From “The Leader We Deserve” by Michael Kinsley…Although the article is about Obama, McCain and the US, it could have easily been written for India.
Peace and prosperity. During the last decade of the 20th century, Americans enjoyed more of both than any other people in history. Not all Americans, but most. Certainly most voters….Now both peace and prosperity seem uncertain.
…Through the fog of partisanship, we can acknowledge that both candidates are good men. But good isn’t enough. This time we need greatness.
Greatness is a compliment generally conferred in retrospect. We have lucked out several times in our history when implausible characters showed unexpected greatness when it was needed: a country lawyer from Illinois, a spoiled patrician in a wheelchair, to name two obvious examples. Even more miraculous (though troublesome for democracy), both Lincoln and F.D.R. were elected by promising more or less the opposite of what they did in office. Lincoln said he’d preserve the institution of slavery. F.D.R. said he’d balance the federal budget.
…unfortunately, our current political system seems designed to weed out precisely the qualities that are most needed at the moment.
One attribute we don’t need, although commonly associated with greatness in a leader, is empathy.
…What we need instead from a leader is astringency. Astringency means telling people what they don’t want to hear and leading them where they don’t want to go. It’s not comforting people about their current situation and reassuring them it will get better. It’s telling them that the situation is likely to get worse and that only their efforts can determine how soon it will start getting better.
…A second desirable quality of leadership, especially now, is toxic even to mention for its allegedly élitist overtones: intelligence. Not necessarily anything as crude as raw IQ scores…Call it intellectual curiosity, perhaps, or a willingness to engage with complicated ideas. …on balance it would be a plus to have a President who is smart. Maybe even really, really smart.
Related Posts:
Do we deserve the politicians we get?
Building a Freedom Team for India
Will an Obama-style campaign work in India?
November 11th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Miscellaneous, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
I am very happy to post this appeal from ADR re. the forthcoming elections (courtesy Nitin).
***
We all dream of an India in which our politicians are honest, public-minded, and deliver effective governance and development to citizens. While we all want to contribute to this dream, we do not know how…
Now is your chance to act!
With six State Assembly Elections scheduled for Nov/ December 2008, the Association for Democratic Reform (http://www.adrindia.org/home/index.asp) desperately needs your support with their national Election Watch effort.
Among other things, this effort will involve:
1) Assembling information on contesting candidates (criminal records, assets/liabilities, educational qualifications),
2) Monitoring election expenses incurred by electoral candidates and political parties,
3) Disseminating all this information to the public to help them make an informed choice, using a variety of channels such as media, SMS campaigns, e-mailers, etc
Most importantly, ADR is in the process of setting up a toll-free helpline to enable people to get candidate data and related information easily. Interested citizens from any of the six states going to the polls will be able to call into the hotline.
So, do your bit for the country! Volunteer with ADR for 8-10 hours a day over November/ December 2008. While you will receive a small honorarium to cover travel etc, you will - more importantly - have the satisfaction of knowing that you have contributed to a nationally crucial cause.
To volunteer and/ or to find out more, please contact:
Anil Bairwal
Tel: 91 11 6590 1524
Email: adr.delhi AT gmail.com; abairwal AT gmail.com
PS. A minimum commitment of 2 weeks is required.
November 5th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
2 comments
Brief excerpts from a three-part series on “Are Hindus Violent?” by Bandyopadhyay Arindam, courtesy iVarta (emphasis mine).
*** Excerpts Begin ***
…are the “nonviolent” Hindus taking recourse to violence? Do Hindus indulge in unprovoked violence? Even if provoked, is “Hindu” violence justifiable? Should Hindus retaliate and be revengeful? What is the Hindu scriptural dictate”?
During the Mahabharata war, according to the Bhagvat Gita, Lord Krishna revealed himself to Arjun and asked him to wage “dharma-yuddha”. Do we question the Lord for inciting Arjun into violence? Was Lord calling for revenge or was he merely advocating preservation of Dharma and the path of righteousness that befits Kshatriya Dharma? Arjun rightly feared the destruction but the Lord merely asked for right action guided by Dharma, not action tailored to outcomes of personal gain.
