News Channels – a double edged sword

Once upon a time, Indian news channels were all about sharing news. What happened anywhere around our country will be “reported” as is. It was all about sharing news information. An earthquake happened – the news will be shared with the public. A bomb blast happened – it will be shared. Some politicians arrested for some wrong doing – it will be shared. India wins the world cup – it will be shared. Through all this, the news media of those times hardly ever tried to “promote” their views to the public. They were the messengers.

Now, they are transforming into message creators, or should we say in today’s parlance, content creators.

May 3rd was the World Press Freedom day. There’s not an iota of doubt that the press (and in a larger context, news media) should be free to perform their duties. Having said that, news media must have their own ethical standards they need to adhere to, in a humane way. On this day, Nepal citizens took to Twitter and Facebook to express two things – their gratitude towards Indian government for providing selfless help and their hatred towards certain sections of Indian media by trending #GoHomeIndianMedia.

When the earthquake happened in Nepal, Indian news media were immediately on it. No problem till now since speed is one trait the news channels compete on. News channels started showing the destruction caused by the earthquake. No problem here too. News channels asked their viewers to contribute towards the cause of Nepal. Great gesture, I must say. News channels started reporting about people being rescued from the debris. No problem here since it shows the hard work put in by all concerned and the improvements happening since the disaster. News channels started shoving their mic in front of the survivors and asking them how they feel now. Ok, now you guys are teasing to cross the limits. News channels asking people, who have lost their loved ones, how they feel. News channels promoting the help and support of Indians and thereby making it a PR stunt. Guys, now you have crossed all your limits!

A popular cartoon created by @mirsuhail

To Indian News Media – I understand news reporting has changed. Corporates with big money have invested in the emerging news media hoping to make big bucks. There’s high competition for eye-balls now. Rankings matter. Ratings matter. Revenues matter. But one more thing has increased more than what it was a decade ago - and that’s responsibility. Sensationalism sells. And now we have reached a stage where we cannot go back and undo the wrongs. In this age of social media, you will receive instant support and criticism which will spread like wild-fire. So, you need to find a way to balance sensationalism with responsibility. There’s no harm in learning from the past. Perhaps, the news channels of old were more responsible than what we have now. 

To Citizens of Nepal – The loss you have gone through post the tragedy is difficult for us to even comprehend. Loss of lives and property, struggling to come to terms with the loss and braving yourselves at a long drawn recovery is, in itself, a tough ask. Our prayers and our support will always be with you throughout this recovery phase. We got a glimpse of the destruction caused by the Himalayan tragedy and the pain you endured thanks to the news channels (primarily Indian ones). Yes, there are some who cross the lines of ethical and responsible journalism. We have faced the same problems ourselves when we had to endure natural disasters (Earthquake, Floods) and man-made ones (terrorism). The sections of News media you are accusing are the ones who did the same thing to us Indians too. So, we understand the root cause of your concern. In a way, we are glad you brought it to everyone’s attention. News channels need to learn their lessons from this one and accept that they need to change. 

A change is needed here. If the news channels don’t learn from this feedback from Nepal, we viewers should take a stand ourselves. We can choose not to watch such channels, which will reduce their viewership count, which will lead to a reduction in their “rankings”, reduction in ad and sponsorship revenue and finally forcing them to change themselves. It’s a vicious circle and we can play a part too.

So an apology actually works!

I don’t think there’s anyone who can confidently say that they expected such a verdict from Delhi. Probably, except the staunchest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters. Post the elections, all the exit polls were anticipating AAP to win the elections. BJP spokespersons had more or less conceded defeat. Post mortem started even before the results were declared. 

And then, the results were declared – 

Even Arvind Kejriwal commented – This win has scared me too! And he is not the only one who was taken by surprise. Most of the Indians across the globe were surprised / shocked (based on which party you support). No one expected such a “tornado” from Kejriwal that encompassed the wave that Narendra Modi was surfing on. Congress has been decimated in Delhi, which was more or less expected considering they had already given up before the voting day. It was always going to be a BJP v/s AAP battle. But AAP went one step ahead and did what Narendra Modi did in the Lok Sabha elections – decimating and nullifying the opposition!

So what does all this mean? Has the BJP wave run its course? Is this the new AAP 2.0 / Arvind Kejriwal 2.0? Where does that leave Kiran Bedi and BJP? Is the Congress still relevant after another whitewash?

In my opinion, here are the 4 important takeaways from the Delhi Election Results – 

1. An apology actually works – AAP always knew they were in for a tough fight in this election. They literally ran away from responsibility the last time they were in power in Delhi. And that too in 49 days. It was always going to be an election for BJP to win compared to any other party. But AAP made their weakness into their strength as they started their election campaign by apologizing for their “mistake”. It takes guts at that level to admit your mistake and apologize. When was the last time a political party actually “apologized”? Conceding defeat is not apologizing. All we have heard till now were mere excuses for losing / anti-incumbency factor. Now that we know the result, we can safely say that an apology can go a long way in correcting the wrong. All that AAP needs to do now is to live up to their promise and fulfill their commitments made in their manifesto.
2. Has the wave run its course? By all means, no. The non-BJP parties are sure to jump on the no-BJP-wave bandwagon. But it will merely be a “spokesperson’s brief”. The fact remains, BJP messed up the strategy for Delhi. In retrospect, they should have immediately called for Delhi elections post their Lok Sabha sweeping. They didn’t. They should have focused more on the issues Delhi faces rather than the personal attacks on opposition parties. They didn’t. If at all anything, the personal attacks gave Kejriwal more support than what even AAP had anticipated. BJP have lost Delhi. But their strategy to win state elections will more / less remain Modi-centric. Delhi simply didn’t like BJP’s proposition. Delhi wanted an alternative and they got one.
3. A frustrated common man actually has the power to invoke change – In more ways than one, Arvind Kejriwal did what Narendra Modi did in the Lok Sabha elections – bank on the frustration of the people sick of politics without growth and offered them an alternative. The people of Delhi bought that proposition from AAP. Delhi has its own problems they face every single day. Here we have different political parties pitching for solutions. They elected one of them without any hindrance. Ironic as it may sound, elections are the only place where aam aadmi executes their power. For the rest of five years, it’s just a case of power imposed on them. AAP might change that scenario, at least they look most promising to bring about change.
4. Congress needs a makeover, asap! Congress are just few steps away from being history. And its a scary proposition, not only for the Congress faithful but for Indian politics in general. We need at least 2 national level parties to keep the other on their toes. Decimation of Congress means BJP are the only one left at the national scene. This can bring in complacency (Delhi elections being one such example). AAP is still years away from a national level fight. Third front won’t cut the ice in today’s India where people want a stable government. That leaves only Congress. And they are in a mess – a lot of which are self-inflicted. They have to go for a serious makeover. Change something big – maybe the top echelons of the party, maybe the way they function, maybe the way they position themselves. Anything. Just anything under the sun, but bring it!

