Anonymous is an Idea

Sometime back I was able to speak to “Smart”, who is the founder of Anonymous, Romania. And this is what he said about the why, who and what they are all about. 

Q.What is Anonymous? Some say it is a group of hackers yearning for publicity.

A.First of all, you are wrong about Anonymous saying that it is a group of individuals who are hacking. "Anonymous is an idea. Anonymous is you, is me, is every single one of us who fights in every way for a better world. A free, uncensored, world."

Q.How do someone becomes a part of it?

A. Anyone can be part in the things what we do, just join the network! Get in touch with me and my brothers.

RTI lacks teeth to enforce its orders- Chief Information Commissioner

Interview with Satyanand Mishra, Chief Information commissioner, Central Information Commission (CIC). Satyanand Mishra talks about more power for a greater efficiency in implementing RTI.

As CIC chief, do you think RTI need more teeth to make it stronger?

The RTI right now lacks teeth to enforce and make sure that its orders are followed. In most of the cases the officials are reluctant to part with information. And we have limited power because of which departments sometime does not takes our orders seriously.  More power is needed to make sure that CIC /SIC orders are followed.

As has been demanded by some section of the society and politicians like Nitish Kumar, do you think that the corporate/ private companies should also come under the purview of RTI?

Right now the focus should be on consolidating the gains made by the RTI during all these years. Widening its ‘reach’ to include private sector will make it difficult to manage its operation in an effective way. Once a certain level of effectiveness is reached in government sector, it should be made applicable to the private sector. But currently, its reach and effectiveness is something that is still unfolding.

You said that you are opposed to the creation of Jan Lokpal?

Yes I opposed the creation of Jan Lokpal in its present form because it will be impractical to implement it. My experience as a bureaucrat has taught me that it will be impossible for a single body to keep vigil on the entire government from PM to peon. The Janlok pal in its present form will be a huge organization. Who will keep tab on its own employees?

The exuberance of Sukma collector and the security failure

Jagdalpur/Sukma

Even though there is a lot of resentment among the common people against the maoist over the abduction of Sukma district Alex Paul Menon but still many feel that this was an incident which could have been avoided had police and the collector himself been more careful.

According to locals the police protection provided to Menon who was abducted by the maoist as he was listening to villagers in Keralapal during the Gram Suraj Abhiyan was absolutely negligible. He was only provided with two gunmen, Kisan Kujur and Ahmed, both of whom were shot dead by the maoist which had woman members too.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Satyanarayan Sharma said that if more protection was given to the officer who was posted in a maoist hotbed then the incident would not have happened. “I was in Sukma two days before he was abducted and  it was visible that adequate protection was not being given to the officers who were involved in the Gram Suraj Abhiyaan.”

This was admitted by a senior police official in Police Head quarters Raipur. “Security failure did happen. On Friday just a day before Menon’s abduction the maoist had done a land mine blast in which threepeople were killed. This should have alerted the police and the threat perception should have been reviewed, which was not done.”

A police sources said that even the Intelligence Bureau had given the state government inputs that the maosits are going to target bureaucrats.

The source added  that lapse on the part of the security cover made Menon a soft target. “There was negligence on the part of the police.” The same sentiments were echoed by journalists who have been following the event. They however added that the fault lies with Menon too. “He is an IAS officer and he should have realized that he was a high value target and taken necessary precaution. Now the state government will pay the price of his carelessness by releasing hard core maoists”.

The place from where Menon was abducted at around 4.30 PM is close to a CRPF camp that is located just 3 Km away but even then also the maoist could easily come and execute their plan. He was accompanied by other senior officials of the district including the SDM,CEO, BEO, none of whom were even touched by the maoist who had obviously come with a fixed target in mind.

Karan Singh a local politician that the town is still to come in terms with the event that has suddenly made Sukma a house hold name. “Menon joined here only three months back and this was his first posting. Why adequate protection was not provided to him is something that only the officials can say.”

Sukma Live

Reenactment of the popular 2010 Bollywood movie ‘Peepli Live” which took a dig at the electronic media is taking place in Sukma from where Alex Paul Menon was abducted by the maoists.