To make a nonviolent interpretation of the Gita, was what perhaps Mahatma Gandhi did, but that does not negate the need for necessary violence, without which we would not have any need for judiciary, police or armed forces. Protection of self is a necessity - all civil societies so agree. Nobody argues that nonviolence is a desirable quality….(but)…A malignant self-destructive nonviolence has been subtly allowed to sprout and mushroom in the collective psyche of the Hindus, and “inaction” has been deceptively euphemized as “tolerance” to destroy our righteous will. Our independence struggle has been almost totally credited to this Gandhian philosophy, which is a huge injustice to the large number of leaders and common people who have given up their lives for our freedom.
Have Hindus always been nonviolent? Don”t we believe that the “virtuous Devtas” always fought the “evil doing Asuras”? Wasn”t it a necessity for Lord Vishnu to incarnate repeatedly in the form of his various “avatars” to save the universe from evil forces? Wasn”t it required of Ram to kill Ravan for a just cause? Didn”t Krishna use his divine power right from childhood to slay the demons and “save the innocents” repeatedly?
It is devious to say that Sanatan Dharma preaches only “nonviolence”? It is equally wrong to claim that tolerance of atrocities and adharma is a virtue. On the contrary acceptance of “adharma” is not merely cowardice, it is also sinful. This is why Swami Vivekananda said, “if there is a sin, it is weakness”.
Does that make Hinduism the same as other religion in its approach to the concept of violence? The answer is no. Unlike the scriptural sanction of violence in propagation of some monotheistic faiths, Sanatan Dharma has no such parallel; it merely exhorts one to righteousness, which does not include propagation of one”s faith as the only true faith. This is a foundational difference which must never be lost sight of.
Keep Reading…
November 4th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
7 comments
*** CAUTION: LONG POST ***
My name is Shantanu Bhagwat. Some of you who are reading this know me…Most of you do not.
I am a partner in a venture capital firm in London. I have spent more than seven years at this firm…working with some very smart people, investing in a few fascinating ideas and meeting some truly talented people …
Prior to Amadeus, I worked briefly at another great firm…Monitor Co. Some of you may know of Monitor as Michael Porter’s firm. Others may have heard of Monitor’s blue-chip connections.
And before Monitor, I was part of India’s “charmed circle” - the civil services – as a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service…During the time that I was in the IFS, were the several years I spent in Japan. That was also where my daughter was born. Japan will always have a special place in my heart.
But this post is not about Japan. It is about India.
Compared to a vast majority of my fellow citizens, I have had a privileged existence – at least for the past many many years…And I was also extremely fortunate to have the opportunities to realise my potential…
Many of our fellow citizens are denied this opportunity. For them, the doors to a better, brighter future are shut…for them, the joy of achievement is something that they may never experience.
For them, each day is a monumental struggle, each moment a study in despair, frustration and hopelessness…
It does not have to be like that.
I belong to a very rich and blessed country…Yet my fellow Indians are destitute and miserable.
Have you ever paused to think why? Have you ever paused to think what can you do about it? Have you ever paused to think how can this be changed?
Until a few years ago, whenever I had thoughts like these, I used to talk to a few friends, make a few phone calls, find something worthwhile that someone was doing and make a charitable contribution…
I could then sleep peacefully at night – believing that I had done my bit for my country…Isn’t charity very uplifting and ennobling?
Gradually it dawned on me that charity will not solve this problem – it cannot. I realised that the roots of our poor development, the suffering of millions, the pain and the despair that the vast majority face everyday were elsewhere.
*** Identifying the roots of the problem ***
It was becoming clearer to me that India’s *fundamental problem* was poor governance and bad policies… and there was only one way to change that…Fortunately that way did not require a bloody revolution.