Narendra Modi will acknowledge the fact that he now has a competitor and a battle to fight. Generally such a scenario brings out the best in people. Any upsurge in the performance of the Indian Government will only be beneficial to the country in general. Expect a flurry of positive events happening soon (cue: national budget 2015, for one). Kejriwal, on his part, now has a mandate he could not have dreamt of. Not delivering on his promises will ensure a similar mandate in 5 years, albeit against AAP. People don’t have much patience now. “Perform or Perish” is the new mantra. It’s time the rest of India adopts this mantra too.

AAP may have won Delhi, but India is the clear winner.

Different ways to interpret a statement

“We Indians love a good debate” blurts a news channel that has been promoting debates on time slots they describe as something bigger than prime time. They claim to know about cases or scandals more than the people involved in them. They claim to have copies of written emails / circulars that were supposed to remain confidential. They have reporters who travel to the nook and corner of the world to search for people who are usually absconding / left previous life to start afresh. No one knows how they do it. Logically thinking, maybe they have access to mail servers or are in touch with postmen who transfer confidential letters. Maybe they have access to smartphones of every individual with a mobile phone and track the whereabouts as and when needed. And sometimes, maybe, just maybe, they are in touch with souls or do some type of Ouija to gather information that police or investigation agencies don’t have access to. Either ways, the technology or method they use can benefit the country immensely and can fast track India to become the next super-power!

Sarcasm aside, I am not arguing with the concept or the content shown in the news show as I watch it almost every day and find their way of ‘investigative journalism’ quite interesting. What I don’t like, however, is interfering with personal issues of individuals, who happen to be popular figures in India. One such incident is happening every evening these days and is getting too personal to anybody’s liking, let alone the family. Those in support of the public debate on personal issues justify by saying that the crime happened because the victim was going to reveal something that could have had grave repercussions to some people with power and the country at large and the victim should be given complete justice. Personally, I am all for the “complete justice” argument but not at the cost of causing grief to the victim’s family. Imagine their plight! They are facing baptism by media! They are followed by media everywhere for their sound-bites. And what about their acceptance of the loss? Are we even allowing that to happen?

One way media understands / misunderstands what powerful people say to them is called “reading between the lines”. One statement is made and is interpreted in multiple ways – some more bizarre than others. Here’s one statement and how it can be (mis)interpreted in different ways – 

Statement – “I have said everything I wanted to say and I have nothing more to add”.

Interpretations – 

• He is hiding something. And that something can be a critical piece in this crime mystery.
• His statement says he said everything ‘wanted’ to say, which means there are certain things he doesn’t want to say. What could that possibly be?
• His body language was defensive, why did he avoid the media if he has done nothing wrong? There’s a chink in his armor. 
• The question asked to him was – did he commit the crime. He made a safe statement without denying the accusation.

It’s on these above (mis)interpretations that some media houses bank on (financially and content-wise) which further excites the audience, especially those who are opposing the person under media trial. It may be a discussion point for the neutrals and the audience at large, but just think about the family who are going through the trauma months after the unfortunate event. 

I repeat that I like the new form of “investigative journalism” and trial by media provided we are dealing with scandals worth crores etc. Just when it comes to personal space, we need to have a self-restraint. There’s a thin line in every event that shouldn’t be crossed and in today’s day and age, that line has faded away. 

Of Terrorism, Religion and Forced Conversions

The world around us is buzzing off late. And not all are for the right reasons. 

Sydney Café attack started it all. Customers of the café went in for their breakfast ended up running out of the café to save their lives. What we saw was absolute irony of the life we live. On one side, there was an armed man, who was out on bail for assault on his ex-wife, terrorizing the customers of the café. On the other side, police and paramedics alike were trying their best to save as much lives as possible with least amount of damage. And then, bizarrely, there were some who were more interested in taking selfies in front of the terror site! Like it or not, this is the kind of world we live in.

We thought we had seen the worst. And then we immediately changed our perception the very next day.

Peshawar attack will go down in history as one of the most brutal and dastardly terror attack. Terrorism is bad and there’s no sane justification for the actions, but targeting kids and that too in a school? More than 130 kids have died and those who remain will carry the psychological scar throughout their life! We know there is no religion in terror and this attack proves just that. Killing innocents is not promoted in any religious scripture. Misinterpreting the scripture and brain washing young folks will not lead them to salvation / a peaceful after-life. And worst of all, the terrorists are fine with the incident with absolutely no remorse. The kind of world we live in.

Terrorism has united the world. But I wonder why did we wait for such a disaster to happen?

Nearer to home, a different but significantly less important fight is going on – conversions. No wait, forced conversions. The present government is rooting for development, which is good and beneficial to the overall growth of the country. There’s another section of the ruling government who are forcing non-Hindus to convert to Hinduism. They call it “ghar-wapasi” or homecoming. It’s like a tug-of-war between the forward moving forces (development) and the backward moving ones (forced conversions and communal statements). Considering the background of the people involved in the conversion initiative and the current political scenario (elections due next year and polarization), all this makes a lot of sense. Personally, I admire what our PM is doing at the national and international level. There’s serious optimism in the country faith-wise and money-wise. We can also anticipate inflow of funds from international entities. But what’s happening o the other side of the rope is taking more precedence in the media – and for rightful reasons. Development should be inclusive, should involve all religions and states. Development should include smaller sections of the society as well with no discrimination. Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening. The kind of world we live in.

Image background - thumbs.dreamstime.com/

Personally, I have a different take on conversions. Whether we like it or not, conversions have been happening since the dawn of time. A new religion is formed when a leader rises and shows his followers a way of life and truth. People who were initially of a different religion, “convert” to the newer one. Jews converted to Christianity. Many religions converted to Buddhism post Buddha-era. These are conversions and this will continue. What some sections from the ruling party are doing is “forced conversions” which is totally against the constitution of India. No one can “force” anyone to join their religion. What is this – a race to be the biggest religion? The beauty of India lies in her diversity, let’s not destroy it. There are statements that convey all people will be converted to Hinduism by 2021 or so. Please don’t believe such statements and spread hatred. This will simply not happen and even our own friends whose religion is Hinduism won’t allow it.

