tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9772712816176189412024-03-13T09:39:49.722+05:30Story Teller...Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-51518476640752477762021-01-27T10:54:00.000+05:302021-01-27T10:54:05.376+05:30The Chinese move (s)<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Abhinandan Mishra</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">New Delhi</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">The India-China standoff, which is in its 9<sup>th</sup> months now, could not have come at a better time for it has brought a global focus on the inevitable dangers of the expansionist mindset of China which, from thoughts, has now started to take shape on the ground.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">India is fighting its battle, through diplomacy and by fortifying its position in Eastern Ladakh and by ‘dominating’ regions which were earlier not under its control. However, the more important point that needs to be debated is the danger of an ‘irresponsible’ super-power that China is turning out to be as it aims to replace the United States from the long-held position of a global superpower.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">The world needs to understand that what China is doing with India- by trying to seize Indian territories- is not just an act to increase the land under its control. The real intention is to give a message to the world leaders, the global policy makers that China has ‘arrived’ and it needs to be feared if not respected.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awts3OmWLBk/YBD4v7qZ7gI/AAAAAAAAKv4/T8EWUaicrNULfHLUVBEWFkSAA_degO0yACLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/952479-india-china-conflict-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="241" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-awts3OmWLBk/YBD4v7qZ7gI/AAAAAAAAKv4/T8EWUaicrNULfHLUVBEWFkSAA_degO0yACLcBGAsYHQ/w376-h241/952479-india-china-conflict-new.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">As of now, due to the fore-sightedness of Indian policy makers, who for years have taken the Chinese factor into consideration while formulating long term security strategies, Indian armed forces are well prepared to stop China from physically taking over any Indian territory. However, the other neighboring countries simply do not have the wherewithal to stop China from taking over their territory if it decides to, as Nepal is witnessing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">It is in that context that the aggressive posture that China has adapted against India, in the last few months, becomes important.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">Old people and ancient sayings will tell you that it is prudent to confront one strong opponent, defeat him which will give the required message to the other smaller opponents rather than waste time and resources on defeating every single opponent. That’s what China is doing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">It wants to give a message to the world that it considers the country- which is the third largest global economy (by purchasing power parity), has the largest ground force, fourth largest air force and the seventh largest navy- as nothing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">By engaging in a needless border stand-off with India on its Eastern border, and promoting terror in close coordination with its all weather friend Pakistan at India’s Western border, China is also ensuring that India spends a vast amount of its tangible resources on augmenting and procuring new arms and defense platforms rather than spending the same on developing critical infrastructure that will boost the local and global economy. This is the more sinister of the Chinese objective that the world needs to take note of.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">It is also important to understand that all this border issue was brought into existence at a time when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone out of the established protocol to nurture close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is an example of the often forgotten and ignored ‘dagger in the cloak’ state-craft which China seems to have perfected.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">The United States- as the series of agreements that it signed with India in the last couple of years show, coupled with the recently declassified US-Indo pacific strategy document proves- needs a strong and well developed India to stop the rampaging China, especially when it comes to its gargantuan economic power.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">And this is something which China has also realized. A strong India, that has a democratic setup, will always continue to emerge as the proverbial Himalayan wall to stop China’s expansionism. Weakening India is not the ultimate objective of China, it is its first step towards a much larger sinister plan, something the world leaders need to realize.</p>Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-274551194880116442021-01-25T12:05:00.000+05:302021-01-25T12:05:20.367+05:30 The much imagined ‘two-front’ war is already staring at India<p><span style="text-align: justify;">Abhinandan Mishra</span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />With the 9th round of talks between the representative of the Indian army and his Chinese counterpart too failing to resolve the India-China border stand-off on Sunday, there is nothing left but to speculate on how and when will the situation at India's Eastern border return to 'normalcy' as it was in April 2020 before the Chinese troops entered into 'disputed' territories and occupied them.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While the talks are continuing and will continue, the bigger picture that is probably being ignored is how India, in all practical purposes, is now engaged in a '2 front war' with Pakistan on the West and China on the East.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WL_qqXItaBU/YA5kraDPvNI/AAAAAAAADpc/HToVY23RXL08MIjOJi325WY3EBM8zkA1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s301/download.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="301" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WL_qqXItaBU/YA5kraDPvNI/AAAAAAAADpc/HToVY23RXL08MIjOJi325WY3EBM8zkA1ACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h223/download.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As of today, more than 50000 Indian troops, excluding multiple precious 'assets' are deployed at its Eastern border in a state of 'combat readiness'. This in simple terms means the troops and the machines are just one step away from indulging in armed combat. The same, as is the common knowledge, is the situation on the borders that it shares with Pakistan.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does this imply for India if this standoff with China continues for perpetuity? </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The first implication of this will be that China would officially emerge as India's ‘enemy number 1’, as the then defence minister George Fernandes had called the country in 1998.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All future Indian defence procurements, strategic policies, trade agreements, diplomatic ties will be based on this template. So far, a majority of such decisions are taken while keeping Pakistan as our main adversary. It is pertinent to mention at this point that India last year has already passed a law that calls for government permission before FDI coming from bordering countries (China) is allowed into India.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is no match between China and Pakistan when it comes to military and economic power. While India could manage by spending a modest amount of its resources on defence procurement as its focus was Pakistan, the same will not hold true once it accepts China as its primary adversary. The bigger, larger the opponent, the more resources one has to spend to counter him. Now, India will procure the artillery, the aircrafts and the infantry equipment while keeping what China has, which are definitely better than what Pakistan has. And they will cost more.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Wars and war like situations are only beneficial to the arms manufacturers, not to the citizens for which the wars are being fought. The India-China stand off will force Indian policy makers to take out capital and time meant for other needs like health, education and infrastructure and divert them to defence. And they cannot be blamed for it.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This will delay, if not stop, India's effort to increase the quality of life it offers to its citizens and hurt the economy as infrastructure in inland areas will suffer, temporarily, as the focus will be more on augmenting the infrastructure at the border areas.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The two front war scenario, in which one of the opponents is a country which is on the cusp of being a super-power, will force India to strive for coming more closer to and become dependent on other super-power (U.S) and cultivate relationship with other strong regional allies like Australia, Japan and Vietnam. This is inevitable, any country in place of India, too would have to do the same.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan's (mis)-adventurism is likely to increase in the coming months as a bullish China, that will keep needling India. China knows the advantage of having Pakistan as its ally in the war against India. If Pakistan was not Pakistan, and it was a friendly neighbor like Sri-Lanka, India's only concern would have been China. So China needs Pakistan as much as Pakistan needs China to stop India from becoming 'big'.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Please understand that a 'disruptive' activity like the 9/11 attack, Mumbai attack, Pulwama bombing changes the priority, focus, concern of any country within a matter of seconds. A welfare state, a state whose primary activity should be to strive to make life better for its citizens, suddenly becomes an aggressive entity, keen on avenging and securing itself.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">India's two-front challenge is truly here, and it came just like that, without any explosion.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The writer is a New Delhi based journalist with over 10 years of experience in reporting on topics related to politics, state craft and security.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Twitter- mishra_abhi</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mobile- 9650375758</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-19888439803787035512019-06-11T12:20:00.001+05:302019-06-13T11:38:57.893+05:30Mussoorie -the place it was<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I had last gone to Mussoorie 11 years ago, same time, mid-June. When
