Fanfare for The Common Man !!

What a stunning performance. A slap on arrogant blabber mouth self serving leaders.  The third alternative should exist in each state. Bipolar contests are dangerous for democracy as also for common people as it is mostly elitist. Multiparty reflects the reality of the nation. It also reduces the space for manipulation by power brokers and sycophants.  

(Fanfare for The Common Man is the title of popular symphony by Aaron Copland)  

Viva Mandela !!!

Maharashtra needs Article 370

Maharashtrians, particularly based in Mumbai, too are “deeply vulnerable about their identity and insecure about the future” and therefore need Article 370 and other charming safeguards. The elites for their competing reasons use nuanced arguments to further their agenda, it comes coated with egalitarian worldview. They created the boundaries as they felt right and now come with nonsense arguments which may seem protecting rights but are insidious in its intent. They encourage fundamentalism in the name of secularism and in effect position themselves as liberal. Liberalism is then extended to extreme form of hedonism. Consumption of elites therefore becomes standpoint of egalitarianism. This is precisely what is happening in Kashmir. As they party swanking their liberal concerns, the mullah strengthen their hold. The common people get trapped in this competing force, the spiraling violence are security force actions. This is a familiar pattern.   

Article 370 is a dustbin case and it most definitely violates the basic structure of the constitution, it is an affront on democratic values and civilized norms. People of this country don’t want to live in history nor do they want to relive in the past follies of self serving elites. If my rights as a citizen of the country are violated in Kashmir then that is where the argument ends. I have no interest in any historic muck. Further I believe in integrating with humanity while keeping one’s positive part of identity alive. If Kashmiriyath has to be safeguarded so will be the compelling argument of Maharashtriyath. Kashmiriyath has neither precedence nor anything unique that Maharashtriyath doesn’t offer. Indeed that is true for any part of the country. The continuation of Article 370 even after so many decades after independence is an anachronism that must be addressed. If Kashmir needs Article 370 so does Maharashtra, all the arguments are equally valid. Myth making cannot substitute this reality and as far as Indian people are concerned this is the root of Kashmir problem. Nothing nuanced can undermine misery that it spreads.

Tehelka ‘sexual assault’

Nobody can be judge on these matters, it is for the court to decide having gone through the evidences. The wonders of technology are such that we common people do have ringside view on these happenings.  I was going through the letters the victim has written, if true then Mr. Tejpal is in serious trouble. Though there are people who are admirer of Tehelka kind of ‘investigative journalism’, that rely on sting operations, I have never been a supporter of these. Journalism needs more involvement, commitment and nuanced discussion, rather than fly by night blitzkrieg operations. I somehow believe that these are bordering unethical. A moment taken as a context to judge the event is not the whole truth though the video is seen as compelling truth, sometimes these are but not always. The recent sting on AAP party and malicious campaign proves the point. I personally knew the fellow who was involved in ‘defence scam’ sting conducted by Tehelka (that scalped the then BJP president), he used to work with me briefly. He was a terrible fellow whom I studiously avoided. I wasn’t surprised that he arranged ‘honey traps’. Where is the morality here? Nevertheless Tehelka did position itself as an answer to the cruder times we live.      

In the Tehelka sexual assault case, I believe the complete truth is somewhere out there and needs meticulous investigations. I was going through the pictures taken during the THINK festival, I must tell the pictures of the ‘victim’ doesn’t look like that of a person who has been recently “seriously assaulted”. She doesn’t show signs of recent trauma. I find that baffling. Also the ‘victims’ letter makes serious insinuation on character of the people concerned, that may not relate to the case, which needs further affirmation. Like about Mr. Tejpal’s daughter witnessing when she was 13, this needs to be further examined. Also an allegation that her Managing editor was ‘having an affair’ with Editor in chief, these are statements that seems to suggest there is more to it. I was reading some of the articles written by the ‘victim’ on teenage sex, as also death of an actor which is correctly argued as a murder –the evidences suggest so (another cop botch up). She is a good writer and has flair with words, taking extreme caution on the identity of the ‘victim’, I must add here Stephenians are born writers (you can either be a Stephenian or not a writer, so argued Kushwant Singh. No wonder Indian writing has suffered, and so has the country! There are about 20 odd Stephanians in Parliament, that is as big as state of Kerala!! So much so for feudalism. Mr Tharoor has a culinary explanation he calls it Thali effect!!). 

Sexual harassment at work place is a serious matter, long time back the place I was working there were serious allegation of rapes, not one victim but many (incidentally renowned Justice Iyer was our neighbor). I was privy to one, she talked about these in detail, those days I had my own serious problems, and was vacillating between life and death, literally!, extremely confused lad. So wasn’t terribly concerned about others, an extreme form of alienation that family-societal expectations can bring to an individual. Further in the same organization there was another man who hunted on young men, he did try some crap (the worse that I had experienced as a kid). These were sickening times for me, I left the place at the earliest possible opportunity. 

