This is an actual letter written by a common man to the Prime Minister of India post the Terrorist attacks in Mumbai on 29/11/08.
_____________________________________________________
Dear Mr. Prime ministerI am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mouse. Mouse at least squeak but we don't even do that.
Today I heard your speech. In which you said 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years has passed since serial bomb blast in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our bolywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king meets him but your Government cannot catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him.If any attempt is made to catch him everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on this unfortunate people of India.
Enough is enough. As such after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys I realize that if same thing continues days are not away when terrorist will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactor and there will be one more Hiroshima.
We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.
Today, your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family.Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?
I am born and bought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar. Look at all the politician, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackray , Gopinath Munde, Raj Thackray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief minister I have seen. His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi so Congress can fight next election. Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fisherman so they can build concrete house right on sea shore. Next time terrorist can comfortably live in those house , enjoy the beauty of sea and then attack Mumbai at their will.
Recently I had to purchase house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI you and your finance minister are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes?To the underworld isn't it? Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.
If this has been land of fools, idiots then I would not have ever cared to write you this letter. Just see the tragedy, on one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent and on other side you politician has converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, Creamy Schedule caste only what I am not is INDIAN.You politician have raped every part of mother India by your policy of divide and rule.
Take example of former president Abdul Kalam. Such a intelligent person, such a fine human being. You politician didn't even spare him. Your party along with opposition joined the hands, because politician feels they are supreme and there is no place for good person.
Dear Mr Prime minister you are one of the most intelligent person, most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost expose all selfish politician. Ask Swiss bank to give name of all Indian account holder. Give reins of CBI to independent agency.Let them find wolf among us. There will be political upheaval but that will better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day.Just give us ambient where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.
The choice is yours Mr. Prime Minister. Do you want to be lead by one person or you want to lead the nation of 100 Crore people?
Prakash B. Bajaj
Other Contact Details hidden due to security reasons.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
City of Dreams
Once, in early 2007, just a month after I had moved to Mumbai, in my rush to exit an overcrowded train pulling into CST, I fell hard on to the platform, scraping the skin from my hands and knees and tearing two holes in my trousers.
Lying there humiliated, limbs flailing in every direction, I felt like an outsider, a voyeur, one who didn't quite belong. Someone who'd never unlock the secret to South Asia's City of Dreams. But suddenly, before I could finish the thought 'I want to go home,' five helpful hands lifted me to my feet, dusted me off and assuaged me of my embarrassment. "All ok, baba?" a man asked tenderly, with genuine concern.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to register the faces attached to those hands, because my unknown saviours were gone in seconds, disappeared into the immense throng of people coming and going, melted back into the crowd. I marvelled then at the strange amalgamation of anonymity and intimacy that defines this city.
Though I had originally come to India for the love of an Indian lady, that day -- when I toppled from the train and Mumbai didn't hesitate to pick me up -- I really and truly fell in love with India herself.
Now I wonder if any of those kind-hearted CST passengers were again passing through the station last Wednesday. I think of all those optimistic, hard-working folks just going about their daily lives. It pisses me off to no end that they were murdered in cold-blood. It could have been, should have been, prevented.
So, no, I'm not prepared to wax eloquent about any real or imagined 'indomitable Mumbaikar' spirit. In the wake of this enormous tragedy, that cliche should be damned to obscurity. Rather, I just want to mention the incredible individual and collective brilliance I've encountered during my 22 months here, to point out what makes this city such an extraordinary place to live, work, learn and love.
I reminisce on the wonderful friendships made, the unforgettable moments shared and the beautiful people met, from rickshaw wallahs to fashion designers and everyone in between: Gujarati housewives and their tasty pickles, Maharashtrians who warmly invited me to their partake in their Ganpati festivals, the Muslim cabbie from Bihar who returned a friend's Rs 30,000 mobile phone only by the compulsion of his own conscience.
I remember late night joyrides along Marine Drive, with the windows down, salty sea breeze heavy in my nostrils and the glinting lights of Malabar Hill off in the distance, bizarre but irresistible Indian pop music blaring from the speakers. Sunday afternoons in Bandra, shopping for books and eating heavenly Alphonso mangoes. Galoti kebabs on Mohammed Ali Road for a pittance and 5-star meals at the Taj. Cold Kingfisher beer at innumerable trendy nightclubs, seedy haunts and cosy cafes. Plays at NCPA, films in Andheri, live concerts in Parel.
But, most of all, I think of the people: Intelligent, motivated, warm-hearted, cosmopolitan, diverse, dynamic, from all major faiths, comprising all possible backgrounds and histories.
This to me is Mumbai. The Mumbai I witnessed in incredible acts of individual heroism and bravery last week: Distraught but duty-bound medical professionals at JJ Hospital and St George's Hospital working calmly and efficiently throughout the night without rest, self-sacrificing staff at the Taj who put the safety of guests before their own, blood donors flooding banks to ensure a healthy supply so that doctors could perform life-saving operations, angry but focused young Mumbaikars assembling to demand answers and accountability.
But, now that the crisis has passed, the jackals are out and they smell blood. They represent that other side of Mumbai, the side I've been warned about: Self-styled demagogues turning countrymen against one another in order to achieve their own selfish political motives, an unresponsive and corrupt bureaucracy, a citizenry either unwilling or incapable to provide proper public vigilance.
From here, there are just three ways to go about the recovery and grieving process: desperate pessimism, pathetic inactivity, or concentrated optimism.
A negative response would see a reprise of communal tensions from years past. Or a game of nuclear chicken with Pakistan. Or another military state-esque Emergency.