I came back to Delhi, I uploaded the pictures on the more accomplished Orkut,
since Facebook at that time was still a teenager, trying to fit in, searching for
its identity.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I
remember that in one of the pictures, only my hand was visible,
raised in the air, which was clicked on the Lal-Tibba track situated
at nearly 7500 feets among the Landour cantt, as the cloud, full of
mist, rushed in to engulf everything under their weightless, cold
cover. I had to wear a light woolen jacket, such was the chill in
the air.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The rows of trees, surrounding Lal Tibba trek, the legendary
Char Dukaan and the small Church near the language school that lies at the entry of the ITM
lab, were huge in number, and they were so dense that it was nearly impossible to see beyond
a few rows as to what lies behind those tree line.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
This
time, when I decided to go there again, I expected something similar.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
11
years later, Mussoorie has undergone a massive change, a change that
has been brought by us, an undesirable change.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The
temperature this time did not go below 24 degree. The place that I
stayed, was 100 meters away from Mussoorie lake, and despite being at
a relatively less crowded place, at the foot of small hills, we had to switch on the AC whenever
we were inside the room.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The
three hills across our resting place, had lost majority of their
green forest cover, turned brown with small cemented houses dotted
across them. What should have been green, was now brown.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Locals told me that till 7-8 years ago, they would see Guldaar (leopard) in
and around the campus. Now it it has just become a part of myth, an
ancient folklore.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwXjYIRk9q4/XP9O2Szb64I/AAAAAAAAJaI/7nuGerIFMOMloT2Ix_1viPPPethN3i2sQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG-20190601-WA0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwXjYIRk9q4/XP9O2Szb64I/AAAAAAAAJaI/7nuGerIFMOMloT2Ix_1viPPPethN3i2sQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG-20190601-WA0181.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2019, after.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64by7GS14eE/XP9O2caSV4I/AAAAAAAAJaE/pTR-RjWvFKYySLagnyEgnTEaCSKIicw9QCLcBGAs/s1600/10399350_24040090063_5429_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="536" height="229" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64by7GS14eE/XP9O2caSV4I/AAAAAAAAJaE/pTR-RjWvFKYySLagnyEgnTEaCSKIicw9QCLcBGAs/s320/10399350_24040090063_5429_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2008, before.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The
situation at Kanatal and Dhanaulti was no different, the place, which
were truly ‘hill station’ till very recently, have been robbed off their ability to
keep things cool.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The
accessible roads that have surrounded each and every part of
Mussoorie and the neighboring areas have led to an all year traffic,
with thousands of SUVs entering these areas every month, each one of
them, like us, trying to spend time in a resort , a place which is in
middle of forest and surrounded by hills.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
While
going towards Dhanaulti, I saw a Haryana registered SUV, with opened
sun-roof, in which a young couple, beer can in their hand,
shouting at the forests, whizzing past us. I was imedaitely transported to
Gurgaon.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Hill
stations in NCERT books have been defined as a place which are on hills, stay
cool even during summers and since they are largely inaccessible,
inhospitable, they are less crowded.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
That
is not the situation any more.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Ruskin
Bond, who can be called as Mussoories’s emblem, too has changed
with the changing times.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
11
years ago, my uncle and I spent a lot of time at his small but cozy
place in Landour.<br />
<br />
At that time he rarely used to get unannounced
visitors. He could walk in the Landour market without being pestered
for selfies and autographs. He could gossip with the old kirana store
guys and take a stroll at the Mall road.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
He
has become more reclusive now, maybe like a Himalayan brown bear.
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
During
the day, people roam around his house to catch a glimpse of the 85
year old writer who had weaved dreams of many kids as they read his
books. He rarely comes down now. The only time he does is on
Saturday when he goes to Cambridge book depot at the mall road
between 3.30 and 4.40 to meet his readers and sign books for them.</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The
house adjacent to him has been turned into an ‘inn’ which
reportedly has been brought by a noted Mumbai film maker. Its red
color is not something that the eyes look for in a place where you
expect green to prevail.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Landour was known for its serenity, the serenity
has been replaced with tourists who are ‘loud’ in every sense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Old timers say that Landour, at 7500 feets, is the
“original Mussoorie”.In 1823, Captain Frederic Young, a British army
officer, came across a goat path on the hills surrounding Dehradun
while on a hunting expedition. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This road, was the first road that connected
Dehradun to the hills, that later come to known as Landour. In 1826,
Young built’s Landour’s first home, and named it “Mullingar”,
after his place of birth in Ireland. Young was the commandant of the
first Gurkha battalion that was raised by the British after
the Gurkha War or the Anglo-Nepalese war that was fought between
1814-1816.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The way things are going, soon a time will come
when people will only be able to read about what Mussoorie offered and
what it was, as I realized on this trip.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-32289271144689222192019-04-28T08:09:00.000+05:302019-04-28T08:10:18.663+05:30Ram temple in Ayodhya not an election issue in Bihar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Abhinandan Mishra</span></div>
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Patna</div>
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The construction of Ram Temple or rather the failure to do it is not an election issue for the voters of Bihar.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLE31KrjXLw/XMUSF8TcUZI/AAAAAAAAJRk/hY9MRz1MM6khDjX1V5GHrq4dgBLnEEsjwCLcBGAs/s1600/591_ayodhya-junction-station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLE31KrjXLw/XMUSF8TcUZI/AAAAAAAAJRk/hY9MRz1MM6khDjX1V5GHrq4dgBLnEEsjwCLcBGAs/s320/591_ayodhya-junction-station.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Voters with whom I interacted in the last 10 days, said that they had no anger with the BJP for not building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, something that the party has been campaigning for long now. </span></div>
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In Fact it were mix of other issues like Pakistan, Pulwama, a perception that there has been an overall decrease in the level of corruption in the country , roads, electricity and employment that is being discussed to determine whom to vote for. </div>
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"We are not concerned with Ram Temple, it is good if it is built, it doesn't matter if is not. When we discuss politics, we talk about jobs, nationalism, roads, law and order, medical facilities, things that affect our life directly. The Modi government, overall, has given good governance and the opposition doesn't have any credible face who can match him", said 29 years old Nanhe Singh of Patna. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">For Mukesh Kumar, 32,who resides in Masaurhi, a sub division of Patna, and works as a driver, better infrastructure and smoother traffic conditions in Patna was the main issue. "I do keep reading about Ram Temple but it is not a huge issue for me. We have Hanuman temple, kali temple in Patna which is enough. I would be more happy if the government focuses on improving traffic conditions, removing encroachment in Patna. These local issues affect my life, not whether a temple is built in Ayodhya or not", he said. </span></div>
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In Patna Sahib, the NDA candidate and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad too is focusing on local issues and national issues like Pakistan and his claims of a corruption free government that Modi has given. While he started his campaign almost one month ago, the Grand Alliance candidate, Shatrughan Sinha, began his campaign only last week. Sinha, who recently joined the Congress, got a rude welcome at the Congress office in Sadaqat Ashram where many Congress workers sat on a protest against his nomination. Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is putting everything he has got into his campaign is trying to touch every part of the huge constituency that is spread across 6 assembly seats. Prasad who is contesting a lok sabha poll for the first time is also facing some resistance from pocket of Kayastha voters who wanted the party ticket to be given to either Rk Sinha or his son,Rituraj Sinha. </div>