These are to be dealt seriously by the law, but I believe times are changing quite fast and we live in different worlds. What may look like an assault in small town may not be that in a big town. Like for instance, to take an example, people of different sex don’t hug each other in small towns but big cities they do, it is seen as normal. The context may be same but nuances are different and could be seen as an assault if one has the intention to see it that way. Though the articulate women in media (who incidentally have their own agenda) may try to make us believe that gender violence is same, the fact is they are not. Women face immense hardship in small towns and lower middle class homes which I don’t think they can relate to or empathize just because they are of same gender. The class-caste factors are acute, indeed higher strata women are in same league as men as arbitrators and perpetrators of caste/class violence into next generations, oppressive norms as identity. For instance, the matrimonial columns are not written by illiterates. The muck is beyond gender, the reason this blogger is stridently against women reservations in the parliament.  It is an elitist ploy to appropriate power.

In the power struggle sex is nothing but a weapon, and some men and women are quite adept in using these. At one extreme it is described as sensuality while on the other it is brutal power, nevertheless it exist all the while. The law is stringent but it should also be able to decipher and not brush everything under same context. If that is the case then it is being gender insensitive. As also the lynch mob like behavior of ‘righteous’ media must be curbed, it is high time we also have laws on these matters.

What about rights of pot bellied middle aged man?!!

People are getting quite patronizing these days trying to protect the ‘young girl’ from snooping. They are understandably agitated about bharath ki beti being snooped.  It is a common knowledge that girl becomes woman after marriage. So till then patriarchal media has every right to patronize and be protective.  Mr. Tendulkar has so graciously dedicated his Ratna to all mothers, which technically means one step ahead of being a woman. This is the most elevated position that an Indian woman can achieve that surely deserves a Bharat Ratna or atleast a dedication. It has terrific emotional returns. He surely is playing to the script. I am afraid too much on the script that he is becoming a mythical hero like zombie. Spreading happiness incidentally is also the mission of Coca cola. Touché. 

Meanwhile what about the rights of pot bellied hairy middle aged balding short darkish man at the bottom of the social pyramid? Doesn’t he have the right for privacy? Or is he a fair game for powerful people? Is snooping only concerns nubile damsels? Surely he is not a voyeuristic delight, one may faint (I don’t take responsibility of that!!), but he has his rights. Does anyone care? Here I am doing sheersaasn and trying to see whether the world is really upside down or am I imagining things.  Maybe I should morph into damsel in distress to arouse the patriarchal erotic urges of bharthiya sanskriti safeguarders. I am trying, to begin with pushing some fat into mammary gland region ...it’s working!! One of these days I will be perfectly be suited to fight for. 

Equity is not matter of perception.

There are no freaks…

Whatever happens in Delhi is mostly high profile therefore, in effect, people too consider themselves as thus. So in these worlds of high profiles murders happen and sometimes in the home itself. What was an open and shut case was made into intriguing spectacle by the incompetent police. The voyeuristic TV channels definitely owe it to the Police for the ratings.  Why Indian police is so incompetent that they don’t follow even basic procedures is not different from how they are misused, there is no incentive in competence when you can get ahead with sycophancy and providence. It is all part of compelling Indian traditional narration of serendipity and redemption. In the end cops will catch the thief and the family gather for happy photo op. The wise crack will relish his line and they all chuckle to be frozen for posterity. Facts are of not much use, what is more important is the story weaved. This is the beginning of myths.

One myth that is perpetuated with much celebration is that the Indian families are happiest god ordained units. The reality is they are sick minded people perpetuating sickness to next generation. These are now exaggerated as entertainment in TV serials, and are quite popular. Signs of deviant society are clearly present in every nook and corner. Indeed the way happiness is defined is in itself questioned. The pointer of Indian family happiness is rarely egalitarian but cesspool of deviant prides and egos. The idea of functional and dysfunctional itself is blur. It is a bunch designed to accrue and cosset in their shallow lives. The stakes of providence is multiplied with material amass and modern comfort. Any misdemeanor/transgression that threatens this applecart of family, and friends of equally provident being, is dealt severely. If nothing then abuse or kill or cannibal the weak, influence the powerful, subterfuge of emotions (that Indians have good stock of, meant to replace facts and make the narration compelling) and finally it’s time for get together. This time around the get together is in front of media. ‘They are such nice people’ … ‘how could this happen’… ‘We don’t believe it’… ‘We are happy family friends’…are common refrains to fill up these ethical gaps. There are no freaks. To call this as freak accidents is to perpetuate the myth.