None of the above mentioned problems are linked / can be compared. Some are very serious (terrorism) and some are naive (conversions). Big and small, but problem nevertheless.

These internal problems will eventually pass. Sanity will prevail. And India will remain as a country where diversity is applauded. That’s our USP and no one will “forcefully convert” it.

A word that best describes the next 5 years? "Interesting"

“Excited” could be the word that best describes the next 5 years in India, some believe. For some, it’s “hope”. Other words not so far behind are "safe”, “anticipation”, "Secular", “communal” etc. I, for one, would only like to term it as “interesting”.

The dust is yet to settle. Many BJP and Narendra Modi fans are still in seventh heaven and for rightful reasons. Hope is definitely there, especially after a clear single party mandate. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) don’t even need the allies to continue in office for the next 5 years although they will be better off with additional support. Even if some parties or even BJP MPs revoke their support (in politics, decisions are based on immediate benefit), there will be others in the opposition who will be ready to provide external support to the government (reason – immediate benefit again). So, unless there is a catastrophe, BJP will remain in government for the foreseeable future. Most of the bills will be easily passed in the lower house of the parliament. Narendra Modi government will have the power to make bold decisions (something a government formed on alliances won’t have). Narendra Modi is now seen as a ‘messiah’ that will lead brand India forward and re-establish the country on the world map. If he really succeeds in doing so, even the 69% of people who didn’t vote for BJP will have reasons to cheer.

Kind courtesy - merabharosa.com

Two main reasons why I find the next 5 years “interesting” –

• Height of expectations – By decimating Congress and UPA, Modi Sarkar has come to power. Modi fought primarily on development with some key BJP members introducing the communal card towards the end of the campaign. That was a political strategy and it worked especially in the north where BJP overtook even the regional heavyweights. The battle has been won, the war is the yet to begin. The expectation from the new government will be sky-high. They cannot afford to falter anywhere. Modi government has a big challenge to retain the confidence of the people who voted for them. The first year would be a honeymoon phase with government taking some populists measures to continue the “Modi-wave”. Reality will start creeping in from the 2nd year onwards. That’s the real challenge of this government. Country will decide based on the ground results. Also, I don’t expect the limited and scattered opposition to wait and watch. They will unite (despite their ideologies and wishes) against the government to find a decision / indecision they feel they can exploit. It's their comeback strategy.
• Increased media scrutiny – Media, in today's India, can make and break political parties. Just ask Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). They were formed in 2013 and that same year they (almost) single-handedly captured the capital of India - Delhi. The media were firmly behind their success, apart from the fact that they positioned themselves as a party with honesty and integrity. In many ways, media made them what they were in December 2013. Then, for some reason, the same media went against them. And the result is right there in front of us. Backed out of Delhi Government in lieu of Lok Sabha elections and got barely 4 seats (considering they were aiming to be a national party). That's what media can do. BJP has the media support they need at the moment. But they cannot be complacent. One bad move, one riot somewhere and this media will "seek answers". No one can deny that media played their part too in the fall of the UPA-2 government. They brought the scams out in the public domain. 

Let the dust settle and the development work begin. Isn’t that the reason why Modi government was elected by the people of India? He wanted 272, we gave him 282. Time for the Modi government to reciprocate.

As India wakes up on 16th May 2014..

Welcome to the most awaited day of the year! Oh no, it’s not an India-Pakistan match. Nor is there any IPL match today (IPL doesn't matter if you are a Mumbai / Delhi fan anyway). It’s not the day of your appraisals / promotions. In fact, it’s much more than that. More than 6 months of campaigning throughout the country has brought us to this day. A day that will decide who rules for the next 5 years (or possibly more). A day that will decide if we will move forward or remain still or worse, move backward as far as growth is concerned. A certain interview question will have a lot of significance and a lot of confusing answers on this day – “Where do you see yourself 5 years down the line?”

Your decision and the press of a button is all its needed

Its Election Results day! Just a note – this post is irrespective of who forms the government – NDA / UPA / AAP / Third Front. Whoever comes to power, it will still be a new Government. Even if UPA somehow manages to spring a surprise, I feel they will start afresh and with young potential leaders. For non UPA, it’s anyways a new beginning. So, will it be “abki baar Modi Sarkar” or “Har haath Shakti, har haath tarakki” riding by the end of the day? Or will it be Delhi assembly elections 2013 revisited? Or will Amma finally achieve her dream of becoming PM? Your guess is as good as mine. Or will there be a hung parliament leading to strange allies – the same people who abused each other before the elections. Imagine NDA and BJD combining / NDA and AIADMK joining forces or UPA, AAP and small regional parties coming together to defeat their common enemy – NDA.

Anticipation of the future is sometimes as good as the experience of the result unfolding right in front of you! That’s what May 16th 2014 is all about. The obvious results of certain political biggies winning their constituency coupled with shocks of some heavyweights losing out will make the whole experience worth it. The news channels have increased the expectation of millions of voters into overdrive. Exit Polls are the new norm today. News channels have had their own tie-ups with exit poll agencies and have churned out and analyzed the data and formed their own governments with hypothetical allies. Thanks to the exit polls, the news channels might have achieved their yearly revenue targets in a week’s time. The ad rates have also gone up this week. Though exit poll results cannot be taken at face value, a common trend shows  NDA closest to attain majority and form the government. It also shows Congress will fall to one of its lowest numbers (close to 100) and AAP missing the bus to play the king-maker at the center thereby losing both Delhi and the center. NDA, as expected, have already started the process of government formation. Congress has categorically denied the results of the exit polls citing past failures.

There are 2 things we need from this result – a strong government and an equally strong but constructive opposition. That’s what we didn’t have post 2009. The Government (UPA) appeared too arrogant after winning handsomely in 2009 (which I feel, in hindsight, led to their downfall along with corruption and lack of decision-making). The opposition (NDA) were only interested in disrupting both the houses of Parliament and thereby applying speed-brakes to the already diminishing growth of the country. None of them handled their responsibilities properly. And hence, we crawled and crawled for 5 years. This time the parties / alliance forming the Government and the opposition parties in the house need to pull up their socks to ensure the country doesn’t suffer because of their infighting. We’ve had enough. Not anymore.

By the time you read this, the results may well be out and elation / anguish might have overpowered you!

Whoever wins, here’s hoping for a better, prosperous and a safer future. Jai Hind.

Could 2014 be the year of the "Modis"?

It's plural, mind you.