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"No one in our circle cares about Ram temple in Ayodhya. Who has the time? I am more concerned about better connectivity between Arrah and Patna as that will help me reaching home on time. For me sanitation in and around Hanuman temple will get more appreciation for the government rather than a Ram Temple in Ayodhya ", said Sushma Devi, an attendant in a local hotel in Patna. </div>
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Patna, which for many years lacked basic infrastructure, is slowly moving towards a state where it can match its status of a state capital. In the recent few years, mobile based applications like Swiggy, Food Panda, Ola, Uber, which did not found it conducive to function in Patna, have now become popular now. </div>
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Observers say this has happened because of an overall increase in infrastructure, electricity and improved law and order which has given confidence to investors to invest money in the state. </div>
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"Lalu ji got 15 years time, Nitish and Modi have got less than that but they have managed to change many things in Bihar. I do not think that the voters will want to derail this way of governance", said a Patna based senior journalist. </div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-22937847867462217002017-01-06T18:40:00.001+05:302017-01-06T18:41:09.945+05:30Dhoni, the common man's captain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was 2004, when I was in 3rd year, on my way to complete law, that we saw Dhoni debuting for India. Since I was from Bihar, I had heard about “Mahi” much before than some of my college friends heard about him first.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8A5aj7Qlvcc/WG-W_gkLKLI/AAAAAAAAG00/Zr45LjZ7aBUAJ5GsR3q5ZJ2o3QQWEyQfQCLcB/s1600/dhoni-six.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8A5aj7Qlvcc/WG-W_gkLKLI/AAAAAAAAG00/Zr45LjZ7aBUAJ5GsR3q5ZJ2o3QQWEyQfQCLcB/s320/dhoni-six.jpg" width="229" /></a>And in his first match, on his first ball, he was dismissed in the most unlucky way that is possible. He was ‘run out’, when he was sent back by, if I am not mistaken, Mohammad Kaif, who was at the non strikers end.</div>
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After the initial 'uhh and ahh' , someone fro<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">m us, as we watched the match at a TV in the world famous Sakshi Dhaba in Bhopal on a not so cold afternoon, sympathetically commented that how unlucky Dhoni was.</span></div>
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It has been almost 13 years now, and that was the only time that I heard the word ‘unlucky’ and Dhoni in the same breath.<br />
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The Indian cricket fan, for decades, were searching for someone apart from Sachin to look to when India was losing and to get angry on when India eventually lost. They found that person in Dhoni.</div>
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“Dhoni hai na?” very slowly and without any great commotion and noise replaced “Sachin hai ki gaya?”.</div>
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Soon his tales started becoming more common. One of my friend from Bihar told us that he got his muscular power because he drank 10 litre of milk daily. Another much discussed tale about him was that he was a ‘pagal aashiq’, a mad lover, whose heart was broken by a girl.</div>
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For 13 years Dhoni carried the aspirations,dreams and hopes of Indian cricket fans on his shoulders. He was the quintessential common man’s cricketer. When he hit the 6 in the World Cup Finals in Mumbai, he did not celebrate it wildly, he just watched the trajectory of the ball as it sailed over the boundary, unmindful of the roar of the 50000 plus people that were present there. The only expression on his face was that of a man who had finished his job.</div>
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The expression a father has when nobody's watching when his daughter’s marriage gets over successfully, the face a mother has when she finally lies down on the bed to sleep at night, after completing her innumerable household chores.<br />
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Why will be miss Dhoni? Because in him we saw a man who was like us. Maybe a cousin brother who too tried but could not break into the state Ranji team, perhaps a friend who too had the same background as Dhoni and now is lost somewhere in the maze of time.</div>
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His success did not elicit jealousy, never did. The way he handled it, even when he became one of the the biggest money earner, even then too he was to us the boy next door who had become the Captain of the Indian cricket team.</div>
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He was no god, prince, very very special or a wall, he was one of us.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-68755088242598012432016-06-29T17:05:00.001+05:302016-06-29T18:59:37.559+05:30The confession of just another presstitute<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Recently, the Caravan magazine brought
out an article detailing how almost 300 Madhya Pradesh based journalists cutting
across every newspaper, channels and what not, were allotted plots in Bhopal by
the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the early years of 2000.</div>
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The plot was not ‘gifted’
directly to each and every journalist, rather a cooperative was created that
was headed by some journalists, who had more accessibility in the government
than their fellow brothers, and later it was distributed ‘unequally’ among all the
journalists. What Caravan did not mention was that the bigger journalists got
themselves allotted more than one plot while many of them, who earn less than
Rs 25000 per month and are on their last curve of their career, did not get
even one plot. (I did not get any plot, nor I applied for).</div>
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Caravan also did not mention that
even if these poor journalists would have got the plot, they would have to again
seek government’s help to build a house on these plots. It would have been an
even bigger eye opener if Caravan or for that any media houses had done a story
on the salaries the journalists get.</div>
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Those who swear by ‘presstitutes’
and prefer painting every journalists with the same brush might not know that the salary of a journalist is barely enough
to cover his household expense and I am not referring to the fresh graduates who
are just out of college but those who have been slogging it out for 15 -20
years. The situation is worse for those who are working in Hindi newspaper.</div>
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Let me try to bring this out by
an example. A Bhopal based bureau chief of a well known Hindi newspaper who is
in his late 50s and had been in journalism for more than 20 years now was getting
a salary of Rs 53000 when I last met him in January this year. His junior colleague,
who was around 42, was getting Rs 42000. Now keep yourself in the place of these two
people and imagine the expenses that they have to incur to run their house, finance
the study of their children and eventually arrange for the expense of their
marriage. </div>
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Let me bring you to English media.
Someone like me, who is in the middle position, will be fortunate enough if his
annual package is Rs 6-7 lakhs. I have
many friends who are not getting even that. By the time I step into my 40s,
after giving 12-14 years of time into journalism, my only desire would be that
my annual salary at least reaches upto Rs 10 lakhs. </div>
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Do keep in mind that media in
India is a highly unregulated field, except two or three organizations, the
concept of basic employee welfare, like annual appraisal, good hike, yearly paid
leaves, bonuses, something that people working in other fields treat as their fundamental
rights, does not exist for journalists working in Media.</div>
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Today, the recommendation of the
7<sup>th</sup> pay commission were cleared by the cabinet and the hike that the
government employees will get is something that a journalist can only think of and sometime wish for.</div>
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There is no pay commission for
the journalists, only a holy albatross round the neck that they represent the
esteemed ‘fourth estate’ and hence are prone to more public abuse and scrutiny.</div>
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Neither the government, this one
included, nor the Maalik log are interested in increasing the salaries of journalists.
When the recommendation of the Majithia pay commission for print media were to be executed, the Maalik log, showing great solidarity, pressed the best legal mind of the country into their service to make
sure that the salaries of the ‘presstitutes’ remain abysmally low and despite
the recommendations being finally upheld by the Supreme court in 2014, it has
yet not been executed in almost 80 percent of the newspaper.</div>
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Forget the shouting and suave
anchors and presenters you have been watching on the TV. Forget the stories,
sometimes fictitious, mostly real that you read and hear about the personal wealth of these star reporters and editors.