An inactive response would be to make cheesy Youtube videos about the 'indomitable spirit of Mumbai' without managing any substantive change. To thrash about like spoiled children for a couple of weeks before retreating into that comfortable cocoon of familiarity. I've read reports that multiple, specific intelligence warnings precipitated this attack, but were not acted upon. I've been told that Mumbai has no elite counter-terrorism encounter force to speak of, and that the city police were hopelessly outgunned by the attackers' modern, automatic weapons. If these concerns aren't addressed, such inactivity would indeed be pathetic, almost resigning ourselves to it happening again in the future.
Concentrated optimism alone will bring together all that individual talent, motivation and brilliance and channel it in the right direction, to ensure that Mumbai is no longer vulnerable. This city will prove its true greatness not by 'getting on with it'; but, rather, by holding accountable those who perpetrated this act and those who allowed it to happen.
So, yes, I'll stop for a beer next time I pass Leopold's, I'll catch a film at Metro Cinema, I'll window shop at the Oberoi (even if I don't have the money to buy a single item at many of the stores). Sure, I'll do all those things, like Suketu Mehta suggested, as a sign of solidarity.
But I will also organise with my fellow young Mumbaikars. I will write politicians. I will petition citizens. I will give something back, in addition to spending money, to this City of Opportunity, the heart of this brilliant, boisterous Democracy I now call home.
For, make no mistake, those who perpetrate these attacks do so because they hate India's freedoms, her successes, her strides forward. They hate her pluralism, her openness, her delicious and life-affirming ambiguity. The very things I hold near and dear, the lessons this country has taught me.
Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet a delegation of 20-somethings from MTV Pakistan. Over beers in Andheri, every last one of them expressed an almost child-like fascination with Mumbai, their conversation peppered with phrases like, "I love this city!" and "It's absolutely unbelievable!"
Turns out, since youth they had harboured an immense passion for Mumbai, for Bollywood, for the idea and the image of the Gateway of India, of the Taj Hotel's [Images] brilliant architecture and storied past, of Nariman Point's business-saturated towers, of Malabar Hill's swanky luxury apartments, of Juhu's celebrity hideaways, of suburban megamalls and South Mumbai cinema halls, of ancient mosques, temples and churches co-existing side-by-side.
"People in Pakistan dream about Mumbai," one of the guys told me. "To be honest, we're envious."
That night, I kept thinking inside my head, over and over, not vocalising it for fear of offending someone, "Look at these kids, the Indians and the Pakistanis -- ;same likes and dislikes, same fears and aspirations, same taste in clothes, in music."
When I see photos from CST of the lone surviving terrorist, 21-year-old Azam Amir Qasab, I shudder: he looks just like my Mumbai friends, just like the kids from MTV Pakistan.
The only discernable difference is in the eyes. When those young MTV Pakistanis spoke of Mumbai, their eyes grew wide with wonderment and enthusiasm. Azam Amir Qasab's eyes, on the other hand, glinting with determination and seething with hatred, tell an entirely different story.
So I ask now, because I have no answer: How does a 21-year-old grow to despise a City of Dreams?
Courtesy: Rediff
Lying there humiliated, limbs flailing in every direction, I felt like an outsider, a voyeur, one who didn't quite belong. Someone who'd never unlock the secret to South Asia's City of Dreams. But suddenly, before I could finish the thought 'I want to go home,' five helpful hands lifted me to my feet, dusted me off and assuaged me of my embarrassment. "All ok, baba?" a man asked tenderly, with genuine concern.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to register the faces attached to those hands, because my unknown saviours were gone in seconds, disappeared into the immense throng of people coming and going, melted back into the crowd. I marvelled then at the strange amalgamation of anonymity and intimacy that defines this city.
Though I had originally come to India for the love of an Indian lady, that day -- when I toppled from the train and Mumbai didn't hesitate to pick me up -- I really and truly fell in love with India herself.
Now I wonder if any of those kind-hearted CST passengers were again passing through the station last Wednesday. I think of all those optimistic, hard-working folks just going about their daily lives. It pisses me off to no end that they were murdered in cold-blood. It could have been, should have been, prevented.
So, no, I'm not prepared to wax eloquent about any real or imagined 'indomitable Mumbaikar' spirit. In the wake of this enormous tragedy, that cliche should be damned to obscurity. Rather, I just want to mention the incredible individual and collective brilliance I've encountered during my 22 months here, to point out what makes this city such an extraordinary place to live, work, learn and love.
I reminisce on the wonderful friendships made, the unforgettable moments shared and the beautiful people met, from rickshaw wallahs to fashion designers and everyone in between: Gujarati housewives and their tasty pickles, Maharashtrians who warmly invited me to their partake in their Ganpati festivals, the Muslim cabbie from Bihar who returned a friend's Rs 30,000 mobile phone only by the compulsion of his own conscience.
I remember late night joyrides along Marine Drive, with the windows down, salty sea breeze heavy in my nostrils and the glinting lights of Malabar Hill off in the distance, bizarre but irresistible Indian pop music blaring from the speakers. Sunday afternoons in Bandra, shopping for books and eating heavenly Alphonso mangoes. Galoti kebabs on Mohammed Ali Road for a pittance and 5-star meals at the Taj. Cold Kingfisher beer at innumerable trendy nightclubs, seedy haunts and cosy cafes. Plays at NCPA, films in Andheri, live concerts in Parel.
But, most of all, I think of the people: Intelligent, motivated, warm-hearted, cosmopolitan, diverse, dynamic, from all major faiths, comprising all possible backgrounds and histories.