The sudden convergence of media personals, police and politicians to this small district has provided an opportunity for the poor villagers to earn extra income as make shift shops selling eatables and tea have come up in the popular points of Sukma.

Karan Dev, a local resident said that this was for the first time that he was watching the national media anchors personally. “I had never seen the logo of news channel so closely before nor had I seen vans with umbrella like structure on their top (OB vans). So many outsiders have come here and they are just running from one place to the other.”

A pretension called journalism

We type in the facts. I speak to a party spokesperson and you take the byte from the opposition leader. And we file the story. The journalistic principle of getting the facts right and incorporating the views of all the parties concerned is duly followed- and the next day we share a by-line. This is what we do in the name of journalism.

We do human interest stories too. I take out a data of the number of atrocities committed on the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh-compare it with the crimes committed under the last government. I speak to the NHRC spokesperson, a couple of NGO and the state Home minister- and the next day I have a by-line. All in the name of journalism. One more achievement in hand.

Really? Is this what journalism is?

For those who love getting married

Times have suddenly becomes strange as many friends of mine who were just months ago trying to fall in love with different girls at the same time are now being attracted towards falling into the bliss of marriage, just like a   colorful,confident,tiny insect falls into waiting arms of a beautiful Venus fly trap plant.

In the span of less than 8 months we (me and my friends) have lost many bachelors who have very bravely, smilingly embraced the culmination of their youthful days.

The poignancy of the whole situation becomes more visible when someone from among is sitting on the stage, exchanging smiles with the not so curious onlookers who have deliberately assembled in the marriage venue to celebrate the imposing of tons of responsibility and the taking away of a much rejoiced freedom of a young man. 

How they define youths in Uttar Pradesh

The impending Uttar Pradesh State Assembly elections have livened up the otherwise monotonous bureau room of newspaper around Delhi. When you have election in a state where there is a presence of  political heavy weights like Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Varun Gandhi, Digvijay Singh and him-who-cannot-be-named then one can be assured of interesting times ahead.

Every political party in Uttar Pradesh is trying to prove to the other that they are really promoting the Youths by way of giving them more representation.

While doing a story on this very issue I came across some very exciting narrations and intriguing individuals.

A Member of Parliament, involved in the selection of candidates very proudly told me that his party has given tickets to seventy odd youths for the upcoming UP state election.

I was impressed . After all seventy is a seize-able number when you consider that the total seat in the state assembly in 403. Logically my next question was that was the profile of these young candidates.

The reply that I got was something that I had never expected.

“We have given tickets to more than 50 candidates who are around 40 years of age. If you take 50 as the upper age, then we have more than 70 candidates who are contesting the elections on our party ticket.

For Keenan & Reuben

Will the brutal killing of two guys in Mumbai  make us stand up and realize that how weak and indifferent we have become to things that is happening around us?

Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes, the two boys were stabbed to death because they reacted in a way that the majority of us would not. 

Those who killed them have been arrested and I am sure the law, because of the relentless media pressure will surely take its due-course and punish them.

But what about the hundred others who acted deaf and blind when they were being stabbed? 

How will the BJP use Modi

The three day Sadhbhavna fast under taken by the Gujarat CM, Narendra Modi has finally managed to push him on to the national stage from where he will look to play a more pan-India role.

The decision of Modi to abstain from food for three days to promote  unity in the state came at a time when the octogenarian and the BJP PM in waiting since time immemorial, LK Advani had just announced his decision to go on an all India Rath yatra to highlight corruption in the country .

This much televised and massively twitterized fast of Modi has managed to take the away the hype and the buzz that the announcement of Advani had generated.

Political commentators feel that the decision of RSS to  support Modis fast rather than Advanis yatra has made it clear as to how much clout does Modi  enjoys in the RSS circles.

Least Shehla becomes another Sarla

The broad day light murder of Shehla Masood in Bhopal has many known and numerous hidden facades that probably will be uncovered layer by layer as the investigation in the case progresses.

Ms.Masood was shot dead in front of her home at point blank range on 16^th August while she was about to drive away to a protest march organized by her in support of Anna Hazare’s anti- corruption movement.

The fact that she was an active RTI ‘activist’ has attracted even more spotlight to the otherwise peaceful and calm city of Bhopal.