One of the “blessings” of being an Indian is to belong to a democracy, to a system where change can be brought about by popular will – and does not have to be forced down the barrel of a gun…
But living amidst freedom, amidst a free society, entails responsibilities and duties…somewhere along the way, we – the healthy, educated and fortunate citizens of India - began to take the “fruits” of freedom (free speech, individual liberties, rule of law) for granted and forgot the responsibilities that these entailed…
Responsibility to think about our policies, responsibility to participate in the political process, responsibility to act…
For this, I do not blame the vast majority of our population whose life is a daily struggle for survival and basic dignity…You cannot think of policy on an empty stomach…and you cannot feel patriotic as you walk miles to get a “haandi” of “drinkable” water…
But what about you and me? You and me who are most likely reading this sitting somewhere comfortable, with our stomachs full, with enough bread on the table, enough food in the refrigerator, enough water to have a bath twice a day if you want?
What about you and me who are fortunate but shy away from thinking about the unfortunate?
What about you and me whose stomachs are full but who salve their conscience by donating to charity?
What about you and me whose response to misery has so coarsened that looking away from a beggar is no longer a conscious activity but a reflex action?
What about you and me who only feel patriotic on 15th August and possibly 26th January?
What about us?
Why don’t we think about what is wrong with our policies? our governance?
What can possibly cause starvation deaths in a country that produces enough food for its billion-plus population?
What can possibly cause farmers to attempt suicide and sell their daughters for a few dollars?
How can it be water is actually “sold” in Cherrapunji – which receives the highest rainfall anywehe in the country?
How can it be that we can launch satellites in space but cannot ensure a basic dignity of life to the millions who are our poor?
*** The way forward ***
These questions began to trouble me…and have been haunting me for the past few years.
Alongside, there were other issues…many issues that made me feel angry, helpless, frustrated and dejected…
During the last few months, it felt that this cycle of anger, frustration, despair and deep desire to do something radically different was being repeated ever few days…
Reading the news every morning used to make the stomach turn or cause my blood pressure to rise…Every discussion about India came to be tinged with bitterness, anger and rage…until I stopped discussing “politics” with friends completely.
My only solace was my semi-anonymous blog and a few internet groups where I found kindred souls..
Then something happened…
Almost unconsciously, I felt the change…
I still remember the triggers…The first was probably the shameful perversion of democracy on the floor of the house on 22nd July. In response to my post on this subject, Sanjeev Sabhlok challenged everyone to either rise and do something about it or shut up.
That shook me to the core….it hurt ..but it probably hurt even more because it was true…
How long can we wail and beat our chests about the rot, the decay in the system? How long can we continue to cry about the despair and the frustration it generates? How long will we contend ourselves with post-dinner discussions and wake up the next morning pretending (or worse, forgetting) that everything was really OK?
The second trigger were the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad…Ironically, I had been to both these cities just a few days before…But strangely it did not feel like I had cheated death…
I tried to remember when was the last time I had felt really close, very close to being scared…
Regular readers of my blog (and friends) noticed the change in me…one even said, they could feel my anger by reading the posts on the blasts.
I was glad that my feelings had found an outlet…but this was not enough…clearly a lot more needed to be done…
Somewhere down the line, sometime in the last few weeks, these feelings turned into something positive – a positive determination to do something…a positive determination to bring about change…a positive determination that we will succeed.
Other events and things happening around me, helped make the decision…I watched with awe and fascination as the Obama campaign changed the paradigm of fund-raising in the US by reaching out at the grassroots… I began to read about interesting experiments that were happening around “crowd-funding”.
I realised that I had to think differently – almost like an entrepreneur - here…what I had was an idea and a grand vision that could change the world…now I needed to make that happen…
I tried to distil down all the years of insight, experience, things I had learnt sitting on the other side of the table.
I began to think how could a group of committed and passionate people break the mould?
How could we change the paradigm of popular politics, of vote-banks, electoral compromises and sub-serving of national interest? How could we take this powerful idea - an idea of changing India – and actually make it work?