This to me is Mumbai. The Mumbai I witnessed in incredible acts of individual heroism and bravery last week: Distraught but duty-bound medical professionals at JJ Hospital and St George's Hospital working calmly and efficiently throughout the night without rest, self-sacrificing staff at the Taj who put the safety of guests before their own, blood donors flooding banks to ensure a healthy supply so that doctors could perform life-saving operations, angry but focused young Mumbaikars assembling to demand answers and accountability.
But, now that the crisis has passed, the jackals are out and they smell blood. They represent that other side of Mumbai, the side I've been warned about: Self-styled demagogues turning countrymen against one another in order to achieve their own selfish political motives, an unresponsive and corrupt bureaucracy, a citizenry either unwilling or incapable to provide proper public vigilance.
From here, there are just three ways to go about the recovery and grieving process: desperate pessimism, pathetic inactivity, or concentrated optimism.
A negative response would see a reprise of communal tensions from years past. Or a game of nuclear chicken with Pakistan. Or another military state-esque Emergency.
An inactive response would be to make cheesy Youtube videos about the 'indomitable spirit of Mumbai' without managing any substantive change. To thrash about like spoiled children for a couple of weeks before retreating into that comfortable cocoon of familiarity. I've read reports that multiple, specific intelligence warnings precipitated this attack, but were not acted upon. I've been told that Mumbai has no elite counter-terrorism encounter force to speak of, and that the city police were hopelessly outgunned by the attackers' modern, automatic weapons. If these concerns aren't addressed, such inactivity would indeed be pathetic, almost resigning ourselves to it happening again in the future.
Concentrated optimism alone will bring together all that individual talent, motivation and brilliance and channel it in the right direction, to ensure that Mumbai is no longer vulnerable. This city will prove its true greatness not by 'getting on with it'; but, rather, by holding accountable those who perpetrated this act and those who allowed it to happen.
So, yes, I'll stop for a beer next time I pass Leopold's, I'll catch a film at Metro Cinema, I'll window shop at the Oberoi (even if I don't have the money to buy a single item at many of the stores). Sure, I'll do all those things, like Suketu Mehta suggested, as a sign of solidarity.
But I will also organise with my fellow young Mumbaikars. I will write politicians. I will petition citizens. I will give something back, in addition to spending money, to this City of Opportunity, the heart of this brilliant, boisterous Democracy I now call home.
For, make no mistake, those who perpetrate these attacks do so because they hate India's freedoms, her successes, her strides forward. They hate her pluralism, her openness, her delicious and life-affirming ambiguity. The very things I hold near and dear, the lessons this country has taught me.
Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet a delegation of 20-somethings from MTV Pakistan. Over beers in Andheri, every last one of them expressed an almost child-like fascination with Mumbai, their conversation peppered with phrases like, "I love this city!" and "It's absolutely unbelievable!"
Turns out, since youth they had harboured an immense passion for Mumbai, for Bollywood, for the idea and the image of the Gateway of India, of the Taj Hotel's [Images] brilliant architecture and storied past, of Nariman Point's business-saturated towers, of Malabar Hill's swanky luxury apartments, of Juhu's celebrity hideaways, of suburban megamalls and South Mumbai cinema halls, of ancient mosques, temples and churches co-existing side-by-side.
"People in Pakistan dream about Mumbai," one of the guys told me. "To be honest, we're envious."
That night, I kept thinking inside my head, over and over, not vocalising it for fear of offending someone, "Look at these kids, the Indians and the Pakistanis -- ;same likes and dislikes, same fears and aspirations, same taste in clothes, in music."
When I see photos from CST of the lone surviving terrorist, 21-year-old Azam Amir Qasab, I shudder: he looks just like my Mumbai friends, just like the kids from MTV Pakistan.
The only discernable difference is in the eyes. When those young MTV Pakistanis spoke of Mumbai, their eyes grew wide with wonderment and enthusiasm. Azam Amir Qasab's eyes, on the other hand, glinting with determination and seething with hatred, tell an entirely different story.
So I ask now, because I have no answer: How does a 21-year-old grow to despise a City of Dreams?
Courtesy: Rediff
Monday, December 1, 2008
Politicians or Termites ?
The termites are a group of social insects feeding mostly on dead plant material, wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung BUT as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests.
A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coupe, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, right of inheritance or other means. Politics are not limited to governance through public office.
After 61 years of freedom, we are still dreaming of clean drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, Security, protection from terrorsists and justice from the courts. We keep looking for leadership and good governanace from our elected representatives. We keep dreaming of a good life, which need not be wrapped in luxury, but one where one gets reasonably priced vegetables, pulses and others things that would go into a simple square meal. We dream of living in peace. We still dream of gender equality.
So many parliament and assembly elections have passed us by and we still are looking for clean politicians who want to take the country forward. That elected representatives even take money to ask questions in parliament leaves very little to be said. And we think we are a booming democracy.
But how can democracy succeed when half of India is illiterate and cannot figure out that it is not caste in an election that is most important but governance. But if you look at todays scenario - the politicians are doing what the Britishers did a century back - DIVIDE and RULE. As you can see, History repears itself - in one form or the other.
We try to romanticize everything to escape the hurt and the reality. We talk of how we are a great culture and how we are so diverse and still together. We take pride in telling everyone how Bombay is the city where the spirit of Bombay never dies. What spirit are we talking about here? Let us use our commonsense here, the people have a never say die attitude because they need to earn the daily bread and butter. They have no choice but to resume work no matter what - else they will be thrown out and someone else will take their place. In todays competetive and cut-throat competetion its difficult to survive if you do not add value to what you are doing.
