Anna Hazare and Gandhi are indeed the same

Yes Mahatma Gandhi fasted for and against many bills and legislations. So did Anna Hazare. There are many similarities indeed but it’s not limited to what every “I am Anna” cap wearer on about.

Anna Hazare wanted to get a bill designed and agreed upon by a small section of National Advisory Council (NAC) passed in the parliament. This bill is far from perfect and to make a common understand its nuances is almost impossible. So what the team did was, simplify the bill into simple words the general public can understand. Words like “Anti-Corruption” and “India against Corruption” were thrown about with abandon. A massive marketing campaign was initiated and leveraging the frustration of the common man due to recent events managed to get popular support.

Mahatma Gandhi used a very similar tactic. Mr Gandhi’s motives were complicated as well. He simplified his ideas into simple words as well. “Jail Bharo”, the non-cooperation movements and burning of British goods, making Khadi clothes were simple and easy to follow instructions.

Both Anna and Gandhi did their own fair share of dirty politics as you might call it. It might not seem dirty to you but it is, deal with it ! Both took support from questionable sources and abandoned their comrades with things got bad. Both took advantage of the weakening of the established Governments.

Gandhi was opposed by many in his own camp and from outside. Fun Fact: B R Ambedkar was vehemently against Gandhi’s ways of dealing with untouchables and dalits who Gandhi called HARIJANS. The words used by Mr Ambedkar for The Mahatma were “devious and unworthy” And there are plenty against Anna as well. Aruna Roy and many other NAC members are the more visible opponents.

One needs to understand that there can never be a leader in India who is perfect. There are plenty of rumors about Gandhi that have been suppressed in the media that will make you puke. The various corporate backed members in the Janlokpal bill and the massive donations received by the Lokpal team members NGO’s is not a co-incidence. But such news are never highlighted and usually hidden from the public eyes.

Hence I think Anna Hazare is indeed a true Gandhian. A manipulator, smart and ruthless Man backed by an ignorant public but who mostly has respectable intentions in the end.

Mayawati wants Quotas in the Judiciary

The UP Chief Minister Mayawati has sent letters to the Prime Minister asking for an increase in quotas of SC/ST’s in the remaining section of society. She wants quotas in the Judiciary, the private sector etc.

With the elections in her state to be held next year, Mayawati has started with her political campaign with a bang.

Just like the very well organized crime structure in her country she wants the same in the reservation system. She wants quotas in quotas. An economic quota within caste quotas and vice versa is her ultimate aim.

I don’t really care with the details and percentages she has proposed here. She has however also tried the law to be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. When a law is part of the Ninth Schedule it cannot be challenged in court. It becomes a law which can never be changed or removed.

Mayawati sure is going all out to win the UP state election to be held next year. And this is just the start! One can only imagine what else she can come up with to gain attention.

J & K Government reveals details of rape victims

The Jammu and Kashmir with their history of insensitivity and manipulation of their own people have committed a new atrocity today. Violating their own independent constitutional law they have released a 90 page document making public the identities of hundreds of rape victims.

In a country where the ladies are blamed for getting themselves raped such information can be devastating to the victim. It takes more than courage to report such a crime. And when that information is made public by your own leaders, any remaining faith in the Government is lost.

The list is very comprehensive. Not only does it contain names but also their address, parent’s name and tehsil identification. Yes, if you want you can now even find them on Facebook if you want to.

Victims rarely report such crimes and when we talk about Kashmir, a whole new myriad of barriers arise. Many such rapes are committed by the police forces, army personnel and Government officials. Yes I said it ! And with the patriarchal society which views a ladies honor as the honor of the house and even the whole village reporting such crimes could be disastrous.

The Ranbir Penal Code states that personal information of the victim and disclosure of their identity is a punishable offence. If you do want to reveal this information, expresses permission is needed from the victims’ relatives or is she is a minor or dead.

Omar Abdullah has not committed a grave error. Politicians in his stature, of his upbringing and in his position do not make errors like this. This is a signal to the victims and future victims out there. If you are raped by anyone in Kashmir, do not expect any support from the Government. Learn to grin and bear with it because that is what you are supposed to.

Application fee for IITs removed for Girls

IIT’s the best engineering colleges in the country, a brand famous worldwide has removed application fee for girl students. The application fees for boys, has also been raised from a 1000 bucks to 1600 for online applications. Physical applications will cost 1800 bucks.