Success in this “venture” may not make any of us super-rich but it will put India on a vastly different growth trajectory…I realised that if we did succeed, we will have a chance to make the 21st century, India’s century and help India reclaim her rightful place of pride in the community of nations…
…and even if we failed, it will not be for want of trying…
But this is not about the risks of failure…it is not about failure at all…This is about determination…a determination to change the way things are…a determination to create opportunities for our fellow citizens…a determination to try and do our best so that millions may live better…
This is about determination to “Change India”…and it is about hope…
Hope that many will support us…Hope that we are not alone…Hope that the time has come…Hope that when the going gets tough, we will not loose heart or courage…Hope that even in darkness, we will be able to carry the light in our souls…
And it is about belief…Belief and faith in ourselves…and the strength of our convictions.
For me, this is a defining moment, there is now no turning back.
.
Next: “Changing India: One Step at a Time”
October 30th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Corruption in India, Miscellaneous, Personal, Politics and Governance in India |
26 comments
UPDATE: Pl. Read Coming Out of the Closet – Who is B Shantanu?
Dear Friends and loyal readers,
Some of you may have noticed that I have been a bit slow in my postings and responses to comments over the last few days. This is because I have been doing some serious introspection and thinking very hard about what I want to do for the next few years of my life…
I am very close to making a final decision…I will share that with everyone in the next one or two days.
To have any chance of making it work, I will need your support and encouragement. More on this soon.
UPDATE: More on this here: Coming Out of the Closet – Who is B Shantanu?
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
Shantanu
October 30th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
4 comments
Dear All, pl. continue the robust discussion on “Why are Christian Missionaries targeting India - III” below.
I have reproduced the last four comments for the sake of continuity. Please continue the discussion via comments to this post.
*** Comments from Why are Christian Missionaries targeting India - III ***
# ‘42,000 converted, only two followed law’
KANDHAMAL (Orissa): There has been a 66 percent growth in Christian population in Orissa’s Kandhamal region, which has seen attacks on Christians and churches. Of the 42,353 who adopted Christianity between 1991 and 2001, only two followed law to change religion.
According to data available with the district collectorate, the Christian population in Kandhamal was 117,950 in the 2001 census, up from 75,597 a decade earlier.
“The Christian growth rate in the district is 66 percent as against 18.6 percent for the overall population growth in the district,” District Collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.
Of the over 650,000 people in the troubled district, at least 53 percent are tribals, less than 20 percent Christians. Of the nearly 118,000 Christians, a majority has converted from Dalit families.
more here.
Comment by Bharat | October 27, 2008
# Crime Branch sleuths chasing Congress RS Member Radhakant Nayak
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
By Anurjay Dhal
Bhubaneswar: Congress Rajya Sabha member Radhakant Nayak is on run. If unconfirmed reports are to be believed, Nayak, alleged villain behind Swami Laxmananda Saraswati’s murder, is in trouble.
Crime Branch of Orissa Police looking into the brutal murder of noted Hindu saint has reportedly listed name of Nayak as an accused, who is very close to Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi for his Church back-ground and searching him in several areas for his role.
Sources pointed out that police might lay it hand either on Radhakant Nayak or his men. Nayak, a former bureaucrat, was considered the chief patron of Pana Christians and protector of the Church in the district.
However some adverse IB report against him came as a hurdle. In 2004 he was elected to Rajya Sabha on Congress ticket. Hindutava forces always suspected his hand behind the killing. Alleged involvement of Nayak would also help BJP to target Sonia Gandhi.
more here.
Comment by Bharat | October 28, 2008
# …On the other hand, Swami Vidyanand is white and Bhakti Swami Thirtha Krishnapad is an African American but are revered by all Hindus, regardless of race. There is no talk of white swami or African American swami.
My take: ISKCON have brown, white, black, etc Swamijis, and devotees from all color spectrums, race, nationality, languages. And they are nobodys concern, but the devotion and love to Krishna.
========
Christian church is obsessed with race
Published:Oct 26, 2008
The Times
It is a white supremacist mindset that claims “Pope Benedict XVI has created India’s first woman saint”.