Freedom has no meaning if it cannot improve our lives. It must add value to our lives and not let us slip into a degenerative state. Look at our power situation. Every city has a power cut. And, villages go without power for most part of the day. We waste power everyday. Most towns in India shamelessly have fixed hours where darkness descends daily. No one protests. We are slowly becoming a nation of impotent people led by wimps (politicians).
We want the Defence Minister to know the value of a jawaan. We want the Education Minister to know the power of literacy. We DO NOT want him to change the history books to suit his party’s line. We want our Home Minister to be strong enough to allow the law to proceed against a politician who has been found with millions of rupees stashed away in his bedroom. We want a
Law Minister who will not allow his judges be trampled by political pressure.
We misinterpreted freedom. We thought it was okay when a politician spent millions of rupees shopping for sarees, jewellery and slippers. We voted politicians into power who have criminal cases against them. We used our freedom to permit them to destroy our present and future.
We did not use freedom to improve our lives and to make India one of the greatest countries of the world. Inorder, to make India a secure and better place to live in we need to terminate the termites. We have given our valubale freedom in the hands of a few selfish, sel-centred, egoistic and political bitches - we need to take it back and we need to act on it now. Its now or never !!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Where is Raj thackrey ?
There is a major crisis going on in Mumbai and when people need the Super Manoos to save Mumbai he is no where to be seen and neither are his supporters or any of his spokesmen.
The Shiv Sena and the MNS are all missing during this crisis situation. Specifically the people who went rioting across Mumbai like there is no tomorrow. This clearly shows how helpless these politicians are and that they cannot be trusted during a real crisis scenario.They are extremely good at giving fiery speeches and making "commitments" about improvising peoples situation and conditions.All are gone into hiding - thats the least we can say as they are nowhere to be seen.
Sometimes I feel its a very esay job being a politician. You play with peoples hard-earned money. You destroy common mans property using the same money. You use the same money against the common man to instigate fear and differences. And you use the same money to eat the daily food and sleep on a comfortable secured couch. If you are a politician, you can get away with anything. You do all of the above things mentioned and there is no one to stop you. The least the police can do is beg in front of you and tell dont do and offer you protection too just incase..!!
DAMM !! I must say that the Indian judicial system has gone to the dogs. The political leaders sit in the comfort of their office spaces and say the famous words,"We condemn them..". Damm to your condmen statements. Why the ***k cant you just shoot the terrorists instead of giving them a secured place to stay (jail) and food to eat and make them live for another 20 years. By the time the judges change like a million times and then its too old to give a punishment to anyone.
The government is too lenient on the criminals - lazy is the correct word according to me and majority of them are just to make good money - again its the common man who suffers..!!!
Terror strikes Mumbai !
In yet another terrorist attack in Mumbai - this time being a hostage situation in South Mumbai. From what the news channels and the portals claim it seems to be an organised plot by Lashkar-e-Tayyabba (LeT).
And the target is the rich, affluent class of people specifically the foreigners holding USA and UK visa passports. It is very strange and difficult to understand what is the objective of the attack - apart from spreading panic, chaos and causing discomfort.The 5-star hotels at the Gateway of India Taj, Trident and Oberoi were the targets of the terrorists.
The attacks started at around late 9:30pm in Taj and it is suspected that the terrorists came in a boat and entered the Taj from the back route. There is not much clarity about the back route though.
The surprising part is that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra was nowhere in sight / available during the emergency. Infact no traces of the "Mr. fiery-speeches" MNS leader as well. There is very little difference between the terrorist attacks in Mumbai today and the MNS attacks on people, public transport and public places. And the difference is that the terrorists are getting killed but the MNS people are free to go.
We all are still waiting for the "saviour of Mumbai" to come out and do something. Infact, there is no news from the Sena team as well. All seem to quiet and playing a wait n watch game. They are all waiting to point finger as to how the situation was not handled properly and how it could have been managed well if they would have been there.
To be honest, when such terror strikes - people from all the religions and caste unite to fight against EXCEPT the politicians who try to gain political mileage by playing stupid games to come in power. End of the day the loser is the common man...!!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Weird Ambitions !!
THE small-statured warrior king Shivaji is credited with bringing about the downfall of India’s Mughal dynasty with nimble guerrilla tactics. Raj Thackeray, who rules Mumbai as the city’s unanointed prefect in the name of Shivaji, may not quite succeed in wrecking the present republic, but he may have succeeded to a large extent in undermining the idea of India.
Though the facts about Shivaji’s successes and failures are a matter of conjecture depending largely on the chronicler or historian you quote, there is little doubt that the Maratha armies his legend inspired did succeed in controlling vast swathes of India, becoming perhaps the only post-Mughal Indian group to attempt to ascend the throne of Delhi. Marathas are notionally a part of India’s middle castes that have become assertive in its largely caste-based contemporary politics.
The Thackeray family, headed by Raj’s estranged uncle Bal Thackeray, though technically of the Chaandrsenia Kayastha Prabhu caste a notch above the Marathas, but a bit below the Brahmins has sought to infuse militancy in the caste equation to neutralise the hold of other Maratha contenders in the fray. They include Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Home Minister Shivraj Patil who belong to different corners of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s delicately-balanced coalition. Raj Thackeray’s faction of the family is believed to be clandestinely shored up by the Singh government.
