Musing of a verbose mind. It borders on all that takes a skeptical and highly critical view of whatever is happening or has happened in our world..... do read it and post your comments..... discourse is welcome.....

Freedom of speech!!! Really???

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Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | By Gautam | In ,

Jana Gann Mana Rann hai
…is Rann mein
Zakhmi hua hai Bhaarat ka Bhaagya Vidhaata
Punjab Sindh Gujrat Maratha
Ek doosre se ladd ke mar rahein hain
Is desh ne humko ek kiya
Hum desh ke tukdey kar rahein hain
Dravid Utkal Banga
Khoon bahaa ker, ek rang ka kar diya humne tiranga
Sarhadon pe jung aur
Galiyon mein fasaad danga
Vindh Himachal Yamuna Ganga
Mein tezaab ubal raha hai
Mar gaya sab ka zameer
Jaane kab zinda ho aagey
Phir bhi Tava shubh naame jaage
Tava shubh aashish maange
Aag mein jal kar cheekh raha hai
Phir bhi koi nahi sach ko bachaata
Gaahe tava jaya gaatha
Desh ka aisa haal hai lekin
Aapas mein ladd rahein Neta
Jana Gann Mangal daayak jaya hai
Bhaarat ko bacha le Vidhaata!!!
Jaya hai – Ya yeh – Marann hai
Jana – Gann – Mana – Rann hai


These lines are from the forthcoming Ram Gopal Verma movie 'Rann'. The lyrics couldn't have come at a more opportune time when sectarian politics in India is on a rise and people are trying to differentiate between the civilians on the basis of their linguistic allegiances. But what does our executive do when someone tries to point out the obvious? They go ahead and ban it. Or demand moderation on the part of the filmmaker. And what does our judiciary do? They pat the executive's back and say- we won't tolerate tampering with the national anthem.

But what use is a national anthem to its citizens if it cannot bind them into a nation? It is a classic case of high handedness of the executive and the judiciary. The nation is burning and we turn a blind eye to it. Pretty shameful. Secondly, whatever happened to our 'freedom of expression'? It seems like we are still living under the 'Raj'. The very bastions it created still exist and they hinder the very freedom of expression we yearn for.

Agreed the song very crudely portrays how the Indian union is degenerating into a mess of selfish states, crude enough to make you stand up and take notice. Because sometimes you need to shout to be heard. Churchill once said- desperate times call for desperate measures. These surely are desperate times.

We fought for the same freedom and what do we get? We have a relic of the past called the Censor Board which with its handful of members decides what is suitable for a billion people. And according to it, we aren't supposed to call a spade a spade. People spewing venom against religions go scott free. Even linguistic chauvinism goes scott-free in our country but when someone tries to raise his/her voice against it, they try to muffle it.

So much so for freedom of speech. I’m disillusioned!!!

Punjab needs to settle down

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Posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 | By Gautam | In

An old Communist adage goes like this- religion is akin to opium. And the 'rioters' in Punjab seem hell bent to prove this true. People there seem to be under the influence of some narcotics or else how do you explain all the damage to the public property inflicted by rioters. A religious leader is fired upon in Vienna and how do his supporters react to it? By going berserk and destroying 'easy targets' like buses, trains. The situation got so tense that even the army had to be called in. The police had to fire upon the same people which it swore to protect. What a sight- the state has to protect a set of civilians from another!!!

And such incidents are rising as India is 'developing' (?).

Gandhi once said that religion and politics need to be separate. But Punjab seems to believe in contradicting it. The political establishment there would not do anything to contravene the SGPC. Guru Nanak did not belong to any political establishment nor did he have any political aspirations. The things against which he founded the Sikh community such as the oppression by the clergy is precisely what is happening as of now. The SGPC calls all the shots.

There is no place for violence and vigilante justice in a society. If the public takes laws into its hands, it becomes a mob and there is only one way to curtail mob violence.

We cannot let our country become a 'banana republic'.....

Are You Nuts?!!!

