
Update: Ashish asks: Why do the Left even pretend that they are for India’s interests?
Update 2 Stupid is as stupid does

Moral Police in AMU

While many species are becoming endangered, one tribe that is increasing in population is the Moral Police in India. In case you have not heard, they will tell you what you can speak and what you cannot. You need their permission to hold your wife’s hands or to express your love. Now they are dictating what dresses women can wear.

Wearing a T-shirt can be dangerous as a girl student of the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University realised last week. For daring to wear what she wants to, Najma (name changed) is being threatened by fellow students who claim the sole right to interpret what is moral in Islam.
She has been told to replace the T-shirt with kurta and dupatta and to stop her campaign for an effective mechanism in the university to address complaints of sexual harassment.
AMU’s moral police have also found fault with Najma’s practice of sharing meals with boys at canteens. ‘‘Girls are not expected to be seen in public places,’’ she has been told. Najma defied such instructions and she and a group of students formed a cultural group, Saada, and raised issues related to gender[AMU moral cops target girl for wearing T-shirt on campus]

The folks has been harassing the lady in AMU, which I guess is perfectly legal in the moral police code of conduct.

Freedom of Speech: Communist Version

You know how much the Communists are for freedom of speech. So long as you are not searching for Tibet or Falun Gong, you are free to use Google in China. Their brothers in Kerala too love freedom of speech and they show their affection by pouring oil on people.
Recently the Director of All India Radio (Kozhikode) made some remarks against V.S.Achyutanandan, the head honcho of the Kerala Communists and it did not go well with the monkey brigade called DYFI.

Black oil was poured on C.P. Rajasekharan, Director of All India Radio (AIR), Kozhikode, as he came out from the Town Hall in Vatakara in the district on Thursday. A group of persons, said to be Democratic Youth Federation of India workers, shouted slogans against Mr. Rajasekharan after pouring the oil. [AIR Director comes under attack]

Women all around the world are fighting for equal rights as men. The Communists are all for that too. Oil was poured on Leela Abhilash who had the audacity to – and hold your breath here – to contest an election in a democratic India.

Rashomon Effect – Episode 3

What were Mahatma Gandhi’s last words?
Tushar Gandhi:

Mahatma Gandhi’s last words after he was shot by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948 were `Hey Ram’, the Mahatma’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi said here today.
He cited testimony of Sardar Gurbachan Singh given during the Gandhiji’s assassination trial in 1948. “Singh said that after being shot at, Bapu folded his hands and I heard him utter `Hey Ram'”, he said.
Abha Gandhi, on whose lap Gandhiji died, said Bapu did not only say Hey Ram once but the chant of Hey Ram went on for a few seconds he lived after being shot, Gandhi said.

Venkita Kalyanam, Mahatma’s personal assistant

Mahatma Gandhi did not utter hey Ram when he fell to the bullets of the assassin 58 years ago, Gandhi’s personal assistant Venkita Kalyanam.
In fact, he did not utter anything when bullets from Nathuram Godse’s pistol pierced his chest, Kalyanam, who was a witness to the shocking event, told a meet-the-press in Kollam.
Kalyanam claimed he was just behind Gandhi when he was shot dead in Delhi on January 30, 1948.

Indians in Davos

Goh Chok Tong, Former Prime Minister of Singapore was in India recently and gave a speech asking India to accelerate the pace of reforms.

Arguing that the old mindset opposed to competition on the plea of foreign economic colonisation and the theory of protectionism would only breed complacency and inefficiency. He said “competition drives economic growth; you lose some but you win more,” and urged the Indian government to remove impediments to healthy competition.[Indian atma biswas and the positive sum economics of trade]

Looks like this message is being taken seriously. “India Everywhere”. This is the campaign that Indians are unleashing in Davos for the World Economic Forum on Jan 25.

“India: the world’s fastest-growing free-market democracy,” proclaims one sign. Others will extol India’s growing business prowess (it now boasts 91 companies with revenues of $1 billion-plus), its $500 billion stock market capitalization, and its vast and youthful consumer market.
Waiting for visitors at their hotel rooms will be gifts from India — a pashmina shawl, an Apple (AAPL) iPod loaded with Indian pop and classical music, a piece of traditional art, some ayurvedic oils — along with a CD packed with all sorts of economic information about the country.[Davos Days, Bollywood Nights]

Finally someone got the clue that being understated and unspoken is not the way to do business. Among the list of people in the delegation are some odd balls like Amartya Sen and Shabana Azmi. The article also mentions that the ruler of Kerala will also be present and Kerala is a magnet for foreign investment.
Ignoring all that, it is important that India perform the right song and dance routine where it matters and display its cultural power along with the economic might. As the Globalization Institute notes

The figures tell a story. Economic growth is expected to be 8% in 2006, at a time when Japan would consider 1% a major success. There are now 91 businesses in India with turnover in excess of $1 billion, stock market capitalisation is in the $500 billion range, and there are reportedly over 200 million people learning English in India.
It’s worth contrasting this image with the pessimistic predictions of the late 1960s and early 1970s. India was headed for “inevitable” mass famine. Its population would drop as disease and chronic malnutrition raised the death rate. Corruption was seen as “endemic” and the combination of bureaucracy, protectionism, and a willingness to support the pirating of foreign trade marks were major obstacles to inward investment.[India flaunts it at Davos]

Tags: Globalization Davos India Economics