Bal Thackeray is aligned with the Hindu revivalist BJP.Bal Thackeray and his son Udhav run the Shiv Sena. Newphew Raj Thackeray has formed the breakaway Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS). The family has used muscle power to deal with its rivals. Their quarries have included leftist trade unions, South Indians, Muslims and now “north Indians”, euphemism for migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The anti-Bihari campaign in an election year should spell disaster for both the BJP and the Congress who overtly or covertly support the Thackeray family’s antics. This is so because of the enormous number of votes they would lose in the populous states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
This potential loss could however be offset for the BJP because of a parallel campaign being run by Bal Thackeray to target Muslims. Last week he extended support to a woman preacher, a sadhvi, with links to the BJP, who has been picked up for questioning in the bizarre but palpably real terror links of Hindu extremists replete with successful bombings and blasts that misfired and killed their own. Bal Thackeray’s blessing of the sadhvi is of a piece with the kind of communalisation being carried out across India ahead of the make or break elections for the BJP.
The son-of-the-soil movement, upholding the virtues of Marathi manoos visa a vis the alleged intruders with their alien culture, has spared the Gujaratis, as often happens across India. Gujarati is the lingua franca of Indian bourses, including the main one in Mumbai. The selective targeting of communities on ethnic and religious grounds clearly shows that the Shiv Sena, and now the MNS, mostly attack the weak and the poor. In the absence of a political strategy to combat religious bigotry of the BJP and regional chauvinism of the Thackeray family, India is in a dangerous flux. As some would say the very idea of India as a bouquet of diverse cultures and nationalities is facing a severe test.
As so often happens in this kind of flux, given the political vacuum, people have themselves resorted to humour as the best medicine for symptomatic relief if not the cure. Just as the Ziaul Haq jokes circulated with impunity in his lifetime and they do their rounds against the current dispensation in Pakistan, there have been quite a few on the internet on the Raj Thackeray episode. One such is the lampooning of the future of India with him in charge of Maharashtra. It goes thus:
We all should support Raj Thackeray and take his initiative ahead by doing more...
1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don’t study harder. Just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school.
2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi
3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi
4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.
5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stopped and staff changed to local staff.
6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back as they are SNATCHING employment from Locals
7. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from Uttar Pradesh only
8. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centre because that is the money collected as tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to someone in Maharashtra?
9. Let’s support Kashmiri militants because they are right in killing and injuring innocent people for the benefit of their state and community.
10. Let’s throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra, why should they earn from us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MH Marutis of the world .
11. Let’s stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi
12. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states
13. We should not allow any industry to be set up in Maharashtra because all machinery comes from outside
14. We should STOP using local trains...Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari
15. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die without ever stepping out of Maharashtra, then they will become true Marathis.
Following a nationwide condemnation and an uproar in parliament, the Maharashtra state government finally arrested Raj Thackeray on Oct 21. He subsequently secured an interim bail. Said the editorial in an outraged leftist journal: “Such a chauvinistic campaign mounted by the MNS and the accompanied vandalism is simply not acceptable.
The Indian Constitution clearly gives the right to any of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or gender to reside and pursue occupations anywhere in the country. It is this fundamental feature of the Constitution that is being attacked with impunity. It is the duty of both the centre and the state governments, who are in office under the oath of this very Constitution, to take all measures, stringent if necessary, to protect, uphold and implement the provisions of our Constitution. Both the governments led by the Congress party have, so far, failed in this task.” Having said that, the Left Front itself has not been able to come up with an effective response to the rightwing upsurge. Shivaji led his people out of Maharashtra to dream of an India under their watch. The Thackeray family is using his name to take the people back to the narrow confines of a matching mindset.
Courtesy: Dawn.com
Though the facts about Shivaji’s successes and failures are a matter of conjecture depending largely on the chronicler or historian you quote, there is little doubt that the Maratha armies his legend inspired did succeed in controlling vast swathes of India, becoming perhaps the only post-Mughal Indian group to attempt to ascend the throne of Delhi. Marathas are notionally a part of India’s middle castes that have become assertive in its largely caste-based contemporary politics.
The Thackeray family, headed by Raj’s estranged uncle Bal Thackeray, though technically of the Chaandrsenia Kayastha Prabhu caste a notch above the Marathas, but a bit below the Brahmins has sought to infuse militancy in the caste equation to neutralise the hold of other Maratha contenders in the fray. They include Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Home Minister Shivraj Patil who belong to different corners of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s delicately-balanced coalition. Raj Thackeray’s faction of the family is believed to be clandestinely shored up by the Singh government.
Bal Thackeray is aligned with the Hindu revivalist BJP.Bal Thackeray and his son Udhav run the Shiv Sena. Newphew Raj Thackeray has formed the breakaway Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS). The family has used muscle power to deal with its rivals. Their quarries have included leftist trade unions, South Indians, Muslims and now “north Indians”, euphemism for migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The anti-Bihari campaign in an election year should spell disaster for both the BJP and the Congress who overtly or covertly support the Thackeray family’s antics. This is so because of the enormous number of votes they would lose in the populous states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
This potential loss could however be offset for the BJP because of a parallel campaign being run by Bal Thackeray to target Muslims. Last week he extended support to a woman preacher, a sadhvi, with links to the BJP, who has been picked up for questioning in the bizarre but palpably real terror links of Hindu extremists replete with successful bombings and blasts that misfired and killed their own. Bal Thackeray’s blessing of the sadhvi is of a piece with the kind of communalisation being carried out across India ahead of the make or break elections for the BJP.
The son-of-the-soil movement, upholding the virtues of Marathi manoos visa a vis the alleged intruders with their alien culture, has spared the Gujaratis, as often happens across India. Gujarati is the lingua franca of Indian bourses, including the main one in Mumbai. The selective targeting of communities on ethnic and religious grounds clearly shows that the Shiv Sena, and now the MNS, mostly attack the weak and the poor. In the absence of a political strategy to combat religious bigotry of the BJP and regional chauvinism of the Thackeray family, India is in a dangerous flux. As some would say the very idea of India as a bouquet of diverse cultures and nationalities is facing a severe test.