Having fewer girls is a matter of great concern for IIT. The excuse for the application fee hike for guys is the rising cost of technology. They have also mentioned that the Indian mindset is not the main cause for the small percentage of girls in IIT classes. They blame the lack of infrastructure.

Most of these programs are residential programs and the hostel infrastructure is a major deterrent for the ladies. The enrollment rates of girls have been slowly rising and are now at 20%. For the dean of post graduate studies IIT, the 20% ladies in his courses are a source of great pride.

There have been two suicides today by IIT students. One in Madras a girl in Patna killed themselves. IIT-M has seen 2 more suicides in the past 6 months. IIT-K is no stranger to suicides either with more than 1 student killing themselves every year.

There have been many reports of queers students being discriminated against in IIT campuses.

There have been corruption charges. 

There were 5.3 lakh applicants for IIT this year with 9,600 seats available.

We have genuine problems when it comes to wannabe engineers. People forget all about sports, hobbies and everything else when preparing for IIT. Students prepare for IIT and not engineering. If you have grown up in a colony or society you can assume that if one of your friends or colony mates has disappeared, it’s either the family has moved or he/she is preparing for IIT.

Some students who cannot get through kill themselves. Others go into deep depression. Friends are lost and lives destroyed by this entrance exam. But what is this issue which is being dealt with who run the most prestigious colleges in the country.

The lack of girls is a pressing concern!! Forget students killing themselves, the reservation system crippling meritocracy and the lack of infrastructure creating havoc with a student’s employability level, the Dean of Postgraduate Studies wants chicks in his college!! Are you fucking kidding me!!?

And what difference will removing application fees for forms change in the number of girl applicants? And the application for boys has been increased citing the feeble excuse for increased expenditure on new technology. You teach one of the most, hard working minds in the country and that is best you could come up with?

IIT is famous for creating community programs and uplifting the lives of those living in villages and towns around it. Innovations mixed with sheer genius has kept IIT in the news always. But this is just dumb, very dumb.

Disillusioned Indians vs malignant Indians

This is in response to this article which was kinda triggery for me.

Greetings Sir,

I read your article People vs People and I had certain points that I dont agree with and just wanted to put them forward for your perusal.

I do not understand the repeated emphasis on being educated to bear arms. Indian education in today's day and age is quondam. It does not encourage questioning and examination by those who study it. And I come from a reputed school in the capital of the country and feel this way. And we all know how hopeless the situation is in the interiors of the country when it comes to education.

The idea of what is right and what is wrong is learned from your parents and your surroundings. Being poor and illiterate, I don't believe makes any difference to the right to bear arms. I believe you are trying to sideline the actual truth that Salwa Judum were working very well in certain districts but generally were hired unorganized fragmented muscle power for the those with political or/and financial power.

We also know the condition of the police forces in the region. Posting in such an area is considered a punishment rather than a reward. The are underpaid, under trained and most of all do not have the right attitude to deal with any negativity in the areas against the authorities.

What we need is not physical and arms training but rather sensitivity training. With murderers, rapists, thieves and common thugs as leaders these affected areas will not improve.

The Home Minister suggesting the inclusion of the Air Force right after a rather significant number of army personnel are ambushed in very suspicious circumstances, seems too pre-planned and also exposes the in-cognizant attitude of the political elite of the country. With hundreds of crores at stake, things like this don't just happen for no reason. Our politicians are incredibly intelligent and perceptive but of the wrong kind.

Maoists are so successful in spreading through out the region not because evil spreads of its own accord but rather people are willing to give their lives for a cause they believe in. Try not to insult the memories of those who have died for something which they thought would improve their lives, a source of hope for a people abandoned by their country.

What we need is a change in attitude of the people and the country as whole. There are too many problems in this country and this is one with roots so deep, just burning a few dried leaves and cutting a few branches will further aggravate this problem.

Stop mass migration from Bangladesh, make the politicians accountable for once, sensitize the police forces and push out the corporate dogs out for the time being. The real goal should be to improve the standard of living for those at the bottom then keeping a growth rate which rather actively encourages the opposite

In conclusion you article was a puff piece with a mild dressing of sensitivity and a facade of empathy.

You are as clueless as the rest of us are and just waving your arms in the dark.

