Hi!
After another rather long hiatus from writing, I return.
Reading the newspaper has become a rather painful activity these days. Everyday there is enough in it to anger me and set me off with a grimace on my face for the rest of the day. Perhaps its my failing that I allow it to anger me.
I have a rather small readership so I can risk to be somewhat esoteric. I hope you do not get offended by the views I shall put forth, and pray that you discuss with me whatever you disagree with.
We get The Times of India every morning and I usually read it as soon as I wake up. I'll put down my views about today's news.
The First Page
Kalam frisked, House furious
I wonder if we will ever see a day when our respected Parliament decides to work constructively. Passing laws is passe. Do they really have enough spare time on their hands to discuss such an exceedingly stupid incident? Spending 2 hours over why the ex-Prez was frisked at the Delhi airport makes little sense to me.
Believe me, I am quite critical of the action by the airline officials. But I believe it is unwarranted to waste so much time in the Parliament when important issues could have been addressed.
Action against the airline should be initiated. But not on the grounds that it was Kalam who was frisked. It should be on the account of their high handedness and complete disregard for the laws of this land.
Brinda Karat once again rose to our expectations by demanding an apology from Praful Patel to Kalam.
By the way, Kalam did not create a fuss or complain to the ministry. Kudos to him!
Mentally ill raped girl can have baby: SC
A 20 year old mentally challenged girl is allowed to have a baby. The decision by the SC not only shocks me but makes me wonder if the honorable SC looks at the future ramifications of its decisions. The girl has been judged to have a mental age of 7-9 years. I ask you how can a 7-9 year old girl handle an infant?
Are we going to turn a complete blind eye to the child's right to a good life?
The National Trust for Mentally Retarded has pledged lifelong care for the mother and the child. Perhaps I was too quick in believing that the child might not be cared for, but tell me how would the child feel about his life when he turns 18? He was conceived via an inhuman act and sentenced to a life with a mother who can hardly provide him the care and love a child deserves. I will only venture a guess towards the efficiency of the Trust in looking after the duo.
Apparently the ruling went in favour of the mother because of her right to motherhood and because she desperately wanted the child. How can the SC give up all rationale and sentence the poor child to a deficient life?
I sincerely hope all works out well for the mother and her child. May God bless them both.
Page 5
In-laws arrested in Deepika case...
Sometimes I wonder what makes seemingly normal people do such barbaric acts of hatred? A 28 year old mother of one burnt alive for dowry. Why cant these spineless bastards go out and earn some money themselves? Why do they resort to torturing a person and at times even killing?
Is there any hope for justice or will this case also drift into oblivion?
The lack of initiative shown by the police in following up on this case shows how desensitized our police force has become.
I hope some justice is served in this case and the accused be awarded the strictest possible punishment if proven guilty.
Page 13
Chicken Halal?
This was a rather refreshing read in the article. Although I sure hope the writer would read this post, but I doubt it'll ever happen.
The dear fellow was traveling from Bangkok to Delhi on an Air India flight. He started off by explaining how he was accompanied by 8 sardarjis and went on to illuminate us all to the fact that he was in no way trying to make fun of sardarjis (He could have called them Sikhs if he really intended not to make fun of them, but then again he had to get his feelings through while still adhering to the newspaper policies).
He went on the describe how they drank a lot and were quite noisy and how he was not affected by it because he was from Delhi. Then he introduced us to a Muslim gentleman sitting infront of him.
With all the introductions covered and half the article length finished he started narrating what happened.
On the second round of drinks, my mother asked for tomato juice and got half a glass. I asked her why, she said they had just run out. The Muslim gent, too, was denied his request for tomato juice. No, we are all out! Take a Pepsi, thats what you had before, said the air-hostess . What we found strange was that two passengers down sat a White man who also requested tomato juice. Much to our surprise, the hostess reached down and out came a full carton. Our jaws dropped as she served the man politely.