As so often happens in this kind of flux, given the political vacuum, people have themselves resorted to humour as the best medicine for symptomatic relief if not the cure. Just as the Ziaul Haq jokes circulated with impunity in his lifetime and they do their rounds against the current dispensation in Pakistan, there have been quite a few on the internet on the Raj Thackeray episode. One such is the lampooning of the future of India with him in charge of Maharashtra. It goes thus:
We all should support Raj Thackeray and take his initiative ahead by doing more...
1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don’t study harder. Just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school.
2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi
3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi
4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.
5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stopped and staff changed to local staff.
6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back as they are SNATCHING employment from Locals
7. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from Uttar Pradesh only
8. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centre because that is the money collected as tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to someone in Maharashtra?
9. Let’s support Kashmiri militants because they are right in killing and injuring innocent people for the benefit of their state and community.
10. Let’s throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra, why should they earn from us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MH Marutis of the world .
11. Let’s stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi
12. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states
13. We should not allow any industry to be set up in Maharashtra because all machinery comes from outside
14. We should STOP using local trains...Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari
15. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die without ever stepping out of Maharashtra, then they will become true Marathis.
Following a nationwide condemnation and an uproar in parliament, the Maharashtra state government finally arrested Raj Thackeray on Oct 21. He subsequently secured an interim bail. Said the editorial in an outraged leftist journal: “Such a chauvinistic campaign mounted by the MNS and the accompanied vandalism is simply not acceptable.
The Indian Constitution clearly gives the right to any of its citizens irrespective of their caste, creed or gender to reside and pursue occupations anywhere in the country. It is this fundamental feature of the Constitution that is being attacked with impunity. It is the duty of both the centre and the state governments, who are in office under the oath of this very Constitution, to take all measures, stringent if necessary, to protect, uphold and implement the provisions of our Constitution. Both the governments led by the Congress party have, so far, failed in this task.” Having said that, the Left Front itself has not been able to come up with an effective response to the rightwing upsurge. Shivaji led his people out of Maharashtra to dream of an India under their watch. The Thackeray family is using his name to take the people back to the narrow confines of a matching mindset.
Courtesy: Dawn.com
Monday, November 3, 2008
Stale !!
The financial crisis in USA is a very sad story of how the management handled the entire operations. But nevertheless, its a good learning experience for the Indian finance institutions considering the skyrocketing price of the property rates.
It seems like we are very much on the same track as the US - the only difference being that the Indian people pay up the home loan money. Else, the banks dont waste time in sending the goons across to beat you up and torture you or your family :P
But, the property rates are still increasing, the interest rates are increasing, this eventually increases the prices of goods, the food, the daily essentials of life. This has a spiralling effect on the inflation index.And then the RBI increases the rate of interest for home loans to curb the inflation.
Lately, the government passed a rule to sell new projects only on carpet area, which is of very little use to anyone 'cos the builders only increase the selling rate of the property. For example: for a 1000sq feet house if the rate was 8000rs per sq feet - you would pay up 80Lacs (without the stamp duty and registration). After the rule has been passed, a new buyer will still pay 80lacs 'cos the price has now increased to approximately 11K per sq feet for a 700sq feet house (carpet area - considering 30% is utulised for the built up space). And this is a fact because why would the builders want to compromise on the money earned.
Now that the financial crisis has hit the US markets badly and with the FII (Foreign Instituional Investors) pulling as much money possible back from the Indian markets. Its really scary as to what is in store for the Indian economy considering that people has suffered heavy losses in the share market - but the property prices are still the same. Yes, they are stagnant, not increasing but defintely not decreasing.
I am wondering what the investors are holding on to and why. The property market has gone down but no one wants to bring down the prices. Infact, I can still see new projects coming up with the same crazy rates and the builders asking to pay some amounts in black and the rest in white.
So many projects have taken a hit, but still the project managers are hoping and waiting for a miracle to happen and the property prices to soar more.
Infact, I am waiting for the prices to go down atleast by a couple of 1000 so that I can buy a decent place for me and my family to stay.
The latest buzz in the market is that some builders in Mumbai are giving a 1BHK free with a 1BHK. In some areas like Delhi the builders are giving away a free Mercedes alongwith a flat worth Rs.3 crore and above. I have no clue when they can afford to give away such luxurious as freebies why cant they just reduce the price of the property so that everyone can buy and afford a good house. Makes things a hell lot easier for all, aint it !!
Cheers..!!
It seems like we are very much on the same track as the US - the only difference being that the Indian people pay up the home loan money. Else, the banks dont waste time in sending the goons across to beat you up and torture you or your family :P
But, the property rates are still increasing, the interest rates are increasing, this eventually increases the prices of goods, the food, the daily essentials of life. This has a spiralling effect on the inflation index.And then the RBI increases the rate of interest for home loans to curb the inflation.
Lately, the government passed a rule to sell new projects only on carpet area, which is of very little use to anyone 'cos the builders only increase the selling rate of the property. For example: for a 1000sq feet house if the rate was 8000rs per sq feet - you would pay up 80Lacs (without the stamp duty and registration). After the rule has been passed, a new buyer will still pay 80lacs 'cos the price has now increased to approximately 11K per sq feet for a 700sq feet house (carpet area - considering 30% is utulised for the built up space). And this is a fact because why would the builders want to compromise on the money earned.