They represent a miniscule of the journalists fraternity because the rest of the
journalists, who do not have the inclination and the guts to seek money through
other means, they pass into oblivion with a small retirement send off party and
if they are lucky enough, they can spend their remaining time in a small house
that they might have been able to build with their modest income.</div>
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No Member of parliament, no minister
and no PM has ever spoken about the abysmally low salaries the majority of
journalists get. I wish the government would make it mandatory for every
journalist to declare their income, for at least then there will be some sense
of clarity among the readers and the viewers.<br />
<br />
No high profile journalists does a show on why Majithia is not being implemented, Ravish and Goswami alike. Maybe they are not allowed to do so by the maalik log or maybe they do not need a pay hike. When I had asked the ever active 'Justice Katju" when he was the chairman of Press council of India that why did he not push for the implementation of Majithia and what did he do in his tenure as the PCI chairman except berating the same journalists whom he was expected to support, the man did the easiest thing, he blocked me on Twitter.<br />
<br />
So next time you use the word
bikau media and presstitutes, do say a prayer for a majority of the journalists because the only thing that they are paid their whole life is a salary that swings between
modest and low.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-81166578260229353492016-05-03T11:51:00.003+05:302016-05-03T11:55:32.725+05:3025 journalists staying in government provided bungalows in Delhi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Twenty five media-persons are presently staying in Central
government provided type-4, type-5 and type-6 government flats in the
national capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xb-XrYIwGeM/VyhEU8sndwI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/4fTIMtQkgcAM2SHHOWzg_RXla-KrtrRPACLcB/s1600/feb21image1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xb-XrYIwGeM/VyhEU8sndwI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/4fTIMtQkgcAM2SHHOWzg_RXla-KrtrRPACLcB/s320/feb21image1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">As per the response shared by the Directorate of Estates,
Ministry of Urban Development, to an</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">RTI</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">query filed by me, all
these flats are situated in posh areas like RK Puram, Pandara road, Bapa
nagar,Kaka nagar,Hudco Place Extension and Andrews Ganj Extension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Some of these bungalows were allotted to the</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalists </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">as far back as the 1970s and 1980s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Officials in the Urban Development ministry said that the
allotment of government flats to</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalists </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">are rare and is based on the discretion of the incumbent
minister. “In Delhi, there is always a shortage of government</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> accommodations </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">for the government officials who have the
first claim over such</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> accommodations </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">hence it is in rare cases that a government </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">accommodation </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">is given to a media person. Unless and until
the concerned minister really wishes for the allotment of the flats to a media
persons, the government flats are very rarely allotted to them”, an official
with the directorate of estate said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Interestingly, in December 2012, the Supreme Court in an order,
had asked the government to make sure some of these </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">journalists </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">vacate the ‘illegally occupied government
bungalows’ as they had overstayed their entitlement. The Supreme Court had
given the order after the National Green Tribunal, which approached the Supreme
Court, presenting its problem regarding non availability of a suitable</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> accommodation </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">for it to function from, after which the SC
asked the government to act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">However, more than 4 years later, some of the</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalists</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">, who were required to vacate the government</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> accommodation</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">, still continue to stay in those flats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Very few of the</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalists </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">who are staying in these</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> accommodations </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">are working for a mainstream publication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">One of them brings out a Hindi daily from</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Ghaziabad, while another</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalist </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">is working for a local news channel. A </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">journalist </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">from a south Indian magazine has been staying
the flat for the past 13 years, another</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalist </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">of a Chennai based magazine ‘Junior Vikatan’
was allotted the flat in 2006. A</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> journalist </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">with "Spot films' too was given the flat in 2003. A
reporter with ‘Amrit Sandhesh’ newspaper that is published by the family of
Congress treasurer</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Motilal</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Vora, was allotted the flat in 2006. Similarly
a representative of SUN TV was given the flat in 2006. One such flat is in the
possession of a reporter from</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Amar</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Ujala</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">newspaper. A reporter from</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Andhra</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Prabha, a Telugu
newspaper, too was given the flat in 2006. A cameraman with ‘Asian Film TV’ was
allotted the flat in 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-16472739126771348522016-05-03T11:44:00.003+05:302016-05-03T11:44:39.647+05:30The demand from Gujarat...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Former Home Minister and Congress leader </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6667px;">P. Chidambaram,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6667px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">who is in the eye of storm
for his role in the Ishrat Jahan case, might have admitted the role and influence of a Gujarat based Congress
leader in the whole case.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chidambaram, while quoting his interview that he gave to Hindu
Business Line which appeared on 25, April,shared multiple tweets on his twitter
account. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The content of three of these tweet reads , “Although I have no
recollection of seeing the first affidavit, let us presume that I did. Then
came the report of Magistrate SP Tamang. This report caused an uproar &
there was demand mainly from Gujarat that Government of India should clarify or
dispel misinterpretation being placed on the First affidavit. This is why a Second,
short affidavit was filed!”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV6K5Tp_wXo/VyhBfFp4oXI/AAAAAAAAF_M/Tbhux0RvPYgHfNiwT7JlTUgvWyvN9qxLwCLcB/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xV6K5Tp_wXo/VyhBfFp4oXI/AAAAAAAAF_M/Tbhux0RvPYgHfNiwT7JlTUgvWyvN9qxLwCLcB/s400/Untitled.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The reference to a ‘demand, mainly from Gujarat’ to effectively
change the first affidavit, has led to strong speculations that the former
Home Minister has unknowingly admitted that there was a strong demand from
certain Congress circles to change the content of the first affidavit, which in
essence stated that Ishrat Jahan was a Lashkar module, and that demand had come
from a Gujarat based leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On 21 February, I did a story for The Sunday Guardian “Manmohan
ministers tried to implicate Modi in Ishrat case” <a href="http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/3423-manmohan-ministers-tried-implicate-modi-ishrat-case">http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/3423-manmohan-ministers-tried-implicate-modi-ishrat-case</a>,
in which I had written about how a top Congress leader from a western state,
had written to the Prime Minister’s Office in the first week of September 2009,
expressing dismay that because of the first affidavit the then Gujarat Chief
Minister Narendra Modi could not be framed in Ishrat’s encounter. The Congress
leader was unhappy that the MHA’s affidavit had placed on record that Ishrat
was a terrorist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Chidambaram, who is very articulate with his words and uses his
every word very carefully, has clearly stated that the ‘demand’ to change the
affidavit had come from Gujarat. Obviously it did not come from Modi or the
BJP. Since he has used the word ‘demand’, it implies that it had come from
someone who was very influential. Now, he might say that this ‘demand’ had come
from the civil society or human right activists but we all know whom he is
referring to”, an official who is familiar with the entire case, said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-88870387134203413972015-12-28T09:35:00.000+05:302015-12-28T11:40:16.520+05:30All good for journos in Shivraj's raj<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Madhya Pradesh government doled out Rs 93 crores in the last 4 year in giving advertisements to 'unknown' news websites and news channel. The government has also given Rs 58 crores to 107 institutions for 'regional publicity' of the government.</div>
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This information was shared by the Madhya Pradesh public relation minister Rajendra Shukla in the state assembly in response to a question raised by Congress MLA Bala Bachchan.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw37S22R8DI/VoC1l5Iu7_I/AAAAAAAAFkc/3gj26zZlVrs/s1600/shivraj_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw37S22R8DI/VoC1l5Iu7_I/AAAAAAAAFkc/3gj26zZlVrs/s320/shivraj_3.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
Bachchan, in his query has asked the government to share the details of websites, institutions and news channel who have got government advertisement for publicizing government work since 2012.</div>
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Out of the 235 plus websites that were given the government ad, only 25 to 30 websites are those which disseminate news regularly and see a regular ‘hits’ and traffic. Many of the websites mentioned in the reply provided by the state government, are w<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">ebsites whose existence was not known to even the local Bhopal based journalists, whom I spoke to. </span></div>
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“Most of these websites are run by journalists who are working in other organizations. Since it is illegal to earn income from two source, these journalists are running the websites in the name of their relatives and wives. The government with an intent to keep them in good humor and oblige them, has readily released government ads to their websites, which do not see even 10 hits in a day”, a Bhopal based bureau chief of a national English daily, pointing to the name of the website that is owned by a wife of journalist of a national news agency, said.</div>
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A careful perusal of the list revealed that the registered address of many of these websites was government flats and bungalows that are allotted to journalists if the are a part of a national daily. “ A journalist of the largest selling English daily is no longer a part of that newspaper, but he continues to enjoy the government hospitality by way of the government ad that his websites receives and the government bungalow that he continues to live in. Similarly, a former employee of an English news agency continues to enjoy the bungalow as he is still a journalist in the technical term because he is running a website that got Rs 15 lakh ”, an official with the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR) stated. As per previous rules, the government bungalows can only be allotted to those journalists who are working for national newspaper.</div>
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While choosing firms for ‘regional advertisement’ of government work, the DPR released Rs 21 crores to an agency that is known to be run by a BJP functionary.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-57049893158662502832015-06-20T11:00:00.001+05:302015-06-23T09:05:00.053+05:30Why Modi must act<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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The political honeymoon period of
BJP got over earlier than it would have expected and the marital discords that
a political party faces after coming to power have started even
sooner than it might ha</div>
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<a href="http://d2yhexj5rb8c94.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_node_view/public/Modi%20addresses%20BJP's%20'Suraj%20Sankalp%20Yatra'%20in%20Jaipur%20on%20Tuesday.%20PTI%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d2yhexj5rb8c94.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_node_view/public/Modi%20addresses%20BJP's%20'Suraj%20Sankalp%20Yatra'%20in%20Jaipur%20on%20Tuesday.%20PTI%20(2).jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></div>
ve anticipated.<br />
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The historic mandate it received
in the general elections last year, as a majority of us will agree, was made
possible because of Narendra Modi. Modi the individual was the reason that
people voted for BJP rather than the other way around.</div>
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So if the public perception is
that the ‘Ache din’ have come then one has to attribute it to Modi and if the
perception is that there is no change from the days of the UPA then the
responsibility for that also squarely lies on the shoulder of Modi. </div>
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History is made every day, to be
presented years in the future after it is created. Ten-fifteen years from now, pages of history will tell us that whatever happened to
this country, the good or the bad as it will turn out, was because of Modi. No
one will remember the finance minister, the defence minister, the external
affairs ministers or the various BJP spokespersons.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In light of these ground rules,
that one can tend to disagree with, the inaction on the part of Modi to take
‘notice’ of the act done by Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister
Vasundhara Raje, is surprising. More so because in case of Modi, unlike his
predecessor, his act of taking notice of something is very much visible and
more often than not, it makes news. In this case, it his inaction that is
grabbing the headlines.</div>
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The BJP can field their best spokespersons
to counter the allegations but can the truth that Swawraj was dealing with a
fugitive be changed? Can the fact that her daughter and her husband were
dealing with him change? Can it be safely said that the external affairs
minister of the country, one of the top four ministers of the country , was
unaware of the legal status of Lalit Modi? That he was ‘wanted’? Are
‘humanitarian grounds’ a sound excuse to help a fugitive , that too
without keeping others in the loop? And was ‘different shades of blue’ supposed to be a funny?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Similarly, no one, even Vasundhara Raje, will
not and has not denied that Lalit Modi was a close friend of hers. People make
friends, who later turn into acquaintances and foes and that is perfectly okay.