Sister Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception is not “India’s first woman saint” but the first Christian, or more specifically Catholic, woman saint in India. India has many woman saints belonging to the homegrown faiths.
If race consciousness were not so pronounced in the Christian church, especially the Catholic church, she would have been a saint for the entire Catholic world.
After all, the media did not refer to Mohammed Siddique Khan, the mastermind of the London bombings of July 7 2005, as a British terrorist (although he was born in Britain) but as an Islamic terrorist.
Similarly, a Catholic saint, even if born in India, is a Catholic saint, not an Indian saint.
For instance, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, although he resided in the West for a great number of years, was always described in the media as an Indian Rishi, Yogi, spiritual master, etc.
On the other hand, Swami Vidyanand is white and Bhakti Swami Thirtha Krishnapad is an African American but are revered by all Hindus, regardless of race. There is no talk of white swami or African American swami.
Another noteworthy example of the Christian obsession with race was the picture of former Miss Deaf World, the lovely Candice Morgan, sporting a symbol of Hindu affirmation, the bindi, on her forehead. On April 15 2007, in an interview on the TV1 programme Spirit Sundae, Morgan stated that she was a Christian.
Many Indian Christians have taken to sporting such symbols of Hindu affirmation in the new South Africa in order to repackage their racism as culture, in order to segregate themselves from Christians of other races, especially black Christians.
Some Indian Christians no longer want to be buried in what used to be called “sanctified ground” but choose to enter the Christian heaven via the back door, the Clare Estate Hindu Crematorium, previously regarded as a “demonic” place! These are the clever ways of racism. — REALITY CHECK
http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=870299
Comment by Bharat | October 28, 2008
# Hi to all
Check this website
Comment by Indian | October 28, 2008
Related Posts:
“Why have Missionaries chosen to attack India?”
“Why are Christian Missions targetting India?” - II
Why are Christian Missionaries targeting India - III
October 28th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Conversions, Missionaries in India, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Miscellaneous |
14 comments
|| श्री ||
असतो मा सद्गमय | तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ||
मृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमय | ॐ शांति शांति शांति ||
Asato maa Sat gamaya, Tamaso maa Jyotir gamaya
Mrityor maa Amritam gamaya, Om Shaanti Shaanti Shaanti.
On the auspicious occasion of Deepavali, here is wishing you and your loved ones a very joyous festive season. May the coming year bring all of you good health, happiness and prosperity.
*Image courtesy: Dinesh Pratap Singh
October 27th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
12 comments
Thanks to Richa, BlogEditor of SiliconIndia, my posts will now also be available on SiliconIndia
Direct link to blog here.
For those of you who may not be familiar with SiliconIndia, it is one of the largest India-focused community sites boasting of a memberhsip of 1 million+ professionals with almost 10k active bloggers!
I am proud to be part of this community and look forward to interacting with readers of SiliconIndia.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
Related Post:
I am on Alltop!
October 19th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
5 comments
First this weekend, a post by Sandeep in which he explains why Aravind Adiga’s ”White Tiger” is award-winning India-bashing. To Sandeep’s analysis, I would add this nugget (Hat Tip: Sh Kak; emphasis mine)
Michael Portillo, chairman of the five-member judging panel, praised The White Tiger…
“What set this one apart was its originality,” Portillo said. “For many of us this was entirely new territory — the dark side of India.
“It’s a book that gains from dealing with very important social issues — the divisions between rich and poor and the impossibility of the poor escaping from their lot in India.”
Next, a fascinating scheme involving “naked” streets (i.e. streets without road signs, traffic lights etc) being trialled in London which suggests that the apparently mindless chaos on Indian roads may actually be saving lives and increasing road-safety!
Brief excerpts from all the articles below:
.
Keep Reading…
October 18th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Conversions, Missionaries in India, Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentations about India, Miscellaneous |
one comment
Here is a grim and sad reminder of Bharat’s under-development and how poor governance, bad policies and corruption have conspired to turn a land praised by Bankim Chandra as “सुजलां सुफलां...” into a country with “alarming” levels of hunger. 
