YET AGAIN----ONE MORE LYNCHED

A 70 year old ex-cop has been lynched in Allahabad today. Don't have anymore details. But does it matter? All that matters, is a fellow citizen's life, a senior citizen's life, has been taken by a bunch of goons who have been running amuck in this country with the protection of powers that be or by the belief that they should take the law in their hands as otherwise it takes too long for justice. So killing somebody in a mob which is faceless is so much easier and faster in dispensing justice. And you rarely get caught or punished when FIRs are lodged against unknown people.

The atmosphere is so vitiated you can be killed for anything. Of course, mainly if you belong to the minority community. The brutality and cruelty of people involved in these killings is mind boggling. If they cannot manage to kill, they will cut off a limb. The incidents happening, are a testimony to the fact that criminals are emboldened by the tacit support of the ruling dispensation. No CM ever expresses regret, ever visits the families of those killed, does not take lasting action against local thanas for not stopping the crime.

In Rajasthan, in Rakbar Khan's case, the lack of helpfulness of the cops and their deliberate attempt to delay medical help was clearly visible. They even first went to drop the cows in the cow shelter, instead of taking the man who was badly injured to the hospital. Infact, they even took a tea break and made him take a bath to wash off the blood. Are these people worthy of wearing a uniform? Do they have any allegiance to the constitution, on which they took oath when they passed out from their training academies. Or have they  become complete  slaves to their political masters. And to all this, CM Vasundhara Raje, in an interview, said that lynchings happen all over the world. Yes, madam in lawless places. Not in civilized countries. Don't know which country she had in mind. And it doesn't happen with such regularity, almost becoming routine. Nothing to be defending.

Hindus have always revered the cow and minorities living in India have respected this sentiment. There may be stray cases of theft but mostly because of poverty. Earlier, when cattle got old they were sold off. But today no one wants to buy them for fear of being killed. So they die of starvation as once they are not worthwhile the poor have no money to feed them. And what about the government shelters? 700 cows died in government shelters in Rajasthan. Should the CM be held accountable? After all, the great love of Hindus for cows does not seem to reflect among the government caretakers.

The other set of lynchings taking place in this country is by rumour mongering. Where some innocuous statement is soon spread on Whatsapp and technology arranges for crowds to collect very fast. Even if police arrive they are outnumbered and mostly helpless. Also, they rarely act on information, so, even if they know such a rumour is being spread they are too lazy or inefficient to take timely action.

Vigilantism in this country clearly has two faces---one is communal or political which is intentional, mostly with political support; and the other is sudden by a frenzied mob.

The second kind seems to be because people in India seem to be on the boil all the time. Majority are struggling with their day to day lives, traveling distances to work, traffic, inflation, unemployment, corruption, no honest politicians in sight, no roads, no water, no electricity, no toilets. And no visible action ever taken against real criminals. The list is endless. Everyone seems to be on a short fuse. Not only have they lost their sensitivity and sense of responsibility to another human being, but they watch and click pictures. They don't even bother to call the police. In fact, mentally unstable persons have been lynched. One beggar was beaten to death for stealing food. Only when society becomes so indifferent, human lives are totally dispensable and someone else's pain becomes irrelevant.

As a human and as an Indian I feel so angry, so helpless, so ashamed to be part of this atmosphere, where hate and suspicion lurks around the corner every second. Never know which hapless citizen will be next.

INDIA'S EPIDEMIC: RAPE

India is grappling with an epidemic of rapes; not just rapes but gang rapes; not just gang rapes but gang rapes of minors as well; not just gang rapes of minors but their brutalization and murders. What kind of a country have we become? Where such news is our daily diet. Even outrage and disbelief is exhausted. Us common citizens, no, us women, don't know what to do anymore. Who and where to appeal to for the protection of the female citizens. Are these really men who do these things. Yesterday a woman was burnt alive in a TEMPLE for resisting rape. In Kathua a minor was raped in the precincts of a TEMPLE. No place awakens the conscience of these animals.Today, the news comes of an 11 year old being raped by 17 security guards over a period of 7 months in Tamilnadu. Security guards? Really? Who do you trust.