However how can Raje, in her position as the leader of opposition in the
Rajasthan assembly, do something that she knew was illegal? In her case, it is
evident that she knew that what she was doing was wrong and that is why she
asked for a disclaimer that the action taken by her in support of Lalit Modi
should not come out in open.</div>
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How will she defend the fact that
the shares of her son’s company were bought by Lalit Modi at Rs 11 crore? She
cannot.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Inevitably, Narendra Modi in times to come, will face many
more such instances of impropriety from his cabinet colleagues, his party
colleagues and his friends. For him, the easy way of coming out from such situation
will be to close his eye and move ahead till the story dies down and is
forgotten from the memory of the people and this is what the Congress led UPA
did. And that is what the BJP is hoping will happen in the case of Swaraj and
Raje.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The not so easier route for
Narendra Modi is to act on these acts of impropriety. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The people of this country have
for long lived in an era where things were said but not executed. So much so
that the political promises and commitments are no longer taken seriously, let
alone give rise to any hope. When Narendra Modi, during his political campaign,
stated that there will be no corruption in his government, not many believed
that but when he said that he will take action, quick and strict, against
anyone found to be indulging in corruption, everyone believed it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The time to put those words of promises into action has come. And with every passing day of the promises being reneged, the hopes and expectations of those who reposed faith in him will decrease, slowly,gradually but surely.</div>
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<br /></div>
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There have been many Prime
Ministers before Modi and there will numerous after him. The path to creating a
legacy and securing a name in the pages of history, as each of us wants, is
well defined but whether we are willing to walk on that path is something that
only we have to decide.</div>
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.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-19247864392005930782015-02-08T10:17:00.001+05:302015-02-09T09:24:16.617+05:30Why the Aam Aadmi went for the party.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Almost all the exit polls have
predicted a comfortable win for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi elections, and
for those who believe them, the Modi-Shah magic is likely to fail in mini-India
when the results are announced on February 10.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgW1AAVJQGA/VNbpTvPl-fI/AAAAAAAACk8/ZJD3MfclVCg/s1600/bedi-kejriwal_7591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgW1AAVJQGA/VNbpTvPl-fI/AAAAAAAACk8/ZJD3MfclVCg/s1600/bedi-kejriwal_7591.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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Assuming that the results will
be on the line of the exit polls, the question is what happened? Why did the
same people who had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP in the last year’s general
election voted for AAP this time? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It will not be an exaggeration to
say that the Delhi BJP took the elections ‘lightly’. Their campaign started a
long time after AAP, its chief political enemy, had begun its. AAP had already secured a sizeable space in the minds and heart of the voters through the virtually nonstop radio
jingles, white Nehru cap and smiling volunteers who had come on the street and
started ‘mohalla’ campaigning as early as October, by the time BJP decided to rock
and roll. The inclination to open the doors for a neighbor, who has been around
for sometime rather than someone who has just arrived, is more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The local Delhi leaders were banking
heavily on the ‘Modi magic’ to counter the AAP’s outreach that had spread on
the ground through its loyal cadre. BJP leaders with whom I was speaking to, in
the run up to the election, had no hesitation in agreeing that AAP was in a
much stronger position but in the same breath they told me that 3 to 4 rallies
of Modi would blow away everything that was remotely connected to AAP. The rallies did happen, but by then, the AAP
had strongly entrenched itself to be blown away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The BJP forgot that in the Lok
Sabha elections, the support for Modi was more or less equal to the anger the
people had against the ‘corrupt-inefficient-weak’ Congress government. The voters
at that time had to decide between the rookie AAP, that was not a
national force, and the resurgent BJP led by the macho Modi. They took the
logical decision. However in the Delhi elections, it was not about anger, it
was more about the perception about the new union government. The question in mind
was has the Modi government done enough in the last 8 months it has been in
power? BJP leaders say that much has been done by the new government and if
that is the case, then they should also agree that despite the media blitzkrieg,
the BJP was not able to convey this message to the voters. Some BJP leaders will
defend the result of Delhi assembly election by stating that it does not
reflect upon the working of the central government. I am sorry, it does. <br />
<br />
The BJP overplayed the alleged 'anarchist' tendency of AAP. When did being a 'krantikari' became a taboo in this country? Acting 'rebellious', questioning the establishment, the status-quo, tilting towards anarchism has been the hallmark of Indians, since time immemorial. Kejriwal might have taken some wrong steps during his 49 days as CM but the way BJP tried to sell his 'anarchism' clearly did not work.<br />
<br />
During the 49 days the AAP was in power, they managed to gain the trust of the lower income group. And even though a section of the middle-class grew disenchanted with AAP, these loyal supporters, from the auto-rickshaw drivers to the house-maid, remained loyal and the party was able to cash-in their goodwill in this election.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The BJP party needs to introspect
on why it did not call for a fresh poll when Kejriwal, the ‘Bhagoda’ resigned
suddenly. A majority of the the voters who had supported him had now become angry with him and
wanted to teach him a lesson for not valuing the people’s mandate. The BJP was
on ‘high’ at that time with Modi being virtually the messenger of god (no pun intended) that
India was waiting for. However for some ‘god-only-knows’ reason, the party
decided to wait and watch. Whoever advised the party to not to go for elections
needs to be hanged by the strongest rope from the highest tree. His advice
seems to have cost Delhi. The party needs to identify these Jaychands and Vibhishans.<br />
<br />
In the last leg of the campaigning,
negative connotation crept into the picture. Calling names, printing of not- so-soul-enriching advertisements targeting AAP and Kejriwal were bombarded on the same Delhi
voters, who not too long ago, inspired by Modi, had voted for BJP for ‘positive
campaigning’ and ‘good governance’ and in the process elected many non-existent
political entity from Delhi. Party strategists should understand that contrary to
the vile in social media, the general public of this country still lives by the
century old adage- ‘Pyar se maango, jaan de denge”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The paratrooping of Kiran
Bedi, the woman who till the polling day, was not able to shake off her narcissism,
proved to be proverbial final straw that broke the BJP’s back. “The main- main, “mainey yeh kiya, mainey woh kiya,
mai yeh karungi, mai woh karungi”, did not go down too well with the Delhi voters.