Courtesy IFPRI, ”The Challenge of Hunger 2008” (via BBC) which has the following depressing statistics about hunger in India:
- India ranks 66 out of 88 countries on the 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI).
- India is home to the world’s largest food insecure population, with more than 200 million people who are hungry.
- All Indian states have at least a “serious” level of hunger; there is not a single state with low or even moderate levels.
- Twelve states fall into the “alarming” category and one (Madhya Pradesh) is considered to have an “extremely alarming” level of hunger.
As the report notes, economic development has not necessarily translated into lower hunger levels and reduction in malnutrition:
…the report identified that strong economic growth does not necessarily translate into lower hunger levels. Even states with high rates of economic growth in recent years, such as Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, have high levels of hunger, while states with relatively slower economic growth, such as Punjab, achieved a lower hunger level.
As you sit down to have your meal today, please spare a moment’s thought for these unfortunate millions…and please think how we can alleviate at least some of their pain and misery.
Here is the sobering Hunger Map, courtesy IFPRI:
You can download the full report here (413k).
* From “Vande Mataram”. Roughly translated as ”…(You are blessed with) Richness in water resources, plenty of fruits (and forest resources)”; also “…Rich with thy hurrying streams, bright with orchard gleams…”
Adjacent Posts:
Loot - in search of East India Co. (excerpts)
“Biharnomics” Examined
October 15th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Miscellaneous |
one comment
As I chanced upon this news-item yesterday, “Five cops…suspended…nexus between cops and the drug mafia“, I was reminded of this article from earlier this week: Vulnerable India faces a new threat by Ramtanu Maitra in which he wrote, “…India is becoming increasingly unstable…(and) the latest source of instability is the growing inflow of drugs and the establishment of drug-trafficking networks inside India…”
Sh. Maitra cited the latest report (March ‘08) of the International Narcotics Control Board which mentioned (that): “…the use of courier services for drug trafficking is on the rise in India, and the country is increasingly being used as a major transit as well as destination country for smuggling of banned substances…”
While the International Narcotics Control report did not go into any details about drug trafficking in India, the increasing prevalance of drugs in the border areas and rise in drug trafficking is well documented…
Alongside Goa, Rajasthan and Himachal are fast becoming major transit areas for movement of drugs within and outside India.
In pristine Himachal, the roots of drug smuggling can be traced to the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which led to “settlement of displaced Afghans in Kullu” and consequently “…to the first planned business in trade and cultivation of narcotics in that area. Afghan settlers preferred the hilly terrain of Kullu-Manali for climatic reasons. They gradually developed links with local youths, and soon heralded the era of “smack, heroin, and brown sugar” in that region…” [ link ].
Manali’s links with the drug trade have been known for at least a few years now as is the heavy presence of Israelis in the region. According to this report in The Hindu, the Israeli government …”has established a camp in Manali town of Himachal Pradesh to rescue their citizens from becoming drug addicts and educate them about their religion.”
Keep Reading…
October 10th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Miscellaneous, Politics and Governance in India |
3 comments
From Some Hard Questions (Hat Tip: Sh Kak), comes this extraordinary account of how even the basic facts about the Jamia Nagar operation are proving to be difficult to reconcile if one goes by the accounts in different newspapers…
On Friday last week, the Delhi Union of Journalists released a critique of media reporting of the Batla House Police Operation, from which these excerpts (pl. do read in full):
Extracts from the DUJ report
…We wish to underline that accuracy in reporting facts is the first responsibility of the media. Where facts are disputed, the discrepancies should be pointed out and the sources questioned. Presenting several versions of incidents and using multiple sources of information is an inalienable part of credible reporting.
We also emphasise that uncovering the truth may not always be the job of the media. The media is not equipped to investigate and uncover the truth in severely complicated cases like the incident being examined in the report.
But presenting different facets of events as they emerge is part of the professional responsibility of the media.