Over 34,600 cases of rape have been reported across the country last year with Madhya Pradesh and Delhi topping the list of states and union territories respectively. Among these, in 33,098 cases the offenders were known to the victims, as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The rape victims were among the age group of below six years to over 60 years. Madhya Pradesh has reported 4,391 rape cases, a highest among the states. Whereas, the national capital has reported 2,199 such cases–highest among the union territories.

Rape in the capital city and adjoining NCR region went up by 277% in last 5 years between 2011-2015, inspite of the huge hue and cry and protests of ordinary citizens after the Nirbhaya case. Stricter laws have not deterred men from indulging in this national sport. They cock a snook everyday at the law makers, with complete fearlessness. In any case, the rapists of Nirbhaya have still not been hung. So, that is the speed at which, even a case which evoked national outrage has been dealt with.

The reason is obvious: the complete decay of values and social fabric in India, knowledge of the fact there is poor policing and investigation, tardy and long judicial system, and powerful perpetrators who threaten victims and witnesses often leading to their suicide or murder. Also, victims mostly belong to very poor families and no one really cares for them. Their parents are daily wage earners forced to go for work, while, their children play by the roadside. Easy targets of rapists.

We are a country of people who don't have food to eat but have technology to watch porn and grab the first vulnerable victim that comes our way. No role models, except their fathers and politicians who they see treating women like dirt. Objects of their lust, victims of their power. Fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins are raping their daughters, sisters, nieces and even elderly female relatives. What can you expect from such men on the streets. And then you have our politicians making misogynistic statements on serious crimes. Parading with rapists, draping them with the national flag. You have a minister who garlands murderers.

No amount of candle light vigils and protests has awakened those who need to be awakened. It is the women in power who have to come to the rescue by speaking up in their own political parties, communities, villages. A single woman standing up often gets pulverized by the all powerful patriarchal system. They have to combine, come together and speak up up, even if the culprit is their family member. Like the girl in Gurugram who reported her own father for raping her friend in a sleep over at her place; and the woman who reported her husband trying to rape his own 10 month old baby. Sick. Nauseating. Don't defend your men when they do a single act of ill treatment of a girl/woman. Only you alone are the custodians of your female specie. The machos are only trying to prove their virility.

STOP DEMEANING INDIA'S ARMED FORCES-ADHM DRAMA

The Army, for that matter, any of our armed forces and para military forces do not need advocates like Raj Thackeray of the non-descript party MNS. Who is he? What is his locus standi? A party which could get just a single MLA to the Maharashtra assembly blackmails an industry and gets the chief minister of the state to cow down, is beyond shameful.

Fadnavis should resign if he cannot ensure even a simple thing like running of a movie in a theatre. MNS, a party which is a copy cat version of its sibling party Shiv Sena in goondaism has nothing but nuisance value. A hand full of goons, the so called supporters or party workers of MNS and Shiv Sena have time and again brought down the film industry to its knees and forced ruling governments to strike illegal deals. Is the entire police force of Maharashtra incapable of handling a few hundred goons of such parties?

The Indian Armed Forces are held in very high regard by the ordinary citizens of this country. The force does not need any political party to make it what it is. Clearly MNS which has not garnered any space in media for some time jumped to get some attention. And what better way than stopping a film from being screened. It has become a trend by political parties to question the patriotism of anybody they want to exploit and manipulate for their own vested interests. What is Rs.5 crores? Nothing!!!! The Army doesn't need such funds brought about by extortion, arm twisting and muscle flexing. They have enough and more. Above all donations should be voluntary and anonymous; done quietly, not with fan fare to get media attention.

And even if one were to believe it was the film makers who themselves made the offer, it is shameful. KJO and others did it only to ensure their crores spent on the movie is not blocked. One is not saying they cannot be patriotic but timing is everything. If they were so moved by the URI ATTACKS and other attacks in which our soldiers keep dying everyday, they should have done it then, and not when their film was being blocked.

The question of hiring Pakistani artistes or any artistes should come voluntarily by film producers if they are in sync with mood of the country. If they don't the people will decide whether to see or boycott such movies. But making a song and dance literally of it is really a waste of everybody's time and energy.

