KBC's love for Narendra Modi —Narendra Modi's Sadhbhavna Mission, hardly undertaken a month ago, and other Modi and BJP related questions are finding place in Big B's KBC. Seems dal mein kuchch kala hai—an orchestration to present Modi as a credible prime ministerial candidate? Is Sony doing it on its own?? Or, is it a kamaal of Modi's media managers??? Anyway, let me remind the Modi company that BJP is painting the town with slogans like Anna Ki Jeet Desh Ki Jeet. Already Yediyurappa's deeds have proved how hollow is this slogan!!! Now, please do not make KBC a means of saffron indoctrination. All the best for Modiji if he becomes Prime Minister by fair means1!!!

Anusha, you are right

'Nothing can happen until people stand up and regulate the system.' Just read your this comment in an IANS news. No person who is well aware of the Indian reality can't disagree with you. But, first congratulations for showing the mirror to politicians, journalists and the society at large through 'Peepli Live'. I've not yet seen the movie. But going by the media reviews, you have done a great job by drawing the nation's attention to a serious problem in a hilarious way. You have hit the bull's eye in your very first shot.

How true are your words to IANS: 'Absolutely nothing will happen, the whole state is doing nothing, how can you think that some people will see it and feel the pinch on what they are doing themselves.... .until people stand up and regulate it (the system).'

The classic case is of people's and media's lethargy about the mess we have made of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games. A crore rupee question is: Why has the media failed to break the stories about substandard and delaying construction of C'wealth projects?
It woke up from its Kumbhakarna-like sleep only when the CVC exposed serious irregularities in C'wealth projects. The media didn't take cue even from Mr Fennel who had warned us about our lackadaisical preparations 8-10 months ago our.

It's an open secret that certain people are making crores and crores illegally in Commonwealth projects. But most of poor labourers who are toiling day and night at C'wealth projects may not be getting even the statutory minimum wages.

A man in the street knows this. A journalist knows more than the common man about the murky goings on. The powerful RTI is there to get to the truth. But who has the guts and time to pin down the corrupt mighty. And, all this is happening under the very nose of over about 800 MPs, the top brass of the Indian bureaucracy and the powerful media houses of India in Delhi, the seat of India's power. Those in a position (inside or outside government) to check or highlight the rot eating into the vitals of India have no time for Mera Bharat Mahan.

Maybe all of them have taken an oath for "Main Chup Rahoonga/Rahoongi Aur Apne Cut Ki Chinta Karoonga. Bhar Main Jaye C'wealth Games or Desh Ki Izzat.' Salaam is Jazbe ko 15 August par jise paane ke liye lakhoon logon ne Angrejon ka atyachar saha or sekkod phansi par char gaye.

Varun, please listen to Obama

About two hours ago, I listened to Obama's address to the Congress announcing his new plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan. His two-pronged plan aims at fighting the Taliban in both the countries with renewed vigour and also providing financial help to the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan for reviving their terror-battered economies. Obama's stress is on widespread social changes in both these countries for the betterment of the large mass of uneducated people to free them from the clutches of the orthodox Taliban.

While listening to Obama's logical pleas to the Congress for enabling him fight the scourge of terrorism, our own Varun Gandhi's recent vitriolic speech came to mind. Shouldn't the young Varun draw a lesson from Obama's book? Varun's bullet-for-bullet philosophy may appeal to many young Hindus who are led to believe that they are living as second-rate citizens in their own country. But the truth, which Varun and the Saffron brigade must understand, is that suppressing terrorism by force is only a temporary solution. For a long-term solution, you have to do the social engineering and bring the terrorist into the country's mainstream.

I personally believe that common cultural heritage, not religion, can truly bond a people. Had religion been a cementing force, Nepal, the only Hindu country in the world, would have never appeared to us as hobnobbing with China against India whose population is largely Hindu. The saffron brigade should know that by dividing people in the name of religion you may rule for a while. But the second shot at the power is a distatnt possibility. The saffron brigade knows this fact too well. Had the religion and the Ram temple been truly residing in the heart of the people, no power on earth could have ousted the BJP-led NDA government.

Advaniji's 'honesty'

"There is nothing wrong in Advaniji criticizing poor Manmohanji," I tell myself. Any politician aspiring to be the next Prime Minister will do the same. But, the upright and honest part of me is not satisfied with the answer of my other part which wants me to behave like a politician.

The honest part argues, ''Advaniji is so concerned about Manmohanji's so-called dependence on 10 Janpath for his every decision. But, did he and other heavyweights in the BJP ever allow Vajpayeeji to function freely as Prime Minister? One classic example of subjecting Vajpayeeji to undue pressure was his going back on his highly critical statement on Gujarat riots in 2002 — Mein videsh ja kar kya moohn dikhayoonga. Not only the BJP heavyweights and RSS functionaries, the NDA coalition partners like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha were also a source of constant headache for Vajpayeeji."

