Kasab, you, I are all equal

Whither Constitutionalism! Kasab, you, I are all equal..!!! It is a welcome decision by the Supreme Court that upheld death for Kasab. But will he be hanged in the near future? Not sure. It is unfortunate that the terrorist; an alien from an enemy State is given all the rights of a citizen of India. The Constitution clearly states that the rights of citizens of India cannot be extended to enemy aliens. Enemy aliens are nationals of a country in war with India. Is it not true that if there is one such country in the world which has been in continuous, overt and covert war with India, it is Pakistan? It is quintessentially unconstitutional that Kasab can still petition for Presidential mercy, equating him to any other ‘aam aadmi’ of this country.

Indians fight for their rights, for local jobs, ethnic identities, regional resources etc. The ‘Sons of the soil’ are ready to agitate against their fellow countrymen for benefits. Maratha against Bihari, South against North, Gujjar against Meena, Telangana against Andhra etc. But there is no movement when this enemy is treated as an Indian.

This is high time that this discrepancy is resolved, lest we have more Kasabs claiming equality with nationals of India.

Housing apartheid

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3613994.ece
Response

A good piece by The Hindu on the ghetto mindedness of the landlords in letting out their premises. Though the bias that exists is condemnable, the author should have gone a little deeper and analyzed the reasons for such discrimination which are not very hard to see. It has been this writers experience that when a few muslim families settle in a new locality, the first community action they would think of is the construction of a mosque even in the midst of non-muslim residences, no matter how inconvenient it is with its blaring five times a day, call for prayers. Another very valid reason is their practice of sacrificing a goat on Bakrid in full public view, with the animals blood forming a long stream, while the animal struggles on the road side before the public which could leave sensitive minds, vegetarians, animal lovers etc disturbed; and the foul smell lingers for days. Another reason can be the Arabization of the locality, with not only the women but also little girls being covered up in the darkness of burkhas and hijabs. If any one denies these points, then he/she should pay a visit to Hyderabad. The discrimination might not end as long as such practices are carried out in public. One cannot expect liberalism in return for public insensitivity.

Prejudice runs both ways?

In response to the piece
Humour is by no means exempt from prejudice in The Hindu on June 8, 2012, about Controversial Ambedkar cartoon
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3501903.ece

The most convincing piece in the entire article was the statement -‘The whip is inseparable from violence…’ After reading that sentence, the outlook towards the article changed completely. One can not but agree and sympathize with the emotion in that idea. However, one point still remains unsolved, which is, - Why should dalits take the whip in Nehru’s hand to be falling on Ambedkar? The cartoon actually shows the whip aimed at the snail which is used as a symbol of very slow movement. Ambedkar too is helping the whole process by goading the snail to move faster. Why is Ambedkar invariably seen by Dalits as being responsible for the sluggish pace. Dalits need to offload the psychological baggage which almost borders on paranoia, and see things with a bit more balanced judgment. With such a balance, one can realize that Ambedkar and Nehru together worked for faster progress of the Constitution.

The grounds of Dalit identity and pseudo Abedkarites

Ambedkar, or for that matter no one should be above criticism. This prophet-hood being foisted on the great personality is a sign of how divisive the dalit politics is getting.  It shows a very farsighted strategy to acquire unbridled power without responsibility by the so called spokesmen of dalit interests. An attempt to get away with anything (irresponsible statements, violence etc)  under the shield of dalit identity.

Kancha Illiah can only spew venom at anything even remotely connected to Hinduism or upper caste hindus. These are the people who selectively use or abuse Ambedkar’s ideas for their own ends. His ideas are dangerous and only water the seeds of everlasting hatred among dalits and non-dalits.

The ilk of Illiah just do not want the demolition of caste, lest they be effaced to oblivion.  These are the kind of people who would never allow admbedkar’s ideas like inter-caste marriages to succeed.

Illiah supported the beef  fest recently at Hyderabad. He calls it an assertion of dalit identity. The reason is that hindus do not eat it and because Gandhi’s work for upliftment of ‘Harijans’ included urging them to quit eating beef and carrion. By claiming that beef eating was/is a way of life of dalits, they are nurturing a dalit identity; an identity built selectively on those issues which can pinch and  hurt the caste hindus’ conscience. Gandhi also encouraged education, giving up of unclean jobs, hygiene, etc. Why not also give them up to assert dalit identity, if that is how they used to live. Can they not be called their way of life, going by the logic of beef eating? 

May be it's just that they are not divisive enough!

Do India's Muslims need to be represented by Muslims?

The writer rightly raised an important issue affecting Indian polity now. Today’s muslim leaders are showing the same attitude that prevailed during the times of Independence. History tells us that Jinnah insisted on being the sole representative of all muslims in undivided India; to disallow congress from fielding muslims. The Owaisis in Hyderabad too claim to be the sole representatives of muslims and are determined not to concede any political space to other parties. Muslim vote, or for that matter any vote is not a monopoly of muslim leaders. Its time common muslims realized this and break out of this political warp which is holding the community back.

Another paradox about muslim vote is that, when the Shahi Imam openly endorses politics, it does not raise any eyebrows; in fact, the Congress uses his popularity, but when Baba Ramdev speaks with political overtones, the Congress men cry foul that religious men should keep off from politics.

I, Me, Myself !!!

 

Sex surveys and reality

There have been multiple suverys on this topic my major magazines.

Surveys on sexuality of the population are a perfect example of what Justice Markandey Kadju calls the misplaced priorities of the media. Popular magazines are competing on making these surveys racier. Are there no other real issues to cover than the libidos and eccentricities of a minority of urban India? This is what sociologist Jean Baudrillard called simulacra which is a creation of hyper-reality by proliferation of images and ideas which does not have a referent reality. Media is meticulously proving the critics of capitalism right.

Sent to outlook