Veg or Non-Veg Our Muslim friend who was so rudely denied a tomato juice had to make a decision between chicken and paneer. Chicken halal he asked. The same air-hostess who had refused him his juice then did something which I could not simply tut-tut at, overlook or ignore. Chicken halal Voh kuch savaal hota hai kya You should say Chicken halal hai Vhat am I meant to know vhat that means Chicken halal Chicken halal Kya pooch rahey ho She did not stop there. You need to say Chicken halal hai Chicken halal hai By this time, her voice was raised and she was looking around for approval. Of course, the first to jump to her aid were my good friends, the Sardarjis, who nodded and supported her. This little incident went on for a good three minutes by which time the last five rows of the airplane had joined in. Kya matlab hai Chicken halal Hahaha. Bolna bhi nahi aata. Hahaha! Eventually, after the air-hostess had enjoyed her audience, she said, Haan, halal hai, yeh leh! and rudely handed over the non-veg meal to the man in front. By this point, I was furious. All the poor man was doing was making sure that the meal was something that he could eat. My mother sensed my mood and nudged me to stay quiet. She knows that if I ever witness any kind of discrimination, I jump in and get involved. I have lived all over the world and have faced discrimination from Whites, Blacks, Asians, Arabs, you name it. To get back, the food was upon us and everything seemed to have died down until I heard one member of the group yell, This is Indian Airlines, not Muslim Airlines!
Cute eh? How he's so righteous and blah...blah...blah
I am Sikh and a rather proud one at that, all I ask you is: Why the hell were we served such a lengthy description of those 8 silly Sikhs? They did not say anything derogatory according to his own account. The last five rows had also joined in. Some guy had shouted something stupid about Muslim Airlines. The white guy had got the juice.
Then why did our dear Mr. Right launch the two paragraphed rhetoric about the 8 Sikhs?
They had nothing to do with the incident. It just goes on to show how biases have a habit of creeping in.
Let me be clear, I do not in any manner condone what they were doing. Their actions were highly uncivil and I agree a lot of Sikhs act in a similar manner. What I did not like was the unnecessary references to them and the fact that he called them Sardarjis.
I would in the same breath laude the gentleman for his secular views and join in criticising the attitude of the flyers.
Indians really do not have the right to blame the whites of racism when they subject others to the same.
The post has gotten too long already and this is where I stop for today.
I wanted to write a bit more about certain issues but deemed them to be too controversial to be touched without proper thought going into the construction of the posts.
Mostly I wanted to write about the Kanwarias, it does merit a full post in my opinion!
Will be back soon.
Thanks for reading through this!
Achint
After another rather long hiatus from writing, I return.
Reading the newspaper has become a rather painful activity these days. Everyday there is enough in it to anger me and set me off with a grimace on my face for the rest of the day. Perhaps its my failing that I allow it to anger me.
I have a rather small readership so I can risk to be somewhat esoteric. I hope you do not get offended by the views I shall put forth, and pray that you discuss with me whatever you disagree with.
We get The Times of India every morning and I usually read it as soon as I wake up. I'll put down my views about today's news.
The First Page
Kalam frisked, House furious
I wonder if we will ever see a day when our respected Parliament decides to work constructively. Passing laws is passe. Do they really have enough spare time on their hands to discuss such an exceedingly stupid incident? Spending 2 hours over why the ex-Prez was frisked at the Delhi airport makes little sense to me.
Believe me, I am quite critical of the action by the airline officials. But I believe it is unwarranted to waste so much time in the Parliament when important issues could have been addressed.
Action against the airline should be initiated. But not on the grounds that it was Kalam who was frisked. It should be on the account of their high handedness and complete disregard for the laws of this land.
Brinda Karat once again rose to our expectations by demanding an apology from Praful Patel to Kalam.
By the way, Kalam did not create a fuss or complain to the ministry. Kudos to him!
Mentally ill raped girl can have baby: SC
A 20 year old mentally challenged girl is allowed to have a baby. The decision by the SC not only shocks me but makes me wonder if the honorable SC looks at the future ramifications of its decisions. The girl has been judged to have a mental age of 7-9 years. I ask you how can a 7-9 year old girl handle an infant?
Are we going to turn a complete blind eye to the child's right to a good life?
The National Trust for Mentally Retarded has pledged lifelong care for the mother and the child. Perhaps I was too quick in believing that the child might not be cared for, but tell me how would the child feel about his life when he turns 18? He was conceived via an inhuman act and sentenced to a life with a mother who can hardly provide him the care and love a child deserves. I will only venture a guess towards the efficiency of the Trust in looking after the duo.