Indian Health Minister says Gay Sex unnatural

Ghulam Nabi Azad who very name is a contradiction of sorts has announced that homosexuality is a disease and it is spreading very fast in our country. He mentioned that gay sex was unnatural.

"Even though it [homosexuality] is unnatural, it exists in our country and is now fast spreading, making it tough to detect it," were his exact words. This is the Health Minister of India talking folks !

With gay sex recently stopped being legally seen as a crime in a ruling by the Supreme Court recently, is still been seen by our politicians as against nature.

Let us all hope and pray that he never wanders into Ney York’s Central Park or the various zoo’s who play host to animals in same sex relationships. He has a Master’s in Zoology which makes his comments seem rather un natural.

He says "With relationships changing, men are having sex with men now. Though it is easy to find women sex workers and educate them on sex, it is a challenge to identify men having sex with men."

And the man wonderfully tried to reduce the importance of these statement s with certain facts. 8% homosexual men in India have AIDS which is way more than 1% in the general population.

Would calling gay sex un natural be an easier option or the introduction of homosexuality in sex education in schools be more embarrassing.

Congress is definitely not coming to power again, why not do the right thing for once?

The Government can now shut down your internet

The security authorities and law enforcement agencies are now planning to get capabilities to shut down Internet all over the country. This is being termed as a move to improve security. And it can be used as an option during emergencies.

There were a bunch of meetings held at the Prime Minister’s Office on cyber security. Instructions from the PM department had instructed all the Government departments to work together over this. The Center wants more control over the internet services in India.

According to the announcements made in the press regarding such activities, the Government mentioned that these were security measures. It has been claimed that this will help the Government in defending cyber attacks on Indian Infrastructure and also securing the communication networks in India.

Internet is now used to control and manage a lot of stuff in India. And there are a bunch of reasons which could have triggered these activities. The various attacks by Pakistani hackers on Indian websites is a reason. Also with the internet being the reason for many countries watching their Government fall, the authorities need to have more control over the internet.

The Government especially after social media phenomena’s like Hazare and Ramdev needs more control over the media. There are been so many journalists who if they cannot publish or put up their sensitive stories on major media platforms turn to online platforms.

The Government can now shut down your internet

The security authorities and law enforcement agencies are now planning to get capabilities to shut down Internet all over the country. This is being termed as a move to improve security. And it can be used as an option during emergencies.

There were a bunch of meetings held at the Prime Minister’s Office on cyber security. Instructions from the PM department had instructed all the Government departments to work together over this. The Center wants more control over the internet services in India.

According to the announcements made in the press regarding such activities, the Government mentioned that these were security measures. It has been claimed that this will help the Government in defending cyber attacks on Indian Infrastructure and also securing the communication networks in India.

Internet is now used to control and manage a lot of stuff in India. And there are a bunch of reasons which could have triggered these activities. The various attacks by Pakistani hackers on Indian websites is a reason. Also with the internet being the reason for many countries watching their Government fall, the authorities need to have more control over the internet.

The Government especially after social media phenomena’s like Hazare and Ramdev needs more control over the media. There are been so many journalists who if they cannot publish or put up their sensitive stories on major media platforms turn to online platforms.

The Khargar Incident

Jaishree Menon, a simple writer/blogger and publisher of The Kharghar Navi Mumbai Times. She tweeted the below mentioned tweet

This tweet was made on 31^st May, 2011. And it was retweeted and blogged extensively. We still are not exactly sure about the details of this case but it was amazing with the speed at which events unfolded. The public responded with retweets and the media responded. And with the media in the fray, the police had to respond and we are all hoping that her problem is solved. That her husband is put behind bars and their daughter gets justice and the help she needs.

Twitter has recently become a huge part of the coming revolution among Indian youth. It has become indispensable with the Anna Hazare movement and now the Ramdev fast getting a lot of popularity due to twitter.

Khargar is trending in India while I am writing this. It makes you feel proud sometimes that granted we have a cattle way of thinking and reacting to our surroundings, people make things happen. The same can be said about the latest people movements in the nation. Tweets were the cause of some politicians eating their ignorant comments and face the public ire. Twitter has helped the public understand their politicians and leaders and other becoming leaders.

Let’s see what happens now. Its really our choice whether we should sit back and be mere onlookers or participate and contribute to this change in the small ways we can.