Compare her with Harshvardan, the former BJP CM candidate. Harvardhan, the humble
doctor, modest family man, camera shy, always smiling politician. The man who for years
now has been the common Aadmi of Delhi BJP.
Bedi, the moment she joined the BJP, played the match as if it was about
her and not the BJP. Antagonizing the cadre and largely ignoring them, she gave a message that
she has been hand-picked by Modi himself, which might not have been the case. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Finally, people will read too
much into this electoral result and portray it as the election where the Modi
halo was breached. But the point is in a democracy, elections are won and lost.
That is what the will of people is, always oscillating, never staying still.
Bihar, where the next electoral battle will be played out, may give a totally
different picture. A BJP win or loss, whatever happens in the end, should not lie squarely on the shoulders of Modi. The blame or the accolades, as the case maybe, should be shared by everyone, from the party cadre to the union ministers and by the PM himself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-57047567221816769652014-04-10T10:47:00.002+05:302014-04-10T12:03:14.329+05:30Dasyu Samrat Malkhan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Thick curled moustache, sporting
a Ray ban aviator sun-glasses and a red vermilion mark on his forehead, Daku Malkhan
Singh, 74, a bandit of the Chambal region is now busy in
seeking votes for BJP state president Narendra Singh Tomar, who is contesting
from the Gwalior seat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HUL9K5Cov5Y/U0Yoxe_xIzI/AAAAAAAABjQ/CMCvz5RmeCE/s1600/008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HUL9K5Cov5Y/U0Yoxe_xIzI/AAAAAAAABjQ/CMCvz5RmeCE/s1600/008.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a><br />
<br />
According to locals, after kidnapping the victim, Malkhan used to send the demand for the “Firauti” (ransom) on a letter
head that had his name printed on the top and the ransom amount written below.
He is one of the few dacoits on whom a book- “Malkhan- the story of a bandit
King”, has been written.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Malkhan though says that he was
never a dacoit, but a “Baagi” (Rebel). “We never harassed anyone who was weak
or poor, we targeted those who used to steal from the poor”, recalls Malkhan,
who spent close to 10 years in the prison.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
He claims that the times might
have changed but still the system of stealing from the poor is going on. “That
is why I am campaigning in support for the BJP. Even after so many years of the
country’s Independence, nothing has changed and things will not change until
the BJP comes to power at the Centre”, he says.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Malkhan, who had surrendered
before the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Arjun Singh, said that all
the promises that were made to him by Singh were never fulfilled. “Before we surrendered with our arms, the
state government made a commitment that our case will be leniently dealt with.
However as soon as the surrender took place, all the promises were forgotten.
The Congress did not keep its promise”, alleged Malkhan, who had crowned
himself as “Dasyu Samrat” (dacoit king), when he was at his prime in the 70s
and the late 80s.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
When he surrendered on 17 June
1982 in Bhind at the age of 42, he was facing arrest in atleast 105 cases of
murder, kidnapping and dacoity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
One of the conditions that
Malkhan had put for his surrender was that he and his gang members should not
be handcuffed while being taken to the court but after the initial days of
surrendering, the Police reneged on its promise. Another condition was that all
the cases against the dacoits would be transferred from Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan to Gwalior.</div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;">However, Malkhan forgets to
mention that soon after his surrender took place, Arjun Singh was sent to
Punjab and he was replaced with the present Congress party treasurer Moti Lal Vora,
who had other pressing issues to cater to rather than think about the
commitment made to the dacoits.</span></div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-19730751166565312032014-02-21T12:35:00.002+05:302014-02-21T16:38:11.589+05:30The life and times of a Bachelor <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Recently, numerous media debates and several articles have been
penned on the issue of racial profiling of the African citizens who are staying
in India. But the media, like it has done in the past, forgot to raise the
issue of another important allied subject, which in this case is the profiling
of a ‘Bachelor’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">People generally tend to focus on the thrills and enjoyment
in the life of a young earning bachelor, conveniently forgetting the perils that
come attached with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">A quiet, normal guy, leaving his house early morning and
being seen by his suspecting neighbors only during the time when he is standing
in the gallery to lock his door, soon becomes an object of curiosity. Questions
regarding the antecedent of the lone mortal are soon raised. What does he do? Why
does he stay alone? Where does he go early morning? Why is he quiet? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Soon the questions are put to the house maid who has been
fortunate enough to land a job in the kitchen of this mysterious one. And playing to the gallery, the maids too tend
to use their own creativity to make the whole matter even more mysterious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Last week, the woman who cooks for me, told me that one of my
neighbors, who is a lady police inspector, was asking her questions like what
do I do? Who comes to meet me?. <i>“Mainu
unsey bol deeya ki bhaiya toh jyaada sirf phone pe hee kaam karta hai. TV aur
computer ke sammne beth ke”</i>. Soon enough the picture of a Bookie and a towel
and Sreesanth flashed across my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Interestingly this maid of mine was initially reluctant to
work at my place. She was referred by the society security guard. When she
first came to my house besides discussing her <i>‘pagar</i>’(wage) she said that she was not very comfortable in working
in a house of a bachelor, <i>“Sharab peete
hain, ladki aati hai, ghar ganda rakhte hain. Shuru mai ek hafta kaam kar ke
dekhti hum, jamega to sochungi” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">It has been 5 months, and despite my threats of terminating her
services for taking too many leaves, she continues to cling to my house like a faithful
cow that ritually stands at the door of a Hindu priest every morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">It is not just the maids who assume things of disproportionate
proportion. The next door ‘aunties’, as cliché it may sound, too have their own
‘narrow’ thinking about the guy living next door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">For them the guy is someone who is obliged to help them in
times of ‘kitchen needs’, more specifically in the times when their Gas
cylinder goes empty at the stroke of mid night when the whole world is
sleeping. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Twice I have been awakened by a smiling neighbor who is
standing on my door because her LPG cylinder failed her. <i>“Book kar deeya hai, 2-3 din mai aa jayega, tab tak aap apna cylinder
de dijiye.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I am sure the thoughts that I am also a mortal who survives
on food, rather than plain air, might have crossed her mind. Also must have
crossed, only to be forgotten, would have been the question that how would my
cook prepare if you take away the only PLG cylinder I had. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">However, the cruelties of life come and go and rather than pondering
over it, a rational man moves ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">The biggest problem that a bachelor faces is when he searches
for a house to rent, to stay and to sleep just like an ordinary law abiding
Indian or foreign citizen. However, most of the house owner sees him as an
outlaw, a danger to the <i>‘bahu-beti’ </i>of
the family, the harbinger of alcoholism in the society, a honeycomb which will
attracts similar ‘outlaws’, the young ruffians, in dozens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">When I came to Bhopal, it was only after two months of hard labor
that I could get a decent place to run my ‘den’. During these two months I learnt
that there are multiple hurdles for a bachelor when it comes to looking for a
house. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">First the fact that he is unmarried is the biggest hurdle, secondly
he will be staying alone without the company of his mother and father is a big
letdown for many <i>‘makaan maalik’</i>. If
one crosses these two queries, the final frontier is his job profile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">In many cases I was able to clear the initial two stages, but
when I told the owners that I was working for a newspaper, they would just give
me a polite smile and say no. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">A retired army colonel, staying in Pune was looking for a
tenant for his house in Bhopal. I called him up, pleasantries were exchanged
and quite surprisingly he stated that he had no problem with my bachelor
status. The next question was about my job. Feeling confident, I enthusiastically
stated, “I am a journalist”. There was a silence of 2-3 seconds and then the
call got disconnected. When I called him
again, the monotonous reply that came from his side, san any past like pleasantries
was, “I don’t give my house to journalists”. End of conversation. At that time,
the only thought that crossed across my mind was a dialogue that I heard in
Hindi dubbed Tamil movie which I had heard in the recent past- <i>‘Koi goonda pet se bahar nahee aata, yeh society
usey goonda banati hai”.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">I </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">couldn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> agree more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-49438069103130520422013-12-09T20:23:00.000+05:302013-12-09T20:27:31.005+05:30Rahul Gandhi needs to go<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Congress rout in the states
of Rajasthan, Delhi ,Madhya Pradesh and its inability to win in Chhattisgarh,
despite having everything in its favour, can be dealt in two ways by the party.