Also there is always the legal recourse available to film producers. Why didn't KJO got to court to fight for his film's release like many others have done in the past, instead of bowing down to the diktat of an unconstitutional authority. Clearly shows a weak person for whom his money blocked was more important than principles. Sometimes in life you have to stand up to bullies. And if famous, moneyed people like Karan Johar and Mukesh Bhatt cannot do so, who can. He would have won the country's support and the Army would have admired him; more for it than his measly five crores.

INDIA'S APARTHEID

We have a constitution which guarantees equality to all citizens, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, gender, class. But the truth is farthest from this wonderful preamble.
Seventy years after independence nothing has changed.

In Kalahandi, already infamous for deaths due to starvation in the past, showed us what we do to our poor and those without means of any kind. A man walks 12 kms with his dead wife's body on his shoulder with his daughter weeping beside him. There are people on the road who merely gawk like they do always in every tragedy, be it accident, rape, murder, lynching There is no sense of empathy or responsibility towards another person in distress. No one comes forward to help. But then you could say they were all poor too. Even though I would say you are never too poor to help. But what about those who are in the establishment. The hospital, the doctors, the civil administration. They could not arrange anything. Are they not accountable for anything.

This is India's cruel, indifferent humanity.

The kind of apartheid we follow is mind boggling. Like not allowing women and dalits in temples, killing female child at birth, poor representation of minorities in jobs, continuing to use human scavengers, upper castes killing those from lower castes wanting to marry, not allowing dalits to take water from wells even in drought situations, parading them naked, making them drink urine and eat human excreta. It goes on and on. It doesn't ruffle any politicians conscience.

So many recent incidents remind us daily we are socially and morally bankrupt and we are selective in our brutality. The flogging of Dalits in Una, the lynching in Dadri, the hacking of a poor dalit couple for not being able to pay rupees 15 for biscuits they bought. Extreme violence over minor things. This emboldened powerful lot which either has money power or muscle power or political power or are merely in a larger number so they can beat, kill, molest, burn people openly and walk away. Who do they fear? None. They know nothing will happen to them. And governments rush to cover up.

The biggest reason is the vote bank politics practiced by our political parties. They go to election each time fanning communal and caste issues. Parties distribute tickets on basis of caste, religion, family ties and proximity to party leaders. The clout and winnability depends on how big you are in terms of money and muscle. Credibility and integrity be damned. We are a nation which sends the maximum of criminals into our assemblies and parliament.

The perpetrators of all forms of apartheid know their victims are poor, helpless people who do not even dare to complaint leave aside file a police complaint. And the lengthy, unhelpful judicial system will never give them any justice.

REVIEW OF MOVIE HAIDER BY AN EX-ARMY GENERAL-MUST READ

Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi's take on 'Haider'. Long but worth a read till last word

From: VIJAY OBEROI

A Soldier Reviews ‘Haider’ movie

October 19, 2014 By Agniveer

I am an ex-armyman. I was stationed in Kashmir in mid-nineties. This was the same period when hordes of militants from across the border infiltrated in Kashmir to spread terror. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and scores of other terrorist groups were having a free-for-all rampage in Kashmir. They would infiltrate from Pakistan, recruit cadre, take them to Pakistan for training, bring them back and perform heinous acts of terror.

This was the same period when half a million Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs were massacred and forced to flee the valley.

This was the same period when Kashmir burnt under fundamentalism. It was next to impossible to differentiate between a peaceful nationalist and a killing-machine.

Whenever a cricket match would happen between India and Pakistan, Pakistani flags would wave across the valley as if we were sitting in heart of Pakistan. Any minority voice who dared to wave the Indian flag would be silenced immediately by militants.

It was during such a reign of terror, that Indian Army had to douse the fire in Kashmir with their own blood.

If someone suffered most severe human-rights violation in history of mankind, it was the Indian Army in Kashmir. We left our families in different parts of India and survived under harshest of conditions. For days we would sleep over guns in harsh climate and remotest locations just to keep tab on infiltrating militants. Anyone of us could be bombed away in a sudden attack of fundamentalism. Innumerable among us lost our lives. I lost my hand like so many others who lost their limbs or eyes. To die in a bomb blast was considered lucky. Because if you chanced to be captured by the militants, you would be slowly and mercilessly tortured to death. Militants and their supporters took pride in this gruesome ‘halal’ ritual.