Apparently the ruling went in favour of the mother because of her right to motherhood and because she desperately wanted the child. How can the SC give up all rationale and sentence the poor child to a deficient life?
I sincerely hope all works out well for the mother and her child. May God bless them both.
Page 5
In-laws arrested in Deepika case...
Sometimes I wonder what makes seemingly normal people do such barbaric acts of hatred? A 28 year old mother of one burnt alive for dowry. Why cant these spineless bastards go out and earn some money themselves? Why do they resort to torturing a person and at times even killing?
Is there any hope for justice or will this case also drift into oblivion?
The lack of initiative shown by the police in following up on this case shows how desensitized our police force has become.
I hope some justice is served in this case and the accused be awarded the strictest possible punishment if proven guilty.
Page 13
Chicken Halal?
This was a rather refreshing read in the article. Although I sure hope the writer would read this post, but I doubt it'll ever happen.
The dear fellow was traveling from Bangkok to Delhi on an Air India flight. He started off by explaining how he was accompanied by 8 sardarjis and went on to illuminate us all to the fact that he was in no way trying to make fun of sardarjis (He could have called them Sikhs if he really intended not to make fun of them, but then again he had to get his feelings through while still adhering to the newspaper policies).
He went on the describe how they drank a lot and were quite noisy and how he was not affected by it because he was from Delhi. Then he introduced us to a Muslim gentleman sitting infront of him.
With all the introductions covered and half the article length finished he started narrating what happened.
On the second round of drinks, my mother asked for tomato juice and got half a glass. I asked her why, she said they had just run out. The Muslim gent, too, was denied his request for tomato juice. No, we are all out! Take a Pepsi, thats what you had before, said the air-hostess . What we found strange was that two passengers down sat a White man who also requested tomato juice. Much to our surprise, the hostess reached down and out came a full carton. Our jaws dropped as she served the man politely.
Veg or Non-Veg Our Muslim friend who was so rudely denied a tomato juice had to make a decision between chicken and paneer. Chicken halal he asked. The same air-hostess who had refused him his juice then did something which I could not simply tut-tut at, overlook or ignore. Chicken halal Voh kuch savaal hota hai kya You should say Chicken halal hai Vhat am I meant to know vhat that means Chicken halal Chicken halal Kya pooch rahey ho She did not stop there. You need to say Chicken halal hai Chicken halal hai By this time, her voice was raised and she was looking around for approval. Of course, the first to jump to her aid were my good friends, the Sardarjis, who nodded and supported her. This little incident went on for a good three minutes by which time the last five rows of the airplane had joined in. Kya matlab hai Chicken halal Hahaha. Bolna bhi nahi aata. Hahaha! Eventually, after the air-hostess had enjoyed her audience, she said, Haan, halal hai, yeh leh! and rudely handed over the non-veg meal to the man in front. By this point, I was furious. All the poor man was doing was making sure that the meal was something that he could eat. My mother sensed my mood and nudged me to stay quiet. She knows that if I ever witness any kind of discrimination, I jump in and get involved. I have lived all over the world and have faced discrimination from Whites, Blacks, Asians, Arabs, you name it. To get back, the food was upon us and everything seemed to have died down until I heard one member of the group yell, This is Indian Airlines, not Muslim Airlines!
Cute eh? How he's so righteous and blah...blah...blah
I am Sikh and a rather proud one at that, all I ask you is: Why the hell were we served such a lengthy description of those 8 silly Sikhs? They did not say anything derogatory according to his own account. The last five rows had also joined in. Some guy had shouted something stupid about Muslim Airlines. The white guy had got the juice.
Then why did our dear Mr. Right launch the two paragraphed rhetoric about the 8 Sikhs?
They had nothing to do with the incident. It just goes on to show how biases have a habit of creeping in.
Let me be clear, I do not in any manner condone what they were doing. Their actions were highly uncivil and I agree a lot of Sikhs act in a similar manner. What I did not like was the unnecessary references to them and the fact that he called them Sardarjis.
I would in the same breath laude the gentleman for his secular views and join in criticising the attitude of the flyers.
Indians really do not have the right to blame the whites of racism when they subject others to the same.
The post has gotten too long already and this is where I stop for today.
I wanted to write a bit more about certain issues but deemed them to be too controversial to be touched without proper thought going into the construction of the posts.