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Posted on Sunday, May 24, 2009 | By Gautam | In










Modi mulls two IPLs every year (http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4569624.cms)!!! You must be joking, right?! No?! Then sir I'm sorry to say you're in some opium eater's paradise. IPL was a success, IPL 2 seems to be a bigger one (even after being hosted overseas). But now things are getting too far. Already the cricketing schedules of countries are jam packed and you want to slip in one more IPL?! Sir the players are still humans when I last checked and not bots.

This move, if successful will kill test cricket and will take the sheen away from one day cricket. This proposal is blatantly outrageous and for people like me for whom cricket is like a religion, its blasphemous! This is a classic case of killing the golden egg laying goose. Some may argue that T-20 is a young man's game and that having two IPL's in a year will not affect them much, but consider these facts- the Orange cap holder this time around is Matthew Hayden, who was an excellent test player and is in his late thirties. Remember the innings Gilchrist palyed in the semis (85 off 35 bowls), who just like his fellow countryman Hayden is in his late thirties.

T-20 is not quite the slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of version of cricket. Rather IPL 2 has clearly shown that it has place for test veterans too alongwith the young blood.

Mr. Modi, an advice- don't overdo it, its only going to kill test cricket!!!

Kudos to Indian Public :)

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Posted on Saturday, May 16, 2009 | By Gautam | In



The Indian Public has once again proved how intelligent and uncanny it can be! Just when all the smaller regional parties were salivating at the prospect of a hung assembly wherein they can play the role of kingmakers and demand lucrative ATM ministries (remember some of the netas who are eternal ministers irrespective of who forms the government), the Indian voter turned their dreams upside down. Consider this- two national parties together getting 300+ seats. The verdict is clear- we want stable government at the center.

This should also act as an eye opener for all those contestants who did not have a control over their language and lashed out against each other using vocabulary which is highly unbecoming of aspiring national leaders. Such people have been rejected outright by the masses.

A note of caution to the Left parties too- consider your 2004 Loksabha performance to be a fluke. You guys have been flushed away from states like West Bengal and Kerela which have since long been their bastion. Development pays, oppose it and you pay!!!

And my best wishes to all those Prime Ministerial candidates- better luck next time. Maybe in five years time, you guys will acquire all those skills which make the people vote.

Finally for UPA, you guys have been given a powerful mandate by the people to carry on the reforms. Don't fiddle away the advantage.

Long live the democracy, long live the Indian voter.....

Should we have elections more frequently during recessions???

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Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 | By Gautam | In

A piece of article on Wall Street Journal goes like this- "India's month-long federal elections may have an unintended beneficiary -- the economy, as political parties boost spending at a time when the government's own finances are stretched". Catch the entire article @ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124221399629814801.html

The slowdown isn't going anywhere in the near future, the exit polls show that there is no single largest coalition. Extending the logic given in the article, we ought to benefit from an indecisive and unstable government at the center. Not only will it ensure a re-election in the near future, but it'll help stimulating the economy. And people say that our beloved (?) netas are good for nothing!

The US should particularly take a leaf out of this Indian experience because there the money flows in the light during the elections (in the name of lobbying, but its a different story altogether). A sagging US economy is not a good news for anyone. So the politicians there should pass a resolution wherein they would conduct elections on a yearly basis, so long as its required to drive the recession away! The bailout package isn't showing much stimulus anyways, maybe this idea will work.

India shows the way, once again.....

I won't vote!!!!!

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Posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 | By Gautam | In


The television news channels, newspapers and other media sources are rife with the great Indian tamasha called the General Elections. This time around everyone wants us- the general public to vote. Even the Bollywood stars are calling us out on the election day to vote! You are a 'pappu' if you don't vote- they want us to believe. Yes, whatever!!!

But I won't vote. The reason is simple. The candidates are just not good enough. Sample this- there are two candidates in your area- one has been convicted for 3 murders and the other has been convicted for 8 rapes. Who do I vote for? The murderer or the rapist. But vote I must. So they say. Should I vote for the lesser evil out of the two then? But who decides what is the lesser evil?

Hence the decision. I WON'T VOTE!!!
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