We Indians are usually crazy about two things - Cricket and Entertainment (Read: Bollywood). Mix the two and we get the Indian Premier League (IPL). IPL will begin in 3 weeks time and the whole of India (apart from the Test-match-is the-real-deal type of people) will be glued to their television sets. Now-a-days, a relatively new passion had been added to this duo. A large faction of us (especially the youngsters) have joined the I-understand-Political-too bandwagon. No one is denying the fact that we are in for a political overhaul. By how much and who could be the party-spoilers is the question now. I, for one, also believe Politics is becoming more of a social entertainment with celebrities with no track record of jan-seva getting tickets for Lok Sabha elections. People, originally part of the same industry, are turning foes to serve the aam aadmi (no reference to the party with the same name). One may argue saying that's the beauty of democracy! But it appears to be more beauty than intention.

Anyways, I feel this could be the year of the Modis. One from the political sphere and the other from Sports. 

Politics - Two terms of the ruling party and we are suddenly rooting for change. Some promises were fulfilled and some were not. The opposition party hung onto the unfulfilled part and media did its bit to be the primary opposition party outside of Parliament. This was perhaps the first Government where media were rooting for their neck post every scandal that broke out. The ruling government failed to publicize their achievements at the right time while the opposition went after the governments fallacy and hung onto the differentiating factor of development. After a certain level on infighting, opposition declared their PM candidate - Narendra Modi. His apparent development-based (certain factions deny this as hollow development) politics cuts across the apparent lack of development from the government. Will it cut the ice? Is 272 a big number now compared to what it was, say, 6 months ago? It will be decided in less than 50 days. Anything other than what's mentioned will be nothing short of a surprise. Based on the general feeling among Indians, people around us, some US authorities and opinion polls (some were fudged), Modi is leading the race to be the next PM of India. That's one Modi (almost) at the helm.

Sports - The dreaded "F" word in Cricket emerged again in 2013 - Fixing. Players belonging to Rajasthan Royals were caught red-handed by police. They feigned innocence, then some were proved guilty, later banned by BCCI. But all this was just the tip of the fixing iceberg. Some of the prominent personnel in this scandal involved the son-in-law of the head of Indian Cricket board, a Bollywood part-timer and some prominent personalities abroad (you know who). Mudgal report nailed the culprits and suggested recommendations which were obvious in the minds of all Cricket fans. The Supreme Court finally intervened and ordered Srini to step down. The cleaning process is now underway. Guess who's enjoying all this from the sidelines? The other Modi, of course! Mr. Lalit Modi - the person who brought a tested concept of city based league to India. Enter IPL. And then, as things would turn out, he was removed from the institution he conceptualized. He is now in UK and witnessing the set of events happening in India. Like it or not, the things are actually falling in his benefit. He stands to gain more than anyone else from this. Consider this scenario - BCCI elections are due in September 2014. With Srini suspended from BCCI (and assuming he remains suspended), expect Shashank Manohar / Jagmohan Dalmiya / anyone who has the support of Manohar or Dalmiya to emerge as a strong candidate. This also means the victor not only becomes BCCI chief but also can be nominated as the chief of newly formed World Cricket body lead by Ind-Aus-Eng faction. What happens to Modi? He gets a direct entry to BCCI (also possibly as head of Rajasthan Cricket board). That's not all. He may even get to manage the IPL. He may even play a part in the world Cricket Body too! From nothing in hand to everything and more for Mr Modi. That's another Modi (almost) at the helm.

The above mentioned scenarios are purely speculative. It's based on the events currently happening around us and the probable future that could await us. But then, it may not happen either. Or one of the two will happen. Its India, after all. A lot can happen over a cup of coffee in just a few days - and this time, you don't need a coffee too!

Satire: Guess what's mightier than a Pen?

I am sure we have heard the age old proverb - "Pen is mightier than Sword". Which is to mean a non-violent approach to solving a problem is more beneficial than a violent one. It's a very useful and relevant proverb since time immemorial. Until recently in India, that is.

We Indians have adopted a "novel" and "cost-conscious" approach to take law into our own hands (quite literally). Once upon a time, there used to be something known as Ink. Some intellectuals used long leaflets, dipped the tip of the leaflet into ink-pots and write intellectual stuff that found its way into our School syllabus and we cleared those subjects by mugging the words rather than the thoughts. Since nature missed a trick to store ink in leaflets, humans made ink-pens, which is nothing more than a leaflet type object with ability to store ink. Then someone disrupted this industry - ball-point pens. This was followed by computers where the ink is stored only in the cartridge of the printers! We don't need to use ink to write - just type some stuff and take a print-out!

All this is considered legal and market driven. What's not considered market driven is the below -

Who's responsible for this? These incidents can only be termed as frustration pouring out through ink. Not the frustration of the people who threw ink, but for the people who manufacture ink for a living. Consider this - ink manufacturers are after all - aam aadmi. They need to survive. The technology age has forced their product to enter "decline" stage in the product life cycle. They need to extract the maximum possible juice from their product before being extinct. Now-a-days, many people are maintaining online diaries. Newspaper firms have e-paper as an alternate product just to be in business when newspapers become extinct. So how in this beautiful world can ink manufacturers survive? Where will their next million come from?

Strategy and how it works - Politicians are not missing an opportunity to lower opponents from the proverbial ladder of success. One of the way is to embarrass their opponents at every option given to them. Throwing shoes is one way (they smartly throw one shoe so that the victim doesn't have an option to wear them). Another way is to throw something that can darken the face temporarily and that's where ink comes into picture. News hungry cameras will catch the action live and it will be shown in ultra-slow motion (same technology used in Cricket) with hours of needless analysis thrown in. Ink manufacturers meanwhile get all this promotion for FREE! That's right, everything happens free of cost and the actions encourage potential buyers. A new market in the making. Marketing is, after all, finding a hole in the marker provided there's a market in the hole. Isn't that just brilliant?

There was an era when swords were considered powerful. Then the writers made pen mightier. Who would have ever thought that ink would be the mightiest of them all and that too, in this digital era! 

Emergence of a Third Front. Should it work?

We are entering an exciting phase and a divisive turn as far as Indian Politics is concerned. There’s the party running the current government – Indian National Congress (INC). There’s the primary opposition party – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There’s a new kid on the block making waves (positive and negative) – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the rest.

Congress is trying hard to project their achievements via print ads, TV ads, news channels and the like. At the same time, they are ardently defending, albeit with little success, the numerous corruption and scandals witnessed by the people of India during their tenure. BJP is in the drivers seat at the moment. They can sense victory over Congress for sure. Their only concern is how close they can reach to the magical figure of 272. They are leaving no stone unturned as far as criticizing the government for their failures. And then there is AAP. They took the Indian Political scenario by storm so much so that all the media agencies became their virtual PR. They surprised one and all by winning a lot of seats in their debut and as fate would have it, formed government with external support of the party they used to climb the political wagon! BJP knows AAP won’t win the general elections, but are capable of robbing seats they were supposed to win and cross 272. Like it or not, AAP is the main competitor of BJP.