Now that the financial crisis has hit the US markets badly and with the FII (Foreign Instituional Investors) pulling as much money possible back from the Indian markets. Its really scary as to what is in store for the Indian economy considering that people has suffered heavy losses in the share market - but the property prices are still the same. Yes, they are stagnant, not increasing but defintely not decreasing.
I am wondering what the investors are holding on to and why. The property market has gone down but no one wants to bring down the prices. Infact, I can still see new projects coming up with the same crazy rates and the builders asking to pay some amounts in black and the rest in white.
So many projects have taken a hit, but still the project managers are hoping and waiting for a miracle to happen and the property prices to soar more.
Infact, I am waiting for the prices to go down atleast by a couple of 1000 so that I can buy a decent place for me and my family to stay.
The latest buzz in the market is that some builders in Mumbai are giving a 1BHK free with a 1BHK. In some areas like Delhi the builders are giving away a free Mercedes alongwith a flat worth Rs.3 crore and above. I have no clue when they can afford to give away such luxurious as freebies why cant they just reduce the price of the property so that everyone can buy and afford a good house. Makes things a hell lot easier for all, aint it !!
Cheers..!!
Expats ask U.S. to put MNS on terror watch list !!
A group of non-resident Indians (NRI) has asked the U.S. to put Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on the "list of terrorist organisations which are out to hurt the humanity. "We requested the U.S. department of state to put Raj Thackeray and his group Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on the list of terrorist organisations which are out to hurt the humanity," said a letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by the US-based NRI group called Humane Mumbai.
NRI Ravi Verma, who hails from Katihar in Bihar, formed the group Humane Mumbai. "There are several Indians of Marathi origin who were among the first to join the group Humane Mumbai," Verma told IANS over phone from California. After the hue and cry in India in the wake of the attacks on non-Maharashtrians, the Indian diaspora is also not taking this lightly, he said.
"The Indian diaspora prays that there is never an insane (person) like Raj Thackeray in the US or UK who starts a US or UK Navnirman Sena and instigates attacks on the Indians living there," Verma said.
Verma said Humane Mumbai initiated the process of putting Raj Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on the infamous terror watch list Thursday. Once Raj Thackeray is on the terror watch list, they will be under surveillance by the US for their activities, he said.
Verma, CEO of Telecommand Software and Services in the Silicon Valley, said there was widespread dismay among Indians throughout the world over the persecution of people of North Indian origin living in or visiting Maharashtra. Indians of Marathi origin are particularly embarrassed at the events back home, he said.
The protests continued in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh against the attacks on non-Maharashtrians. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan have demanded a judicial probe into the killing of Rahul Raj, a youth from Patna, in a Mumbai bus by police Monday and the lynching of Dharamdev Ramnarain Rai from Uttar Pradesh the next day.
Another youth, Pawan Kumar from Bihar's Nalanda district, was allegedly killed by MNS activists in Mumbai after he had gone there to take a railway recruitment exam.
Courtesy: SiliconIndia
Sunday, October 26, 2008
We must support the Supermanoos !!
Yes, we all should support Raj Thackeray and take his initiative ahead by doing more..
- We should teach our kids that if they fail in classroom, they don't need to study harder.. just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school.
- Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi.
- Prime-minister, President and all other dignitaries should only be from Delhi.
- No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi movies and Bollywood should be henceforth referred as Marathi Chitrapat Nagar.
- At every state border, buses, trains and flights should be stopped and staff changed to local men.
- All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back as they are SNATCHING employment from locals.
- Lord Shiv, Ganesha and Parvati should not be worshiped in our state as they belong to the Himalayas, vsits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from Uttar Pradesh only.
- Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centre since that money is collected as Tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to someone in Maharashtra?
- Let's support Kashmiri Militants because they are right in killing and injuring innocent people for the benefit of their state and community..
- Let's throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra. Why should they earn from the soil of Maharashtras? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MH Marutis of the world.
- Let's stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign Movies and dramas. James Bond should speak only in Marathi.
- We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states.
- We should not allow any industry to be setup in Maharashtra unless it uses machinery made only in Maharashtra.
- We should STOP using local trains. Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari.
Courtesy: Onionuttapam
Friday, October 24, 2008
Me, Marathi
This is a write up by Shobha De. I have always been a fan of Miss De and the way she writes - a very practical and sensible lady with a simple approach to life.
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Correct me if I am wrong, Raj... but I consider myself an assal Marathi manoos. Born in Maharashtra to Maharashtrian parents. Proud to be Marathi (even though my language skills in my mother tongue are embarrassingly dodgy). I don't know how to make the perfect puran poli but I do love aamti..
This is clearly not enough anymore. Going by the checklist, I could be disqualified on several scores. I am married to a Bong, who has lived and worked in Mumbai for over 30 years (but alas, has not been appointed ambassador to the state of West Bengal yet !). He attends Durga Puja regularly and prefers maacher jhol to vangi bhaat.
Fortunately, we don't have a daughter-in-law to name a college after, either in Kolkata or Mumbai. And our children (like yours) did not attend Marathi-medium schools.. We employ people based on their competence, not caste or region. And I have never asked the vegetable
vendor, breadwalla, taxi driver, dhobi, sweeper, elevator attendant, security guard, pizza delivery boy or any of the other people who make my life easier, which part of Indiathey come from.
This is Mumbai, meri jaan! Who cares where anyone comes from? Dhanda is all that matters.. Mumbai is India 's most powerful magnet. Once you get here, you never leave. Don't believe me? Ask those innocent bhajjiwallas and doodhwallas who were beaten up and stoned by your
men last week. Even with blood-soaked bandages around their heads, and broken hearts, they are staying put. As they should.