Remember Saurabh Kalia? He is definitely not as popular as Vishal Bharadwaj or Shahid Kapoor. Because he was not a film star who made money by exploiting national interests. He was a humble Indian soldier who gave his life for motherland. He was captured by fundamentalists along with 5 more soldiers. They were taken across Line of Control and tortured as a religious ritual.

Pakistan army tortured their prisoners by burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, puncturing eyes before removing them, breaking most of the teeth and bones, fracturing the skull, cutting the lips, chipping the nose, chopping off limbs and private organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures and finally shooting them dead after twenty-two days, as evidenced by the bullet wound to the temple.

This made the killers “Ghazi” – who as per these fundamentalists gets highest number of most beautiful virgins in Heaven. All you need to do to be a Ghazi is to celebrate killing of a non-believer.

These five soldiers were after all the worst of creatures in world in eyes of jihadis. They were Indians, soldiers and idol-worshippers. What could be greater sin!

I was lucky because I could have been in Saurav’s place. Had I not lost my hand, instead of Saurav Kalia, I would have been ‘halal’ed to make someone Ghazi.

This was the same period when Indian Army made greatest sacrifice to save India and humanity from reign of death and blood.

And it is the same period around which the film “Haider” by Vishal Bharadwaj, Shahid Kapoor and anti-India jihadi writer Basharat Peer has been made and adored by “critics”.

No struggle for liberation in Kashmir

Everyone on ground knows that there is no struggle for liberation of Kashmiris in Kashmir. If that had been so, why native Kashmiri Pandits would have been massacred?

You need to spend just a few days in the valley to understand the true nature of struggle that lies hidden under this garb of Kashmiriyat.

It is simply a ploy to extend the reaches of Islamic fundamentalism. The same fundamentalism of Al-Qaeda and ISIS that is shaking the entire world.

Kashmiri militants are brainwashed to believe that they will go to Paradise only after India is conquered by an army of Jihadis. Listen to speeches of Masood Azhar, founder of Jaish-e-Muhammad. He talks of Ghazwa-e-Hind prophecy where Prophet made conquest of India a precondition for opening doors of Heaven.

In name of religion, the same poison is spread in minds of Kashmiri youth to make them militants.

Enemy within and outside

Yet Indian Army continues to face bullets from enemies and abuses from family. Today, on one side Pakistan is targeting Indian Army and minority locations in Kashmir with bullets. And around the same time, our own country-men create a film like “Haider” that paints Indian Army a villain.

On one hand, flags of ISIS are waved in Kashmir, and at same time, “critics” laud anti-nationalism of Haider as marvel of art.

Such co-incidences give ample evidence that somehow our enemies and certain elements from within our country consistently orchestrate great timing and coordination among each other that it is hard to believe that it was just a mere coincidence.

In Army, we are trained to observe such remarkable coincidences, understand what goes behind, and yet silently sacrifice ourselves for the mission of nation.

Haider shook me to core

I have myself faced irrepairable loss in saving motherland from anti-national militants. And my fellow armymen have made much larger sacrifices for the same cause. Thus the film Haider shook me to core.

It made me question for the first time – Whom are we fighting for? Whom are we defending? The same people who could make this film because of Army’s protection collude with an anti-national Jihadi writer to make a villain of Indian Army?

Is this the reward of our sacrifices that we continue to make? Are commercial gains and so-called artistic expression more important than motherland and humanity?

What if we had not fought terrorism by tooth and nail in nineties? What if we had not arrested the spread of terror to other parts of country through our own lives?

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

This is not a film-critics review. This is a review from perspective of an armyman, a lover of humanity and a son of India. A true secular who refuses to believe that God hates idol-worshippers so much that they will go to Hell. And aspires to fight against ideology that directly or indirectly nurtures such fundamentalist elements.

This is not rhetoric in jingoism

Unlike Haider, which is an experiment in fundamentalism, don’t consider the article to be a rhetoric in jingoism.

Yes, I love my country. I love my country more than I love anything else in life. I love my country not because I was born here or I am a native of this nation. It is not because I love the design of the map of India. It is because its timeless cultural and philosophical heritage that is built on core foundations of tolerance, acceptance and justice. So jingoism has no place for a nationalist and son of soil.

