Outrage over ‘raincoat’ comment – how Congress is trying to re-write history

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During 2009-2014, Manmohan Singh presided over a regime that saw scams of all hues and proportions. As a Prime Minister, he didn’t act promptly to stop these scams, and in fact is accused of helping in some cases. What we saw under his tenure is described best by a term he himself coined – organised loot and plunder.

While the loot largely happened during the second term, Manmohan Singh undermined the dignity and constitutionality of the office of the Prime Minister for full ten years where the PMO was reduced to executing orders of NAC under Sonia Gandhi – something that is corroborated by the PMO files. Continue reading

This TV ad explains the importance of ‘appearing’ liberal

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This thought had struck me more than a year ago, when I saw this particular television advertisement. Then the ad slowly disappeared from TV screens. However, I saw it again during the recent India-England cricket series. So hitting a mauke pe chauka, I thought to pen my thoughts finally.

First, take a look at the ad: Continue reading

Why Rahul Gandhi will continue to copy Arvind Kejriwal’s antics

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Back in December 2013, when AAP made an impressive debut in electoral politics and went on to form a 49 days long government in Delhi with the outside support of Congress, Rahul Gandhi had said that he will learn from the success of AAP.

And it appears that he was dead serious, even though people take his statements in jest. In the last couple of years, Rahul Gandhi has been doing everything AAP has done, or rather Kejriwal has done. Continue reading

Hindustan Times shutting down editions – it’s dangerously lazy to blame demonetisation

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A couple of days back, some people on Twitter posted about speculations over Hindustan Times closing down several of its city editions. On the same day, reports claimed that Hindustan Times had decided to shut down its business bureau. Now it appears that both the speculations about the paper shutting down some of its city editions and its business bureau are correct, as the media company has not issued any denial so far.

As per a ‘leaked’ letter being circulated, the newspaper has decided to close down its Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore, and Ranchi editions. It’s not yet clear what happens to the journalists employed for these editions i.e. whether they would be absorbed into the main business or would be laid off. If chatter among the media community is to be believed, most probably they are going to lose their jobs. Continue reading

Narendra Modi has forgotten the 2014 elections, and this is why he has done that

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In May 2014, Narendra Modi recorded an unprecedented victory in the history of contemporary India. I have deliberately called it a Modi victory rather than a BJP or NDA victory, because it indeed was victory of a personality called Narendra Modi.

While hardly anyone gave Congress any chance of it returning to power, and people talked about Modi wave, no one knew about this Modi tsunami that would strike the pollsters, some “intellectuals”, and of course, the Congress party.

People just couldn’t stop talking about 2014 after the results were out. Well, even otherwise it was a hotly debated election, but the results made it burning hot. How it happened, why it happened, does this change India forever, and all kinds of things were discussed.

Whether Modi haters or his ‘bhakts’ – both love to go back to the last general elections, and remind or warn each other that it will repeat or it will not repeat in 2019. Books were written and are still being written about the 2014 elections.

It’s been around 30 months now, but it appears that most people can’t get over the 2014 verdict yet.

Except one man – Narendra Modi himself. Continue reading

A short passage on ‘introspection’ from a ‘right winger’ to ‘liberals’

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“The meaning of nationalism has been reduced to a joke by fans of this regime. Anyone criticising the government is branded anti-national. This is a dangerous trend that can’t be good for healthy democracy at all.”

So said a self-declared liberal person. And it’s not a new grouse. This has been being repeated ever since the JNU incident came to light in the beginning of this year, where the government unwittingly made a lout like Kanhaiya Kumar a hero for the self-declared liberals. Continue reading

Why the so-called liberals forced Paytm to take off an ad

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In India, more than being a liberal – where you are willing to accommodate dissenting voices – it is important to appear a liberal – where you shout every hour that you’re liberal and thus drown out the dissenting voices.

This shouting is a form of virtue signalling that helps people with otherwise sad credentials to aspire for respectability in a particular social circle.

And a lot of so-called liberals indulged in collective shouting yesterday after mobile wallet brand Paytm released an ad that hurt their guilty conscience. Continue reading

This is why bodies like Muslim Personal Law Board oppose Uniform Civil Code

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One of the oft-repeated arguments put forward against Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is that this is against the fundamental right to practice one’s religion. It is argued that the act of the state to legislate in matters, which ought to be governed through religious texts, is an attack on religious freedom.

Outwardly it might appear so, but in practice, UCC doesn’t take away any religious freedom. Yes, it takes away the rights of religious bodies to control a group – and that’s why those who fancy themselves as representatives or leaders of a religion are opposing it – but it doesn’t strip an individual his freedom to follow certain religious practices or rules. Continue reading

The problem with ‘reforms must come from within among minorities’ argument

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Last week, the government took a stand in the Supreme Court against triple talaq, arguing that such practices were regressive and needed reconsideration. Around the same time, the Law Commission of India issued an appeal (pdf link) seeking public consultation on the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Continue reading

The ‘problem’ with Islam – a short analysis

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Every religion has broadly three aspects:

Mystical: Pertaining to mythology and supernatural aspects of religion. This could be the basis of creativity as well as of blind faith and non-scientific temper.

Socio-political: Pertains to how the society should behave and be governed. This aspect gives rise to civil and criminal laws and deals with people on an aggregate level.

Philosophical: Pertains to ideas like ethics and morality. The socio-political aspect is in a way dependent on this, after factoring time, and together they form culture. Continue reading