But are we missing something? 

India is a country of 28 different states – states with unique cultures, languages, castes, behavior patterns, issues and leaders. A national party like Congress and BJP have not / cannot adhere to all of them. These dynamics and the inability to address these have given rise to “Regional Parties” popularly known as the “Third Front”. Regional parties have existed since long. They have a voice and identity in the state they operate. But they didn’t have enough numbers / desire to operate the center. Till now, that is. There are some relative biggies that form the regional parties – Trinamool Congress of West Bengal, AIADMK of Tamil Nadu, SP / BSP of Uttar Pradesh – based on who wins, JD (U) of Bihar and the Left. Add parties like NCP of Maharashtra and they become even more powerful. Now imagine AAP joining the ranks and BJP have genuine reasons to sweat. The leaders of each of the parties mentioned have aspirations to go national and form a Government devoid of Congress and BJP. And with elections a couple of months away, they have realized that this is their opportunity to rise above state level and dictate decision making in the center. No wonder there have been meetings among members of the party towards a possible coalition post the general elections. The only silver lining for the 2 national parties (Congress and BJP) is the weak bond between regional parties and it can be broken by promises of key portfolio’s by the largest party after the elections.

Now the question is – should 3rd front succeed?

Positives of Third Front forming a Government at the center – They are “preferred” by their own people who have voted for them unlike national parties who can win the election despite losing out on some states. The ‘winners’ are uniting to form a government rather than a mix of winners and losers. Even if one of the parties in the “Third Front” loses the state, it can bring in crucial numbers that can make a difference.

Negatives of Third Front forming a Government at the center – We will have a group of parties with different ideologies / practices coming together. They have won elections through different, and in some cases, non-convergent means. Also, if one of the parties feel others are being favored and they have been left out – they will quit the government thereby forcing a government to either fall / entice other MPs to join them. This reduces their probability to continue for full 5 years in power. Also, who among these leaders – Jayalalitha, Mulayam Singh, Mayawati, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Powar, Mamta Banerjee – wants to let go of the golden opportunity to become a PM?

India needs a single largest party to rule efficiently and compete with the China’s of the world. Congress can’t look like the party to provide us with one. BJP seems close, but will be hampered by the emergence of other parties and may have to ally with some of them if they are to win the election. Regional parties seems to be the alternative but will bring their own set of problems that will hamper governance. Not an apt solution in my opinion.

What to expect in 2014?

2013 is done and dusted. All that remains of 2013 are the memories, both happy and sad, to savor. 2014 has started and promises to be exciting on various accounts. We all might have made our own unique resolutions – which happens every year. I have made mine too. Yet to start acting on those. Typical new year stuff, eh? 

2013 was all about scams in politics, Modi as PM candidate for BJP, no PM candidate yet for INC, AAP and their grand entry in politics, retirements in cricket, boring Vettelisms in Formula-1, All German Champions League Final, Managerial changes in English Premier League, Tiger Woods making a comeback and winning, Vishy Anand relinquishing the crown rather easily, new revenue records in Bollywood and all 3 Khans being a part of it, year in which movies like Ship of Theseus and Gravity blessed us etc..

2014 has potential to be epic. Here are some of the reasons why –

Indian Politics: Its Election time! After all the corruption and scandals, we can now look forward to a fresh group of people running the country. We can have a new and fresh government or an old government with fresh faces – whichever way you would like to believe. It could also be a hung verdict with strange partnerships deciding the government formation. Could it be the BJP this time? Can Congress spring a surprise despite all the corruptions? Or will it be the 3^rd front? Or AAP? The jury is out on this. Expect innumerable polls and analysis on prime time television (or is it called super prime time now?). Whatever happens, we are in for a change. And hopefully, a change for the better.

Cricket: We witnessed South Africa defeat India and Australia demolish England in Ashes. Now we are about to witness the victors of both the series come together for the biggest battle of the season. Its Australia vs South Africa and it promises to be epic. India starts the season with a tour to New Zealand followed by Asia Cup in Bangladesh. T20 World Cup is back and will start in March. We are still awaiting the IPL status this year due to General Elections. It may happen earlier than scheduled or may happen outside the country. Indian team will then tour England in July followed by a home series against West Indies (wonder why have this series every year). We will then end the year the same way we started - a tour down under, this time against Australia.

Soccer: The year of the World Cup in Brazil. Though, I must admit, I am not a hardcore country vs country soccer fan. I support Brazil and feel they have the potential (they always have) to win the cup. However, Germany and Spain are not too far behind. Count Italy in and we have an unpredictable situation where anyone can take the cup. I am an EPL fan and follow the Gunners. Arsenal have been on top this season and I expect them to go all the way and win the premier league. Somewhat difficult given the form and bench strength of teams like Manchester City. And there are some mouth-watering Champions League action with Arsenal playing the reigning champions Bayern Munich and Manchester City playing Barcelona.

Formula-1: Every year, I start with the usual excitement of a new Formula-1 season. The excitement is because I hope this season will be different (Read: a non-Vettel non-Red Bull champion) and later on, I am proven wrong. I have my reasons to continue the same hope this season too. We have Alonso and Raikkonen in Ferrari and can expect the fight to the Red Bulls. There are no weak links now and if the car is capable, we can see a change for sure. Add to this mix the vastly developed McLaren drivers in Hamilton and Rosberg and we can expect a race to the finish! C’mon Iceman, let this be your year!

Bloggers Park: You can expect more blogs on Politics. I am keenly following the happenings leading up to the general elections and beyond – after all, we are all about to witness one of the most closely fought 3 way battle for power. Expect sports related articles for reasons mentioned above. There will be some book reviews as usual. More maturity and analysis, less on crap and speculation!

Brace yourself. Tighten your seat belts, hold your breath and then release your breath. We are in for a wild ride!

Whose Delhi is it anyway?

So, Delhi will finally get a government. After lots of brouhaha over the hung election result, the people of Delhi will get a young leadership team who will attempt to solve all their problems. Aam Aadmi Party went back to the people to ask whether to seek support from Congress - the same Congress they decimated in the Delhi elections - and form a government. Apparently, around 80% responded in the affirmative. And here we go, we now will have a new and fresh leadership team in Delhi.

The question that arises is - who won in the end?