In this report we have analysed the reporting of the Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Indian Express (Delhi editions of September 20 and 21, 2008). Among the Hindi newspapers we have examined Dainik Jagaran, Amar Ujala, Dainik Hindustan, Jansatta, Punjab Kesari and Rashtriya Sahara; the Urdu newspaper we looked at is Rashtriya Sahara.
We wish to make it clear that we hold no brief for either the police or the suspects, two of whom have been killed and several rounded up. We are not passing a judgment on whether it was a planned encounter or a fake encounter or a police operation gone wrong. We do not know the truth. We are only examining the professional conduct of our co-professionals with a view to pointing out the casual manner in which serious issues have been handled right from the day of the serial bomb blasts in Delhi.
A research team of the DUJ decided to examine the way in which the print media reported the police operation on September 19, 2008, at L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar in Delhi in which two alleged terrorists and one inspector of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police were killed. We have attempted in this report to first state the facts as they were reported and then analyse the language employed and the views expressed while reporting and commenting on this highly sensitive and contentious incident.
Analysis of Newspaper Reports dated September 20, 2008
The facts first.
1. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police killed.
2. Two young boys, Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid, killed.
3. Mohammed Saif arrested.
The rest of the facts regarding the police operation at L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar, Delhi on Sept. 19, 2008 are uncertain. Although the incident took place in the capital of India and all the newspapers and TV channels used the same source, the Police, even the basic facts are not in place. Every daily newspaper and television channel seems to have its own set of ‘facts’ and often these contradict each other. Accuracy seems to have been sacrificed in the rush to be first with the news and provide the more sensational coverage. Let us examine how the incident was reported in the Delhi editions of the dailies.
The Time of the Shootout:
The Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran have given the time as 11 a.m. The Indian Express, quoting a resident, says the first shot was fired around 9.45 a.m. The Times of India report does not mention any time. Mail Today says it began at 11a.m. The Hindi Hindustan report would have us believe that it all began at 10.30 a.m. Amar Ujala says firing began around 10.45 a.m. and lasted till 11 a.m.
The Duration of the Shootout:
The Hindustan Times says the shootout lasted 15 minutes whereas its Hindi publication, Dainik Hindustan, says it lasted 90 minutes. According to the TOI, the entire encounter took 25 minutes. Mail Today says the operation lasted 30 minutes. The Veer Arjun says the shootout lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. Rashtriya Sahara, Urdu, claims that the shooting lasted nearly two hours. Amar Ujala says the encounter lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes. Punjab Kesari claims that the encounter lasted one hour.
Keep Reading…
October 7th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Indian Media, Miscellaneous |
12 comments
Last week, responding to a petition to ban a history textbook, the Supreme Court asked Delhi University’s expert panel to consider the views of petitioners before submitting a final report to the Vice-Chancellor.
As some of you would know, the textbook - prescribed as part of the BA (Hons) second year syllabus at Delhi University - is said to include offensive references to Shri Hanuman and Sita Mataa such as “Lord Hanuman was a henchman of Lord Rama” and “the little monkey was a womaniser” etc…The book was the cause of a protest led by ABVP earlier this year during which Dr Jafri, the Head of History Deptt at DU was manhandled…
Curious to know more about the textbook, I spent some time researching on the internet this morning…Here is a link to Ramanujan’s essay that is included in the textbook…
After reading it, I felt that the ABVP over-reacted on this one… The “offensive” passages are not penned by Ramanujan but are part of folklore and stories around Ramayana in different cultures and regions. Furthermore, I found them more “entertaining” rather than “offensive”…As an example,
One day when Rama was sitting on his throne, his ring fell off. When it touched the earth, it made a hole in the ground and disappeared into it. It was gone. His trusty henchman, Hanuman, was at his feet. Rama said to Hanuman, “Look, my ring is lost. Find it for me.”