Aaah, the naatak of your dramatised 'arrest' was not lost on anybody. Had Rakhi Sawant's slapping stunt not grabbed those eyeballs on Valentine's Day, viewers would still be stuck with the image of a nattily dressed you (mmmm...loved the styling), clambering in and out
of the police van. If Rakhi cleverly stage-managed the incident, what should one say about your brilliant coup? Overnight, Raj Thackeray was elevated from being the discarded Thackeray to a national figure.
In one well-orchestrated move, you went from being a neglected nephew of an ageing tiger, to a sharp-clawed, teeth-baring cub with an independent act of his own. The circus acquired a brand new star attraction — you!
It was never easy being a Thackeray. Ask Balasaheb. If he targeted south Indians in the '60s, you smartly headed north. Same agenda, diametrically different directions. By questioning the bonafides of those who have made Maharashtra their home, both of you tapped into the vulnerabilities of the average Marathi manoos. It is worth asking the very people whose interests you are protecting, whether they really want to do the dirty work currently being handled by the northies.
Will the Marathi manoos agree to put in 18 hours a day plying taxis, selling veggies, washing clothes and so on? Who's stopping them from turning into vendors of milk, food grains, and other commodities?
Perhaps, the Marathi manoos considers such occupations demeaning? The truth is, these jobs have always gone abegging, and there have been any number of hungry, unemployed people from other states ready and willing to grab them. Kick the 'outsiders' out at your own peril, and
see what happens. Why do farmers commit suicide in such numbers only in Maharashtra ?
The answer, dear Raj, may surprise you. In your defence, let me say you received the worst press — biased at best, and shrill to boot. Most of the semi-hysterical reporters from
prestigious news channels were embarrassingly ill-informed as they blabbered incoherently each time a leaf moved outside the magistrate's court!
Surely, you are not complaining? Everything seems to be going according to the master plan. You have 'made it' in one swift move. Great copy, great photo ops.
What more does a neta want? To keep Mayawati and Lalu out of Maharashtra ? Now, that's a tall order!!
---------------------------------------------------
Miss De has written nothing but the truth..no matter how much the MNS denies or give their own non-sensical justifications.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Correct me if I am wrong, Raj... but I consider myself an assal Marathi manoos. Born in Maharashtra to Maharashtrian parents. Proud to be Marathi (even though my language skills in my mother tongue are embarrassingly dodgy). I don't know how to make the perfect puran poli but I do love aamti..
This is clearly not enough anymore. Going by the checklist, I could be disqualified on several scores. I am married to a Bong, who has lived and worked in Mumbai for over 30 years (but alas, has not been appointed ambassador to the state of West Bengal yet !). He attends Durga Puja regularly and prefers maacher jhol to vangi bhaat.
Fortunately, we don't have a daughter-in-law to name a college after, either in Kolkata or Mumbai. And our children (like yours) did not attend Marathi-medium schools.. We employ people based on their competence, not caste or region. And I have never asked the vegetable
vendor, breadwalla, taxi driver, dhobi, sweeper, elevator attendant, security guard, pizza delivery boy or any of the other people who make my life easier, which part of Indiathey come from.
This is Mumbai, meri jaan! Who cares where anyone comes from? Dhanda is all that matters.. Mumbai is India 's most powerful magnet. Once you get here, you never leave. Don't believe me? Ask those innocent bhajjiwallas and doodhwallas who were beaten up and stoned by your
men last week. Even with blood-soaked bandages around their heads, and broken hearts, they are staying put. As they should.
Aaah, the naatak of your dramatised 'arrest' was not lost on anybody. Had Rakhi Sawant's slapping stunt not grabbed those eyeballs on Valentine's Day, viewers would still be stuck with the image of a nattily dressed you (mmmm...loved the styling), clambering in and out
of the police van. If Rakhi cleverly stage-managed the incident, what should one say about your brilliant coup? Overnight, Raj Thackeray was elevated from being the discarded Thackeray to a national figure.
In one well-orchestrated move, you went from being a neglected nephew of an ageing tiger, to a sharp-clawed, teeth-baring cub with an independent act of his own. The circus acquired a brand new star attraction — you!
It was never easy being a Thackeray. Ask Balasaheb. If he targeted south Indians in the '60s, you smartly headed north. Same agenda, diametrically different directions. By questioning the bonafides of those who have made Maharashtra their home, both of you tapped into the vulnerabilities of the average Marathi manoos. It is worth asking the very people whose interests you are protecting, whether they really want to do the dirty work currently being handled by the northies.
Will the Marathi manoos agree to put in 18 hours a day plying taxis, selling veggies, washing clothes and so on? Who's stopping them from turning into vendors of milk, food grains, and other commodities?
Perhaps, the Marathi manoos considers such occupations demeaning? The truth is, these jobs have always gone abegging, and there have been any number of hungry, unemployed people from other states ready and willing to grab them. Kick the 'outsiders' out at your own peril, and
see what happens. Why do farmers commit suicide in such numbers only in Maharashtra ?
The answer, dear Raj, may surprise you. In your defence, let me say you received the worst press — biased at best, and shrill to boot. Most of the semi-hysterical reporters from
prestigious news channels were embarrassingly ill-informed as they blabbered incoherently each time a leaf moved outside the magistrate's court!
Surely, you are not complaining? Everything seems to be going according to the master plan. You have 'made it' in one swift move. Great copy, great photo ops.
What more does a neta want? To keep Mayawati and Lalu out of Maharashtra ? Now, that's a tall order!!
---------------------------------------------------
Miss De has written nothing but the truth..no matter how much the MNS denies or give their own non-sensical justifications.
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