Mostly I wanted to write about the Kanwarias, it does merit a full post in my opinion!
Will be back soon.
Thanks for reading through this!
Achint
18 comments:
@Kalam frisked
well this was not all that Karat did, according to Hindu he also suggested that maybe he was frisked because his name was Abdul Kalam. And this is not all. They next contacted George Fernandes, who himself was frisked while being the Defence Minister but this time he suggested that India should get an official apology from USA (and not the airlines). For the Indian politicos, people all over the world have nothing better to do just like themselves.
@Raped girl allowed to have child
CJI has said that as the lady herself wont be able to take care of child, if someone else would be willing to care for the child there wont be any problem. Moreover the foetus is in healthy state so terminating the pregnancy is not necessary especially when the lady is already 19 weeks into pregnancy.
Good to see you back.
Well I can go on harping about how the quality of MOST Indian newspapers is declining. At least the two newspapers that I've read all my life: the TOI and HT are. HT in it's new avatar, which apart from being so gay, has more ads than news. EIGHT days out of seven, it would have the front page draped in colours of mercantilism. Their edit page is as good as crap. Add to that the fact that they've reduced the space for Indrajit Hazra and it becomes the Hated Times. The TOI is saner, though they still keep exploring newer territories of frivolity. In short, they're both fast turning into tabloids.
All this has made newspaper reading easier; you don't have much to read. :D
Well, I don't have a problem with the foreign airlines frisking Mr. Kalam. Yes, he is a former president. But the rules need to be the same for everyone. And I doubt if he would himself have a problem with the security check-up.
And I completely agree with you, our politicians need to rise above their tendency to display misplaced jingoism and do what they're paid for. It costs a freaking 2 crores to keep the Parliament running for 4 hours.
Heck, gimme that money and I would give you better output(and buy myself a Ferrari! :D)!
a really long one... but it was interesting enough to read through
good english, a few corrections needed here and there (we are used 2 editing :D)
very clearly put through views and i agree that reading an indian newspaper really irritates you (thats y i never do this mistake, even if iims are at stake :))
im absolutely neutral on the news and views part, so wont go for/against opinions
keep me posted with the blog
@ Jawa
The left leaders like to leave their insanity in no doubt.
About the raped girl:
I believe the HC had already ordered its termination. Sadly the slow moving judicial system made sure it was too late for any other decision. I would more than disputing the case at hand like to express my inability to express the line on which the SC acted.
In India social service is at best below par, I do not believe that they had the right to sentence the unborn child to a below par life.
@Saksham
I totally agree with you. HT has turned crappy to a degree which is a shame even by their exceedingly modest standards. I prefer www.netindian.com for most of my news. Sadly being a new entrant it is not as comprehensive as the traditional newspaper.
As much as I turn pro-web, reading news on paper is something I'll never give up!
@ Parth
Pardon me for the mistakes I did not bother reading through it before posting. Was in a hurry. Do point them out.
I also see that you have tried to toe a politically correct line by not commenting on anything!
good read..and suprisingly very politically correct.. for a change..!
@kalam frisked
poor left..what can it do? after the big election debacle these are the only ways they can get some much wanted publicity.
@ chicken halal
the sardarji issue..well mr randhawa i see some personal bias creeping in ;)I believe the writer didnt do anything wrong by callin them sardarjis instead of sikhs , as it's, very much a colloquial way of referring to them and is not considered derogatory by the sikh community either. (like chinki is considered a derogatory word by north-east indians)secondly, the writer only mentioned them drinking and laughing to highlight their apathy towards the airhostesses'blatant disrespect towards a fellow passenger and countryman.keeping ur own bias at bay would help you understand this perspective. all in all i like reading what you write!
and i am really looking forward to reading ur post about kawarias hopefully it ll be supported with some well researched facts.
au revoir!
@Nimisha
The apathy towards the Muslim gentleman was shared by 5 rows of passengers apart from the 8 of them.
Yet however they find mention and that too two paragraphs.
I agree I do have some personal grouse here, but I believe its justified.
Good to see another post here, but honestly I would have loved to read/discuss some conclusions/solutions to the problems like racial discrimination, dowry, undisciplined politicians etc., highlighted in these articles.