Note that the word “henchman” is not Ramanujan’s translation and possibly part of the original folk-story…What is the problem in that? In another version of Ramayana mentioned by Ramanujan, Sita is Ravana’s daughter…
I hope most of you would agree that there is space for divergent views in Hinduism…and a big attraction of this faith for me is that it allows - and respects - alternative interpretations, viewpoints and thoughts….Let us not dilute this core feature of Sanatan Dharma.
***
On Sunday in far-away London, the home of the publisher of a similarly controversial book (although this was not a textbook but a fictional novel) was fire-bombed, just “hours after police had warned the man that he could be a target for fanatics”. The book, “The Jewel of Medina” is written by Sherry Jones and had already caused controversy in the US. Martin Rynja (the publisher) had bought the UK publishing rights earlier this month.
From The Guardian:
The book was originally due to have been published in August by US giant Random House. But amid controversy the company halted publication, a move denounced by Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, as ‘censorship by fear’.
…One sex scene has been described as ’softcore pornography’ by an American academic, Denise Spellberg, an influential professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas. Spellberg made the comments after Random House sent her the book hoping for a favourable comment to publish on its jacket. Instead, in an email that was leaked to the US press, Spellberg described the novel as a ‘very ugly, stupid piece of work’.
‘I don’t have a problem with historical fiction,’ Spellberg wrote. ‘I do have a problem with the deliberate misinterpretation of history. You can’t play with a sacred history and turn it into softcore pornography.’
It appears Spellberg was instrumental in drawing attention to the book among segments of the Muslim community. In April, Shahed Amanullah, an editor of a popular Muslim website, claimed Spellberg had told him the book ‘made fun of Muslims and their history’.
The resulting furore prompted Random House to pull the book, a move that dismayed its author, who received a $100,000 advance…
My question to all of you is:
What do you make of Spellberg’s argument viz: “‘I don’t have a problem with historical fiction (but)…I do have a problem with the deliberate misinterpretation of history. You can’t play with a sacred history…”
- Is “Ramayana” part of our sacred history?
- Can the folk-variants of Ramayana be considered ”deliberate mis-interpretation” of history?
Anyways, I will be watching the reaction of Indian government to this book whenever (if) it is released in India.
Suggested Reading: Academic Terrorists and The right to offend
Related Posts:
Leave Ashis Nandy alone
UPDATED: Is Taslima being treated differently from MF Husain?
Will Arundhati Roy pl. stand up for Francois Gautier?
P.S. Curiously, it appears that DU had not taken permission from OUP before reproducing Ramanujan’s essay in their textbook.
October 1st, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Indian Culture, Arts and Music, Miscellaneous, Women in Hinduism & India |
12 comments
Those of you old enough to be online in the early part of this century would remember a site called “GoodNewsIndia“. I was reminded of the site in a completely different context (during the course of a call this afternoon) and decided to check it out…which led me to the amazing discovery of “pointReturn”
GoodNewsIndia was dedicated to publicising grass-roots initiatives that were directly improving the lives of millions in India. Many of these stories were of unsung heroes and little known tales of ingenuity and dedication…
A few years ago, Sh D V Sridharan (publisher and editor of GoodNewsIndia) got involved with a land restoration project…What happened next is best told in his own words…
*** The Story of pointReturn ***
…In 1980 I had the same urge as I did in 2003 and now again, in May,2006. Bereavements seem to nudge me to return to land in a fundamental way.
In 1980 I heeded the call. I was a total illiterate in the ways of nature. I was a mere refugee running away from a heart-break. Shaku, my wife had died in 1978. We were both 36 and in the event, something snapped inside me. I wanted time-out to ruminate.
I bought 6.5 acres of barren sands by the sea near Chennai [-then known as ‘Madras’] and groped my way towards greening it. I built a sail windmill to pump water, endured -and enjoyed- being without electricity, money or a social life. The silent spaces and the coconut and other trees inching their way up made enough amends.
Magically, money, friendships, learning and a new confidence began to arrive. I realised that far from me growing the trees, they were growing me. I growed.
Keep Reading…
September 29th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Indian Economy, Miscellaneous |
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