BJP? Not at all. Going by the overall verdict of Delhi, BJP emerged as the single largest party and most likely to form a government with outside support / coalition. But for that to happen, they needed support from 2 independents who won and also from some switchers in Congress and AAP. Neither happened. BJP were confined to be in the opposition. 

Current Positioning: BJP are portraying themselves as a party who are not “power-hungry” unlike the other parties.

AAP? It appears that AAP has had the final laugh. AAP debuted in Delhi and in their first election, they formed a government - albeit a minority government. AAP has 28 seats and with 8 seats from Congress providing outside support, they reached the magic number of 36. The thing is, the situation's not over yet. AAP will come up with policies worth its weight on paper, but will it be passed remains a question. Will Congress pass a bill that decimates their own leaders? No. Will BJP pass a bill that goes against their own party leadership? No. So, where will the numbers come from? 

Current Positioning: A party who has genuine intentions to help the people of Delhi and in a larger context – India.

Congress? With only 8 seats in their kitty, they have been the biggest losers in this election. Delhi had a clear mandate - to remove the Congress government. And that they did. Their seats were unfortunately distributed among BJP and AAP resulting in hung assembly. 

Current Positioning: A party with intentions to help form a government in Delhi and try to regain the public support in time for general elections.

I go back to the question I raised - who won? In my honest opinion - No one. The government to be formed in Delhi can disintegrate anytime. AAP are aware of it, BJP are aware of and the Congress surely are the ones with hand brakes on! I feel the reason AAP wants to form a government is because this way, they can silence those critics who feel they are election spoilers. At the same time, they feel they will have at least 6 months to show they mean business by making quick implementable decisions in Delhi. If, for any reason, Congress pulls the plug they will have a reason to fall back on. Congress will have to think twice before pulling the plug as it would lead to an undesirable public backlash just before the general elections.

Here's a thought - Don't you think the biggest winner was none other than Arvind Kejriwal? After all, he’s a debutant about to captain the capital of our country?

5 takeaways from Delhi Election Results

To say that Delhi has responded would be a huge understatement. To say that Delhi result may not influence the citizen’s perspective of Lok Sabha elections would only be called as ‘narrow minded’ thinking. Current government washed out (or cleaned out), new government might not even form thanks to a hung verdict unless coalition happens, a debut to cherish – all happened in a single election.

Image courtesy: ndtv

Following are the 5 significant takeaways from the Delhi Election results –

1. Sign of things to come for INC? It could be. Corruption, lack of governance, security lapses, policy paralysis (though not entirely their fault) has all resulted in an anti-congress wave across the nation. Will it impact the general elections in 2014? Time will tell. But the trend is surely going against them. The government has few months to come up with a revised plan for 2014 but the chances look slim.
2. Entry barrier reduced in Indian Politics – if you have a definite agenda and it resonates well with the people. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has had a wonderful debut. Significance of AAP in Delhi election is mentioned in detail here. There used to be a time when people said entering politics means to have support of any of the top parties (national or local). That has changed. If you have a strong intent to change the system and you know how to convey the same to the people in their own language, you can make a difference. AAP did it this time. They are not the single largest party in Delhi - BJP is - but they have ensured that the current government is removed from the helm.
3. Government cannot rest on their past laurels. They not only need to show results in 5 years, they also need to show consistency in their results. Yes, infrastructure has improved. Metro has been introduced, standard of living might have improved over 5 years but where was the consistency? What about inflation? What about security? One incident is all that’s needed to dent the performance. No government from now on - state or centre - should rest on their laurels.
4. Emergence of a stronger local faction. India is a country with 28 little countries within. They all have their own set of problems and the way people vote is not always anti-performance. There are caste-based voting, class based voting, popularity based voting and various other reasons people vote / don’t vote. This explains why we have local political parties emerging apart from 2 truly national parties – INC and BJP. I have a strong feeling that these parties will have a huge say in the general elections. Watch out for parties like Trinamool, SP / BSP, DMK / AIADMK, MNS, AAP. They might decide who will rule for next 5 years – INC, BJP or even the theoretical 3rd front.
5. Exit Polls are fairly accurate but lack purpose. There’s a general trend – if the exit polls are against you, rubbish it and if the exit polls predict your victory, people of India has responded! I personally believe exit polls exist to maintain the excitement of election till the results are declared. I fail to understand why we have a gap of minimum 3-4 days between election and results especially EVMs are used. Yes, there are logistic issues involved. It’s because of this delay that exit polls have sprung up. Let’s assume a scenario where voting happens till 6pm on a day and results declared by 9pm (to suit prime time news with insanely high advertisement cost). Isn’t that a win–win situation?

People have spoken in Delhi. Can the same people hum the same tune in 6 months’ time?

Dirty Linen season in Delhi

Delhi will elect their leader when they pinpoint their finger towards a certain party. The top parties include the Congress (current government) and BJP (current opposition). Had it been a two horse race as was initially expected, the mathematics would have been easy for everyone concerned. Add to this duo a new group by the name – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Now that’s three parties in the fray! Remember that adage – “Two’s a company, three’s a crowd”. Apt in this case, isn't it?

AAP has completely changed the dynamics of Delhi elections. So much so that even Congress and BJP are united in voicing their apprehensions against AAP. Enemy of an enemy is like a friend. And in a democratic country where parties form strange and different alliances every passing election, this situation is Delhi is not unprecedented.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. AAP has made a huge impact since the India against Corruption (IAC) crusade. Anna Hazare has been the forefront of this crusade which started immediately after India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011. Lokpal was conceptualized and eventually even the political parties started taking notice. Then an unfortunate thing happened - Divide. A certain faction of the IAC decided to be a part of the system to change the system. The faction was led by Arvind Kejriwal. The other faction, who was still led by Anna Hazare, decided against joining politics and IAC went kaput. Still the momentum carried by IAC now started continuing for the then newly formed AAP. AAP promised change. To be fair to other parties, who doesn’t promise change in today’s politics. However, AAP was different in the sense that people saw hope and a new corruption free India in the near future.

Still, Congress and BJP thought of AAP as a local new party who will not change the dynamics of Delhi. That was until the opinion polls started predicting a huge debut for AAP. If the opinion polls translate exactly to votes in election, there will be a hung assembly. This in itself is testimony of AAPs growth in such a short span.

Now the top parties started taking notice. Like a senior teaching juniors in college regarding how to behave in a new environment, there begun a lot of corruption charges against AAP candidates. A blog published against Arvind Kejriwal by IACs own blogger. A video grab of Anna and his followers expressing their unhappiness with IAC funds being used for elections. Then Anna wants Kejriwal to disband AAP and contest as an independent. And now we saw the sting operation against several AAP members. And have a look at the timing. All this is happening just weeks before the elections. Didn't we expect all this to happen? I, for one, expected. And it won’t stop here. If history is to be believed, there’s more to come.