The easier and the most likely to be followed method is to blame it on the
regional leaders, regional issues and the regional voters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The second way of looking at
things, which is unlikely to happen, is to admit that the fault lies at the
top, within the boundaries of Delhi Darbar from where the party functions and
directs the state leaders.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHAEDMIZ9Ts/UqXYaPT6sPI/AAAAAAAABMw/cwO8b3vqy6g/s1600/22rahul-gandhi11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hHAEDMIZ9Ts/UqXYaPT6sPI/AAAAAAAABMw/cwO8b3vqy6g/s320/22rahul-gandhi11.jpg" width="249" /></a>Leaders like Charan Das Mahant,
Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh in Madhya
Pradesh, as was accepted from the loyal soldiers, have accepted that the party
lost because of them. Any insinuation to
party vice president Rahul Gandhi being anyway involved in the defeat was
nipped at the bud. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But is this the case? Shouldn't
the accountability be fixed on Rahul, for the decimation that the Congress
suffered in these states? If not him, then
who?</div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In both Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh, the tickets to Congress candidates were distributed as per his
wish list. A term, “Rahul formula”, gained prominence when the candidates were
being shortlisted for ticket distribution. As per that formula, probable candidates
were interviewed, asked to fill in a questionnaire and his trusted aide Kaniska
Singh was asked to help in weeding out the ‘incapable’ candidates who were not
strong enough. The picture that emerged
was that a methodical way was used by Rahul to give tickets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But what was the end result? In
Madhya Pradesh the party fared worse than it had in 2008. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Astonishingly, the first Congress
list of Madhya Pradesh candidates was declared as late as the first week of November.
Later, a senior leader said that it was because of the involvement of Delhi
Darbar that the tickets distribution was delayed, giving little time for the
candidates to take on a party, which has been in power for the last 10 years. Conversely,
barring a few seats, the BJP had already decided on the probable candidates much
before than their official announcement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
State Chhief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan had realized that there was a huge anti-incumbency against some of his
MLAs, and to counter this, he denied tickets to close to 44 sitting MLAs. The
Congress or rather Rahul Gandhi failed at this front too, with the party deciding
to continue with most of their sitting MLAs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In Madhya Pradesh, the
appointment of Scindia as the head of the campaign committee was announced in
September, just two months before the polling date. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Did Rahul expect that just two
months of campaigning by Scindia would be enough to take on the 5 years tenure
of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was out of Bhopal for most part of these 5 years,
travelling and reaching out to the voters in other parts of the state?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Was it logical to accept that the
voters of the state will prefer someone like Scindia, who prefers to stay in
Delhi and seldom ventures out of Gwalior even if he comes to MP, to someone
like Chouhan who is omnipresent at the doors of the voters with his folded
hands and a smiling face.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Who was the CM candidate of BJP?
It was only Shivraj, neither Narendra Tomar nor Prabhat Jha or Kailash
Vijaywargia. Who was the CM candidate of Congress? Starting from Scindia, the others who were standing
in the line included Kamalnath, Suresh Pachouri, Ajay Rahul Singh and Kantilal
Bhuria.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Never once Rahul could gather the
courage or showed his political wisdom by announcing that who would lead the
state if the party comes to power. This indecision, the unwillingness to act,
which has now become a lethal part of Rahul’s repertoire, hurt the party badly
in the state. And please remember that the position enjoyed by Rahul Gandhi in his party is something that cannot be put down in words. He is Congress.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Looking at the larger picture,
one will realize that rather than the failure of the state leadership, in both Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it was the failure of one individual, who sits in
Delhi and controls everything.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The change that Rahul has been
talking of, since one can remember, needs to come from the top. Someone, maybe Sonia
Gandhi’s political aide Ahmed Patel, needs to tell her that Rahul needs to be replaced
if the party is to be resurrected and stopped from going down into the deep
abyss that it is looking at right now. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now, after so many years of being
politically active, Rahul stands nowhere. He is neither a youth icon nor the
torchbearer of the experienced. He had has time, a long one, but despite that he
was not able to prove himself among the voters. Emotional speech and resurrecting
the painful family past may attract ears but they do not translate into fingers
who will press the Congress button. For all these years Rahul has shied away from taking responsibilities for the debacle which the Congress suffered under him. He can continue to do so.<br />
In the past, the two large states
of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had rejected Rahul and the recent rout in Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh and Rajasthan has repeated that message that now a new face is needed. Not
just for the sake of Congress but for the benefit of the democracy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Congress needs to accept that
Rahul Gandhi is just not the answer. The halo around him, that he might be the
answer, has long disappeared. Modi wave or no Modi wave, the Congress is in a
bad shape and something drastic needs to be done to keep it in contention and relevant for
2014 and beyond. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-75127442192949121412013-11-23T13:42:00.000+05:302013-11-24T08:36:55.453+05:30The Tehelka incident- Why the hue and cry?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The molestation of a young woman journalist
by her boss, who, as one of the English news channel anchor puts it, ‘one of
India’s best journalist’, has created ripples which have touched and 'shocked' the upper
echelon of the society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
However, this is nothing new, Molestation in media, that is. I entered the ‘reverend’ Fourth estate in 2006. It has been 7 years
now and I have seen and witnessed many such incidents, which have taken place
not in elevators but inside the meeting hall where the bureau head or the
editor in chief is taking the bureau meeting on how to cover stories, ironically, one such incident took place when the bureau was discussing how to 'cover' rising rape incidents
in the national capital.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The assault happens in front of everyone,
from the junior most reporters to the special correspondent. All sit and just
wriggle in their chairs as their editor undress a woman reporter through his
eyes. What choice do one have?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
With time, any conscience in the mind of the editor that
this ‘undressing’ will be witnessed by the other reporters who are present in
the editor room, also fades. And with time, this ‘visual-rape’ is imbibed in
the values of those who are working for that newspaper. This becomes a part of 'ethos'. Soon enough ,the undressing of the female
reporter by the editor is discussed over tea and fag, and forgotten with the
last puff. This ‘talent’, one of the
many that the editor possesses, becomes a part of his rich repertoire. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A close colleague of mine
recently went to interview one of the most well known investigative reporter in
India (He is synonymous with the concept of sting in India). The meeting lasted
for 20 minutes and as she told me later, he was too informal with her. But, she
took it as a sign that he was trying to make her comfortable so that his ‘awe’
does not affect the young reporter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Later that night she received a
message from his number- “You are beautiful. Your sultry and dusky color…”.The sentence ended with three dots. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This was a message that came from
a 40 plus ‘senior’ journo to a girl who was in early 20s. Was this molestation? I leave it on your better judgment to decide
this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I understand the concern over the Tehelka incident that is
being expressed by those who are outside the media fraternity, but it is a bit difficult
for me to fathom that why the journalists are raising such an outcry over it.