@Kalam frisked, House furious
Kalam's calm acceptance to the security check should be applauded and the incident should be used to inculcate humbleness in the other leaders, who love to enjoy special treatment and create a scene if it is denied. Although I believe it is correct to demand an apology, and similar incidents in future should be avoided.
@Mentally ill raped girl can have baby: SC
Whether to allow a mentally ill girl to give birth, is right or wrong, is a tough question. I won't say it is wrong because the court might be considering the fact that the kid would grow up and provide the emotional and financial support to his mother. Though, for that, the Trust should play its' part and to ensure the same, SC should appoint a committee for a regular analysis.
@Chicken Halal?
The discrimination by the flyers should obviously be brought in notice of the higher authorities and if the writer says 'if I ever witness any kind of discrimination, I jump in and get involved.' then I would wait to see an initiative from his side.
@Kalam frisked
Well , i am surprised that i am the only one having a different view on this after going through the comments casually .
I think , as an Indian , we have got to raise our voice. I very much appreciate the humility of our former President for being so co-operative.
But this is a larger issue than just mere frisking by chance.
I feel , its got to do with the colonial attitude that still exists there.
I can tell you multiple examples and if you have relatives living or travelling abroad (esp in Europe) and also in US , the feeling of being looked down upon is felt a lot of times and small incidents like this just endorse my views.
Can you imagine Bush being frisked and asked to open his shoes ? and by any means , do u think , the Americans would let it pass like that.
Why and just make me understand why was Kalam frisked when the CRPF security told them repeatedly that he's not supposed to be frisked. I could have ignored the issue had they been not informed at all.
I mean people ,don't you feel embarrassed and a touch humiliated when your country's former President is met out like this.
I mean can we sometimes stand and stay firm in getting some respect.
why shouldn't the airline be punished and an example be set so that such incidents don't happen again.
i think I can go on and on..but I hope u got the gist what I mean to say.Its a larger issue about the mentality of people in developed countries.
and i think Arun Jaitley very rightly said that its quite shameful since we send vehicles to the tarmac for foreign dignitories.Its about reciprocity as well.
Let me play the devil's advocate here.
@Kalam and the Parliament Ruckus that ensued
In my study of democracies around the world, I have realised one thing - chaos is a constant feature, especially in the highest law-making houses of the land. And it is instructive to understand why such things happen.
One of the biggest reasons why some groups of legislators hold up the proceedings of the Parliament is because they are trying to portray their ideology. Some show respect for the position that is the President, some tried to bring up the fact that it was because of his name that he was frisked, others were *angry* because a foreign airline blatantly ignored the laws of the land. All this is symbolic, and it is very important, because they can show the country what they stand for. They are building a track record of sorts.
The problem is when they only indulge in symbolic, and forget that it needs to be backed by some concrete action.
The second point is that as the opposition, they need to make sure that the government is on its toes all the time, and the only way they can do this is hold up the Parliament and preventing them from doing business, until the government has taken some steps to assuage the opposition. Having a lax opposition is an anathema for a well-functioning democracy, because then the incumbents in power can get away with anything, especially in the scenario where the government enjoys a comfortable majority.
The message that they were trying to get across is that they are watching the government and are not willing to gloss over even the most minor of infractions.
Do the parliamentarians know that this is a minor issue? Do they know that Kalam doesn't mind? Of course! But what do you think is going to happen if they let the government off the hook? It is their *job*, in fact their duty, to bring the government into line, by whatever means possible.
I would argue, that we can pass a law disallowing such hold-ups, in view of saving the cost to the nation of running the parliament, but we would have lost a great deal by cutting out the opposition's voice.
Democracy is supposed to be all-inclusive, but nobody said it was going to be organised or efficient. That is a cost we have to bear if we are going to be in a democratic set-up.
@Raped mentally-ill girl
One question, Achint: How can you predict what the child's reaction is going to be 18 years from now? Maybe he will become a great leader. Maybe he will bring about a great change in the system.
By putting forward the argument that a child shouldn't be allowed to live, because of the quality of life he will have, you have practically said, that we should kill off all infants born into dire poverty. What about those children born in brothels? Jails? Should they be killed as well?
True, a child needs a mother's love and care. But haven't many people grown up without that? I think the judge was very wise by letting life take its own course.
And besides, this woman isn't the first mentally-ill woman to have a child. There have been many before her, and there will be many after her. Those infants aren't killed, why this one?