There’s rising speculation that the two leading parties have ensured that the smaller one is eliminated before the elections – a typical political move to ensure one-on-one competition. The latest from the sting operation is that AAP got hold of the raw footage and has given their members clean chit! What a response. Politics at its very best! However, I am not writing this on the basis on speculation. Just plain facts we know and have heard from the media / other channels. Will people still trust AAP? Are they back to square one? Has the government selection now reduced to just 2 parties?

Oh, and by the way, don’t forget that None Of The Above (NOTA) is also applicable as an option.

What to expect in 2013?

2012 came and went by in a flurry. 2013 is now upon us. Each and everyone of us will be subject to changes. Some will get married this year. Some will have kids. Someone will get a promotion. Someone will leave the current job for greener pastures. Someone will relocate. Some of your friends will start blogging and you will support them. Some of your friends will stop blogging (I hate this part). And for some, life will be the same as it was in 2012.



Image courtesy: http://www.ereleases.com/

Socially, here's what I am interested to experience in 2013:

Sports:

• Cricket: I am eagerly waiting for India's home and away series in 2013 so that I can miss them and still remain content. Trust me, I used to be a big cricket fan. Once upon a time, I used to wake up at 2 in the morning to watch the India - West Indies test matches! But my priorities have now changed. Maybe thanks to soccer. But it doesn't matter to me anymore if India wins or loses, if the match is fixed, if Dhoni is removed as captain.
• Soccer: Lots to look forward to! My team Arsenal are going though mixed emotions as on date. We win convincingly, we lose tamely, we draw to opponents we should've won. But I love the experience. Sorry Cricket, Soccer has replaced you! It'll be interesting to see how the league table pans out. We are competing for a top 4 finish so that we enter the UEFA champions league.. again! Having said that, we are now not the team we used to be. Time to correct the wrongs this year.
• Formula-1: I hate the breaks between formula 1 seasons. I understand the break is needed to improve the car and be as competitive as the other cars. But why stop racing? Why not have a friendly racing season between, say, the top 4-5 drivers. It could be a 4-5 race friendly season. I, for one, would love to see Kimi Raikkonen in black and gold again! Speaking of Kimi, who know if this is the season for the Iceman!

Politics:

• General Elections: We are politically in a precarious position. Our government is not able to manage the country and we are going through evils like corruption, atrocities against women etc. Expect a late surge to have early elections from certain factions in opposition and from unofficial 3rd front. That's the problem with having a coalition government. Don't expect the future to be different if the opposition forms the government next term - as there is no single largest party in India.
• Aam Aadmi Party: Honestly, I was never a huge fan of his anti-corruption movement. I may be a minority here, but I seriously felt there's an inner purpose to the movement or a hidden party behind the movement. I have lost many friends when I tried to reason why Kejriwal is doing all this for his personal political career. I am tracking his strategy. I won't be surprised if he tries to support one party at the cost of other. And the group will be the 3rd front as he seems to be strongly against Congress and BJP. We are in for an interesting 2013 in Indian politics.

Bloggers Park (My Blog):

• Parenthood: As most of you are aware, I became a father last October. My daughter's name is Jiana. And am living a life of a parent - thouroughly enjoying! Priorities will have to change now. I guess there won't be as much posts as I used to publish in 2012. There will be some posts on parenthood though! I will give it a try.
• Photo-Blog: I have realized that to keep my blog active, I just need to write a 1000 words per post. And what better than a picture - as it already speaks a 1000 words! Expect some random pics and their random explanations in this year.
• Book-Reviews: I had a habit of reading books. But I thought reviews were not my cup of tea. Until I started writing reviews. I will try to read as many books as possible and provide reviews for the same.
• Reading: I love reading blogs too. That one will continue this year as well. No changes here.

Lot's happening. Lot's yet to happen. Let the events begin!

Dear Prime Ministerji..

I took an initiative to write an open letter to our respected Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. It's part of an initiative by Viewspaper. The initiative is called PMji Samjhoji. December 2nd is the day India will write to its Prime Minister.

Click here for the complete article

Please check the article and let me know your thoughts.

A Pawn dies.. Victory??

In the game of Chess, a pawn is considered as the one who's least powerful and its main intention is to serve the King's orders (metaphorically, of course). After the requirement is fulfilled, pawn usually dies. For a better good of the team. The opposition seldom considers this as victory.

On 21st November 2012, Ajmal Kasab was hanged. Rightfully so, I may add. The operation was secretly done to avoid any hostage like situation and backlash from human rights activists. But the bigger question here is, "Did we defeat terrorism?" and "Did we actually win?".  The answer is a plain and simple NO!

Image: Kind courtesy hillpost.in

Let's get the "apparent" victory in perspective. This is truly, and humbly, a victory for all those people who suffered on 26th November 2008 and are still suffering. Many soldiers of our country stood up to face terrorists and went down fighting. Its a victory for their families. Many survived to live the tale but are still not out of the trauma. Its a victory for them. Mumbai witnessed in shock as our city was taken hostage by terrorists and innocent citizens were brutally killed. Its a victory for Mumbai. Its also a victory for our country as we showed the world that despite what these terrorists did to us, we still allowed them a fair trial. We didn't respond to terrorism by terrorism. We showed the world that despite Ajmal Kasab's country didn't come forward to claim his body, we gave him a proper burial in our own soil. This is the country I live in.

However, I am concerned about the 'victory' some people are proclaiming. We still have a long way to go to bring the original perpetrators to justice. Terrorists are hiding in their own land and nothing is being done to catch hold of them. I don't blame the people of that land. They are victims of terrorism too! Unless, we get hold of the 26/11 mastermind and lay appropriate punishment as decided by our legal framework, victory is not ours. As I mentioned previously, this incident is just killing a pawn in the game of Chess. We have responded to our oppositions' moves. We have responded to terrorism. We have shown we are not tolerant and Mumbai spirit has a limit.

We have won the battle, but the war is still there to be won..

Arvind Kejriwal's (likely) political strategy

Since India won the ICC world cup in 2011, a storm has swept India. Storm of an 'anti-corruption' movement lead by a Gandhian in Anna Hazare. He was supported by people from various walks of life including Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi etc. It started with a bang and a clear target in mind - the ruling party - UPA. Some said it's acting as a front end of one of the opposing parties. RSS was one of the parties mentioned as supporting the 'anti-corruption' movement from the back-end. The ruling party hit back using the strategy known best to mankind - 'If the strength of your enemy lies in unity, try division'. Ironically, Congress slapped corruption charges to individual members of the new christened 'Team Anna'. Other members of the group, though providing support, stayed away from defending corruption charges. The strategy worked to an extent. Some group members garnered political aspirations while the leader had other ideas. Which lead to an unlikely event - split.