My nationalism does not make me aspire to conquer the whole world. It inspires me to enlighten the whole world. It inspires me to promote brotherhood across the globe and strive for “One World, One Family.” It inspires me to make India lighthouse of the world. I joined Indian Army not to conquer the world, but nurture and protect Peace that defines foundation of India.

I am not a movie-watcher. My mission never allowed me the luxury to fit movies or serials in my priority-list. But I made an exception for Haider.

Summary Review of Haider

While I will provide details later, let me state upfront – I find “Haider” to be a shameless commercialization of anti-nationalism.

No its not a rhetoric. This is the most “polite” way in which I can summarize the review of this film.

The more “practical” review summary is already being demonstrated by my Indian Army by appropriate retaliation to Pakistani misadventure of cross-border firing. Salutes to my Army for this. Am proud to lose my arm for you. And regret that I could not gift my life for you.

LOST ITS BEARINGS: INDIAN MEDIA

Indian media has begun to frighten and disturb me and perhaps many other ordinary people like me. Sitting always on a moral high ground, looking holier than thou: they pound you day in and day out. Their pitch is shrill, hysterical and tone always insulting. Especially towards panelists they don’t like or who come from across the border. For them no tragedy is so great to keep a distance from grieving families. It is alright to stuff mikes into wailing, crying peoples’ faces who may have lost a near and dear one. They need to learn from some of the international channels like BBC and CNN. Whenever, a tragedy has taken place in US or any other developed country, journalists never take bytes from grieving families. They respect their need for privacy and keep a safe distance, reporting only what they have gathered by speaking to others.

Even in conflict zones international journalists never show close-up visuals of blood and gore. They will speak about it in their report but not treat you to revolting sights.

Then there are a bunch of Hindi and regional language channels that thrive on crime programmes. Re-enacting the entire sequence, giving details of methodology used, in fact, a tutorial for would be criminals. When the Arushi murder took place Aaj Tak went crazy, actually using actors to enact the whole crime sequence, theorizing on motives, conducting a complete trial and even implying who had committed the murder.  In a highly publicized case like Nirbhaya’s the court had to step in to stop the airing of a show which was once again going to enact the entire sequence of events; but, what about the other crime shows that go on unabashedly? If, films can have a Censor Board, why not TV? The so called self –regulating body NBA has not been able to reign in anybody.

Recently, I was shocked when even a very responsible publication like Indian Express gave details of how a young mother drowned her two small children in a washing machine and bucket. Was it necessary? Wasn’t it sufficient to just say a mother committed suicide after killing her two children? In a country where children are routinely killed, especially girls, this is one more unique way of disposal. Millions have been informed in a few seconds. The other day Headlines Today announced they were going to show some disturbing images of a man being stabbed and a dog being brutally tortured. Why would you need to show such visuals? Unless it is serving some purpose of giving proof in a case where evidence is being tampered with, why murders on live TV should be shown. And the pictures are not even blurred. Not that it takes away the sickness from it.

It is not to say that media should not collect evidence of crimes committed by those in power against its citizens or by individuals against women, children and weaker sections of society. But, please show them with some amount of restraint and only when sufficient action is not being taken by authorities. When a girl was molested in Assam some years ago, the channels kept showing the visuals the whole day. For God’s sake! There is a limit to voyeurism.

Then we have the 9 pm prime time shows, with senior anchors from all channels fighting tooth and nail for the viewers’ eyeballs. And believe me it is really a slugfest. The funniest part the bulletins are the little windows which resemble kabutar khanas, pigeon holes, from where a string of eminent panelists peep out and try very hard to be heard. If you have ever watched News Hour on Times Now you will notice how hilarious it has all become now. With the anchor very clearly having strong opinions and shouting down all those who don’t agree with him. More pitiable is the plight of panelists from Pakistan who agree to come on the show. They are shouted down, not just by the Indian panelists but also by the anchor. When we did journalism in the cave ages, we were told the journalist’s job is to be neutral and to report without letting his/her own opinions or beliefs come into the report or news. Clearly, that’s not the case anymore. News is confused with editorial.