My other part counters, "If Manmohanji was not subjected to the type of pressures that Vajpayeeji faced, it was all due to Sonia's total control over the Congress. On the other hand, poor Vajpayeeji despite being the moderate and nationally acceptable face of the BJP did not find many supporters in his party and coalition for his actions. Otherwise, he would have succeeded in strenghthening both the BJP and the NDA."

The honest part agrees, "Yes, you are right. Had Vajpayeeji been given a free hand like Soniaji has given Manmohanji in running the government, NDA might still be ruling the country. If you have any doubt about Manmohanji's grip over the government, I would like to tell you that renowned journalist Vir Sanghvi has written many times that Manmohanji has run the government in a fairly free manner. Neither the Congress party nor the coalition partners subjected to him the kind of pressure that Vajpayeeji faced."

Oh, it's going to be 11 p.m. I am going to sleep. Rest on the political freestyle tomorrow

'Sab chalta hai' – Aaakhir kab tak?

That our sab chalta culture entails a heavy price has once again been proved by the latest terrorist attack on India's commercial capital Mumbai. Over 150 people have died in the security forces' gunbattle with terrorists in Mumbai's three hotels – Taj, Oberoi and Trident. The loss of precious lives for no fault of theirs also makes a quote of George Bernard Shah on democracy more meaningful, especially in the context of our country. Says Bernard Shah, "Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." In India, the leaders and masses have created such a system of governance that is in tune with this quote. Because from common people to heavyweight ministers – most of the Indians on the one hand try to look the other way whenever they come across something wrong happening if their interests are not harmed. On the other, they are always looking for shortcuts to achieve their small or big objectives – maybe it's jumping the red light to save a paltry one or two minutes or making millions out of public money by dubious means. So, it's not surprising that despite the lessons drawn from previous terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the Sansad Bhavan, despite the Coast Guard, despite our wide intelligence network, the terrorists sneaked into India's commercial heart and played havoc with the lives of the people.

So, we've got the leaders and the government that we deserve. No matter how tainted a minister is, his/her support to a coalition government ensures that he/she will remain out of the bounds of the law so long the government remains in office. Those accused of instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, those charged with destroying the Babri Masjid despite assuring the court about the safety of the same, and so on, will always remain above the law because for political parties and the governments the charity never begins at home when it comes to booking wrongdoing big shots.

Apart from being natural low violators, we Indians also prefer giving knee-jerk responses than learning from what is happening around us. Only in September last, a deadly suicide bomber attack had destroyed a major part of the Islamabad Marriott Hotel but the managements of India's posh hotels did not seem to have anticipated this attack in India, hence no anti-terrorist measures.

Terrorists are trying to attack the very foundation of India but the political parties are more interested about their respective votebanks than taking a unified stand on the effective measures to root out terrorism. For some parties anti-terrorist law POTA is draconian while for others POTA is the best bet against terrorism. ATS chief Hemant Karkare has been martyred in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. However, till a day before his killing the Hindutva outfits had been criticising his team for their so-called high-handed approach in questioning the Malegaon bomb blast accused. It's high time that all political parties agreed to not to question the security forces' investigation because courts are their to verify the prosecution's claims.

Today a political party splashed Delhi papers with a hurriedly booked anti-Congress government ad. This ad, certainly prepared after the latest Mumbai attack, is in bad taste. Please be sincere in creating consensus to fight terrorism, not make others' misfortune a means to achieve your electoral goals.

Long Cherished Outlet II

I could not complete and publish my first-ever post for this blog yesterday because of the electricity failure in our colony. Before picking up the thread where I had left it yesterday, I reproduce my first post:

This just created blog is the outlet that I wanted to have for a long time. So many momentous events have been taking place in my country India, that I feel suffocated by not expressing my views on them. The title of this blog Waqt ke Nishan* is in Urdu language. It means 'Footprints of Time.'

Coming from a media background and blessed with a sensitive heart, I often end up asking questions about the ways of the society I live in. I have this burning desire of being useful to my society in some way. I wish to turn this blog into a platform where the constructive ideas are not only generated but also implemented for the good of all.

October is the month of festivities in India. It has begun with Id-ul-Fitr and would end with the grand festival of Deepawali. All the festivals of October are linked with religion. In the context of religion, one question that I often ask myself is: "Do all the human beings, who believe in the existence of the God, truly follow His word, written in their religious books? I feel anytime, whether in the history or today, a discerning person would answer this question in an emphatic NO. So, what to do to make the vast majority of peoples all over the world to behave in the way their religion want them to? To use a cliche, this is a million dollar question. I will try searching answer from time to time in this blog by focusing on personalities who used religion for the good of society.

*On June 11, 2013, I had given a new title, My Indian DNA, to this blog.