Or is it that children of rape victims don't deserve to live?
If we don't have a problem with either of the above, why do we have a problem when a mentally-ill rape victim gives birth to the baby that was conceived?
@Sikh incident
I don't see an issue here, except a badly written article or a badly phrased headline. The person that should really be beaten up is the Editor for running the story as it is.
@Wnwek
I am in complete agreement with your views on democracy. But I do believe expecting democracy to operate in an ordered and respectable fashion is not asking a favour.
The people elected to our parliament are supposed to be wise men who would take the country forward.
There are a lot of ways of airing the ideology followed by your political outfit. Participation in debates over a lot of international events or major events taking place in our country would greatly benefit India.
As you must be aware the house was unanimous in its criticism of the event. I believe no one would have been able to get any brownie points by shouting him/herself hoarse.
I absolutely agree with the need for absolute freedom in a well oiled democracy. But 'with great power comes great responsibility'. The government had nothing much to do in this and the necessary action had already taken place before the discussions ensued.
Asking Praful Patel to personally apologize to Kalam does not come under the realm of enforcing proper governance.
I strongly disagree with your views about the mentally challenged mother. I am being a realist when I assume that the two will not be provided with proper care to ensure a happy future.
Tell me sir, how do you expect a child in a shelter who has never had the care of his mother feel? Of course he might be a great soul and do great deeds by using his anger at his situation. But do we have a right of sentencing a child to that future?
Frankly there is a much larger chance that the child will not be happy.
Saddening it is for me to give this argument but most people in our nation will NOT look at the child without bias. Perhaps it is our culture or just a sick mentality, but do you feel the child will get the opportunities he/she merits?
The lady has a whim(taking into account that she's mentally just 7-9) of having a child, but does she understand the responsibility it shall entail?
Or does the lawyer who so vociferously fought in both courts pledge to be at her side when the child is hungry?
I do not agree with mentally-challenged mothers having a kid unless there is a family to support them both.
@ Naman
I doubt the colonial attitude would be in the mind of the British after 60 years, let alone the Americans who were themselves colonized.
The issue is not larger than what it is. It is a one-off event which does not even matter.
Bush would not be frisked because he would not be flying on a public carrier. That's a moot point anyways.
Sadly none of all those wise men sitting in the Parliament have asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to discuss the enforcement of its circulars with international carriers. Different carriers would have different rules and I personally believe that the carrier should have the right to decide whom they want to frisk.
But now it is established beyond reasonable doubt that the bunch sitting in the parliament won't try to solve an issue, but first try to take political advantage. I wonder if they have lost the ability to solve them at all.
such a long post...
reg the kalam issue, breache of a protocol is important enough to be discussed in the Parliament, especially when it concerns India's most popular president. agreed that the time could have been better spent on more imp. issues.
as for the judgement by the SC, i think you could ascribe it to the pro life stance taken by it in other instances and if i may venture a bit further, the SC did right to not indulge in emotional rationalisation.
@Achint:
On the Kalam issue, I have nothing else to say.
On the issue of the child, I am disturbed by your conviction that the child should be killed. I believe the correct course of action if parents are unable to take care of the child is to put them in somebody else's care, and not kill them, as I am sure will happen in this case.
As I already have written, one could argue, that many other sets of parents are unfit to care of their children - and if the same yardstick is applied here, we would have to kill many children because their parents are unable to guarantee a good life.
One can directly conclude that orphans should be summarily executed by the state, because there is no chance their parents can provide a decent life, because their parents do not exist. That, as you would agree, is complete bullshit.
To add to my previous comment, opportunities are not a right to any child. Just because, one cannot provide opportunities to a child, doesn't mean the child doesn't have a right to exist.
By THAT yardstick, all Indian children should be executed, mate.
@Wnwek
In a world where the number of orphans and needy far exceed the number receiving any assistance, deliberately leaving a kid to die is wrong in my eyes.
The abortion should have taken place a long time ago.
I seriously doubt the ability of an orphanage to provide a nice upbringing.
Orphans are born before their parents die, the case in question does not merit this comparison.
I did not ask for the child to be executed. An abortion might seem to be the same, but it somehow feels less wrong if you do it for a right reason. I do not have any arguments here.
I hope the child never curses his own birth.
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