Team Anna (social group) became Team Kejriwal (political group). Anna's decision to stay clear of the political group suddenly dented Kejriwal and his supporters to enter politics in a big way.

There are two ways to look at Kejriwal's political move:

1. To change the system, you have to first be in the system. This adage says it all.
2. This was the expected climax of the now defunct 'Team Anna'. The idea was to involve as much people as possible, create awareness of 'anti-corruption' movement, blame politicians for being corrupt and eventually be a politician themselves.

Now I was left wondering about the next political step for Arvind Kejriwal. He seems to be a street-smart person with a long term future in Indian politics. There is a ruling party positioned on secularism and an opposition party positioned on Hindutva. There's an emerging third front whose ideologies doesn't belong to either of the top 2 groups. They are currently supporting the ruling party or opposition party or no one (like Trinamool Congress). Team Kejriwal has to fit in somewhere.

For the past one and a half years, Team Anna has targeted the Congress. The mandate is crystal clear. Hence, being a part of the Congress / UPA is out of question. That leaves BJP / NDA. This will add fuel to the earlier assumption of RSS supporting Team Anna's movement from behind. Other scenario would be to lend leadership to the emerging third front. Hey, its Indian politics, anything can happen.

Kejriwal's political strategy: Kejriwal has attacked the Congress family as part of his first big step. Robert Vadra was his first victim. The next big move involved Salman Khurshid. Then it was BJP's turn with Nitin Gadkari. Corporates had their moment in the sun too with Mukesh Ambani being targeted. Kejriwal cannot attack all the parties with corruption charges. He needs support in democracy. I foresee Kejriwal continuing the attack on Congress till the general elections with BJP playing catch-up and the third front waiting to strike when the iron is hot.

What it means:

1. Congress: Congress is definitely on the back foot here. They know their future is in serious jeopardy. Winning the next election is obviously their top priority. But with so much hate among Indian citizens and issues like price rise, corruption, a 'silent' PM, their chances are slim. They are giving their best shot though. Their weapon - FDI. Wonder how much impact will that have in the near future. Also, with small alliances demanding more, their majority is being questioned. Don't be surprised if there's an early election round the corner.
2. BJP: They have problems of their own. If UPA hasn't done their bit for the country as ruling party, NDA hasn't done their part as the opposition as well. Disrupting parliament never helps anyone. They also have their own leadership problems to sort now that Gadkari is in the line of fire. They are still clueless as to who will be their PM candidate. A problem of many leaders with PM ambitions. Kejriwal's party has come as a blessing in disguise for them. Having a common enemy in Congress is a huge boost although they don't know how to use this to their advantage.
3. Supposed 'Third Front': These are regional parties with votes that can swing the result either ways. They are the joker in the pack. Being a group of regional parties, they need a single leader who can contest in the centre. That's one opening Kejriwal could be exploring. However, I still don't believe they will have a significant impact in 2014 elections. But come 2019 (or maybe earlier), they will decide the ruling party. Maybe they will be the ruling party. 

Interesting times ahead for Indian politics.

PS: Writing about politics is risky business. Unless, of course, you have a clear mandate to support one party and / or criticize the other. I am not a supporter of Congress' way of leading the country nor BJP's supporter of Hindutva. And I definitely don't want the 'third front' to emerge. The party that preaches and delivers on good and steady governance with secular ideas will find one supporter in me (Utopian state though). Till that time happens, I will support the parties that I think are 'less corrupt of the lot'.

Motto of Indian Politicians: Stay Foolish, Stay Popular

One man, who can become the face of modern invention, made a startling statement - "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish". I respect him for the way he changed mobile devices with innovative features (sometimes 'inspired' by others) that made consumers nothing less than a King! That's Steve Jobs.

Indian politics, meanwhile, has raised the bar even higher. They also modified the adage. It's no longer "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish". Its now "Stay Foolish, Stay Popular". Based on some statements that our 'esteemed' politicians have made, there's no way for us to think otherwise. The issue in discussion is 'rape'. But, as I have always maintained, Indian politics is more 'issue-discussion' based than 'issue-eradication' based. Issues are not solved, they are just used to promote oneself to higher rungs of Indian politics. Here are some politicians (and a social group) who rose in the popularity charts for their utterly foolish statements.

Politician #1: She is the 11th and current Chief Minister of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. She is the first woman Railway Minister of India. In 2012, the Time magazine named her one of the "100 Most influential People in the World". She is popularly known as "Didi". Despite having such an influential profile, this is what she said:

"Earlier, parents would reprimand them if men and women held hands but now everything is done openly. It's like an open market with open options"

Politician #2: I have no idea who this politician is. I tried searching for "Dharambir Goyat" on Wikipedia and Wikipedia suggested I instead search for "Dharambir Goat". Seriously. Anyways, this guy is the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee member and Congress Hisar district spokesman. This spokesman spoke the following on the issue: 

"90 per cent of rape cases are (a case of) consensual sex between the girl and boy. The girl gets into an affair with a boy and she goes with him without knowing that he is of criminal mindset. It's not the state government which is responsible for rapes. Infact in most of the cases it is consensual sex" 

Politician #3: He is an Indian politician from the state of Haryana. He has been Chief Minister of Haryana on 4 occasions. he as been with the NDA and UPA on various occasions - a true politician. He is Om Prakash Chautala and this is what he said:

"We should learn from the past... specially in Mughal era, people used to marry their girls to save them from Mughal atrocities and currently a similar situation is arising in the state. I think that's the reason khap has taken such a decision and I support it."

And this is what the Khap Panchayat said - "Boys and girls should be married by the time they turn 16-year-old, so that they do not stray... this will decrease the incidents of rape"  

I understand the fact that India supports free speech. But if you are representing a community / constituency, you ought to make responsible and logical comments. Or if you are presenting your opinion, do so with approved facts. Sometimes being silent shows you are more matured than opening your mouth.

And NO, I don't blame them. I blame each and every one of us. After all, we elected them! We gave them a voice and a platform and they made statements that can only be termed as - Foolishness. A slap on our faces!

Image: Kind courtesy: www.sowetanlive.co.za/

Oh, and by the way, we haven't even discussed what the victim might be going through.