Then there are channels like India TV which thrive by allowing paid slots to gurus, astrologers and others involved in spreading superstitions with their mumbo jumbo. Are they fit to be called news channels? Men clad in saffron or black or whatever colour their faith prescribes, wearing 10 rings in all 10 fingers giving all kinds of weird advice about improving your life by some extra expenditure of course. Then there is this new breed of manicured and stylized Tarot readers and female healers who look more as if they are there to give fashion tips than tell your future. Why are these channels not doing what they are supposed to do? Give news.

NDTV, the one channel which was watched by boring people like me who didn’t like sensationalism are now bewildered by how it has begun to resemble Doordarshan in its monotony and lack of creativity. How many years will the same shows go on, with the same faces and the same formats?

Not to forget the breaking news disease; which, incidentally, happens every second of the day. If one channel announces some breaking news every other channel rushes in to get on top. The herd mentality comes in and pretty soon you will have no other news being telecast, even if you switch twenty channels. It will be beaten to a pulp and all other things will be forgotten. Take the case of IPL. The viewer’s exhaustion is never kept in mind when bulletin after bulletin reporters/anchors talk about the same story. It’s not enough to give 10 minutes of the bulletin to the main news. Please spare us poor viewers; we could do with something else. Surely, this country of 1 billion must be having other things happening. Since, last two days it is Narendra Modi and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate! We don’t know how many days it will go on. Dear God in heaven please step in to save this country which is under a deluge of mindless media assault.

THIS BLOODY WORLD!!!!

The earth is soiled with the blood of innocents. Every inch of it. Wonder if there is any place left where humans don't kill humans for senseless reasons. Leaders, whether of nations or rebel groups or terrorist outfits, create situations and the price is paid everyday by ordinary people---men, women and children, who had nothing to do with it in the first place. People who go about their lives just to make ends meet, send their children to school and put food on the table. No war is just. No war is legitimate. It never was. but, this race of homo sapiens never seems to learn. When the two world wars ended people hoped there would not be another. Peace is what everyone hoped and prayed for. But, that is one thing which will always elude us. We are not meant to have it. Because, someone, somewhere will always be unjust and want more than he needs. Strangely, it is always a 'HE'. Men in this world in their pursuit of power defined by ownership over lands, women and idealogies will always displace some legitimate humans.

If you are a normal, decent human being your stomach will turn by the blood curdling stories of barbarism, atrocities and absolute perversions that come out of conflict zones. Whether it is the state doing it or those in revolt. Killing was never so easy. Give a man a gun and he wields power over those who don't have it. With advancement in explosive devices it is so easy to kill in large numbers. And how! Dismembered bodies, heads blown off, rivulets of blood on streets. Little children, old people, women and men caught unawares. Dying a sordid death which they didn't deserve. It is no different when drones kill children from terrorists blowing people up. A recent video footage of a bomb blast in Pakistan was so disturbing, I couldn't get over it for days. A little boy of around ten who was a witness to the bloody explosion was seen crying and beating his head in despair. Is this a world we adults have created for them. When grownups can't get over war traumas of blood and gore how will children caught in such situations ever be normal.

Whether it is the Taliban or Sri Lankan forces or LTTE or Maoists or LET insurgents in Kashmir or Burmese Junta or Syrian rebels/forces or Israelis or Palestinians or Columbians or Iraqis or Afghans or Americans or NATO, its all the same in the end. Innocent lives are lost. Millions of people are displaced; living like refugees for months, sometimes years. Stories of rape, mass muders, multilations keep emerging. In places like Congo where civil war has been waging for years more than 3-4 million people are said to have died, both due to violence and because of disease, malnutrition and collapse of health services which are an outcome of conflict. Aid organisations like Red Cross and UN often come in the cross-fire too and can do very little given the magnitude of the crisis.

Most conflict zones are in some of the poorest countries and victims are mostly civilians. Not that the life of a soldier is less valuable. Strangely no other species is confronted with such violence. They live peacefully with each other, killing only to satiate their hunger pangs because nature created them that way. Humans who are supposed to be highly evolved in their intelligence have used it to only destroy the world and everything in it. Each of us has a duty to reflect, question and stop such mindless wars. Conciliation is the only way out.

To see all the places in the world where conflict is continuing click on the link below:
http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=5847