It is not that the Tehelka incident has
happened for the first time. This clamorous
conduct on their part amounts to something more than hypocrisy.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It is not the Nirbahaya moment
for media as someone called it and it is not definitely the ‘chickens have come
home to roost’ moment. It is just that the veil that covered the black albeit colorful
conduct of the who’s who’s of the media has been blow, temporarily of course. People should just stop
perceiving the media as a ‘holy cow’. It never was.<br />
<br />
Sexual banter and assault emanates from the top. No reporter would have the courage to do anything bordering sexual assault if he knows that his editor is watching him and not her. It is they who have to take up the responsibility. Till that happens, we can continue with our protest on Twitter and the shows on news channels. </div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-38415833424406581562013-08-06T23:25:00.000+05:302013-08-07T06:29:12.638+05:30The Modi chasm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the most visible dynamic thing that the emergence of Narendra Modi has done is
that it has made the 'fence-sitters' take a side.And this assertions hold true
both at the micro and at the macro level.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Individuals who criticize the Congress are automatically, without giving any chance to explain, termed as Modi supporters and hence communal. And those who condemn Modi are tagged agents of Congress or secular; lock, stock and barrel. No questions asked, no response sought.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are only two sides that one can be on. And if he is not on one side, then automatically it is presumed that he is on the other side.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The answer to whether being 'communal' is correct or it's better to be a 'secular' in present times depends on which side of the debate you are.As far as I am concerned, frankly put,both these terms are one of the most misused words that have been molested repeatedly by its connoisseurs for their benefit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">And it's not just the individuals who have been set in motion.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wr8s_GtbGoE/UgE30KRD8AI/AAAAAAAAA8I/Idr2WOJC994/s1600/1779815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wr8s_GtbGoE/UgE30KRD8AI/AAAAAAAAA8I/Idr2WOJC994/s320/1779815.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The diversification
among the journalists have been blurred and the press too seems to have lost their
uniqueness, their 'impartial stand', so to say. The parameter to judge the
political identity has narrowed down.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">And one cannot blame Modi for this 'great-divide'. Rather, one can appreciate that at-least because of an individual, the classification has
moved from saffron, green, grey to a more simpler black and white.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, for every secular 'force' there is an equally strong 'communal' voice. For every pseudo-secular there is a fundamentalist. That’s
how the sides to a debate has emerged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">A newspaper that wrote
that Ishrat Jahan was allegedly a Lashkar-E-Taiba was automatically painted as
a ‘Communally-Right’ publication by another newspaper that is perceived as a
‘Secular-Left’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This visible political </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">difference in opinion and the efforts of the individuals and the institutions to make a stronger point to support their case </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">should be seen as a positive development. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is unique in the
sense that rather than letting people enjoy the 'privilege' of sitting on the
fence, it has forced them to take a principled stand, depending on their faith,
belief and assertions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">One can always question their
stand and their political belief or their secular and communal bias but then it also needs to be appreciated, that
in our country, taking a stand has never been our stronger points.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The battle of intellects between those who have been abundantly rewarded with it, has been going on ever since
Modi transformed from an individual to an election issue.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Those who think that he is the answer to
the ocean of problem the country is facing, win sometimes. Many times it is
those who consider him as anathema, who emerge as the winner. However, one thing is sure that t</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">he debate it slowly but surely moving from the simple shades branding someone a communal or identifying someone as a secular to the more complex world of merits,acumen and the ability of the individual to govern the Country.</span><br />
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</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
challenging of one’s political assertions and belief was never such a big
issue, until now. </span></div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-32483339809845700152013-06-11T15:36:00.002+05:302013-06-11T15:37:51.729+05:30The life goes on for Chanchal <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Abhinandan Mishra</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Patna</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Shailesh <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Paswan</span>, 43, is a distraught man. His morning starts with the cries of her daughter and it ends after he and his wife Sunaina Devi, have cleaned the wounds of her daughter and put her in the bed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JXZIQQo5ObU/Ubb2klZb5iI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/TQRWwKN4dug/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JXZIQQo5ObU/Ubb2klZb5iI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/TQRWwKN4dug/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">A daily labourer from Chitnava village in Maner near Patna, last year on 21 October, he woke up to frantic cries of her daughters, <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span>,19 and her 15 year old minor sister, who were attacked by 4 person who threw acid on them while they were sleeping on the terrace of their house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">“The caste culture in our area is very strong and the fact that my daughter, a lower caste girl and that too a girl, was attending school and stepping out of the house was not acceptable to them. Initially, she would come and tell me that they pass objectionable comments whenever she goes to school, so I told her to ignore them. I had never realized that I would have to pay such a heavy price for this. My daughter was a bright student and was doing computer course. We had thought of so many things for her. After she was born, I underwent vasectomy so that we could build their future. ”, Shailesh said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">His trouble did not end there. When he brought her daughters to Patna to the prestigious Patna Medical College Hospital, there also he was subjected to ‘torture’. “Bohat pareshan kiya humlogo ko, kaafi torture kiya. Nurse dawai ka bottle tod deti tee, doctor batameeji se baat karta tha. Baad mai hum woh aspatal chod deeye. Ab usko hum Safdarjung mai dikhwa rahe hain.”(They tortured us very much, the nurse would break the medicine bottle and the doctor would shout at us for no reasons. Later, we left that hospital. Now she is getting treatment at Safdarjung hospital, Delhi)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">“None of the leaders came to meet me. We have given representation to everyone including Nitishji but nothing is happening. How will I afford her treatment? The accused are also pressurizing me to arrive at a compromise.” Shailesh asks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Speaking to me, <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span> said that she had dreams of attending college, getting married, but all now all of them have been shattered. “Anil Rai had wrong intentions towards me and since I was resisting him, he threw the acid. They came to my house and while holding me down, they poured the acid on my face”, she recalled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Please write that I am living in so much pain, I cannot see as I have suffered more than 90 percent burns on my face. No one from my college or school ever comes to meet me“,<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span> said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">She demanded that the accused in the case should be given the severest of punishment. “My life is all shattered and I have no future. Please ask the government to help me and my sister who too suffered injuries while trying to save me”, <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span> said</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">The four accused in the case, Anil,Ghanshyam,Baadal and Raj, all have been arrested and after relentless pressure from social activists, the case has been put on fast track.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Initially the parents were facing hostility from everywhere including from the government and the hospital. It has been more than 5 months since the police promised that they would record the evidence of <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span> under section 164 but that has not happened till now. The main accused is now pleading that he is a juvenile, which is not true. The initial compensation of Rs 2.4 lakh that the government gave to them has been spent on travelling and treatment”, Varsha Jawalgekar, a social activist with Parivartan Kendra organization, who has been following up on <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Chanchal</span>’s case said.</span></div>
</div>
Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-49878088453508585952013-04-11T07:16:00.003+05:302013-04-11T07:38:12.972+05:30 Of Katju and his tales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
According to an ancient tale, many centuries ago, there was a
knight who would till the farms, count the cattle, predict the weather and
would do all sorts of thing without doing what he was required to do; protect
the damsel. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today , we are not sure about
whether such Knight did exist or not. However, Markandey Katju is there.</div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/3bYDTHT1XB7hHbDEAhL1HWymAvY9gf029VcWMI78k3bjqDJF2J50tPslWrZH0o1WnbzNzLTk6yIDnUHwgkfc7u90Ny2GmnBpyJyj7tCOmtdY4NY5hgzp4U_biQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/3bYDTHT1XB7hHbDEAhL1HWymAvY9gf029VcWMI78k3bjqDJF2J50tPslWrZH0o1WnbzNzLTk6yIDnUHwgkfc7u90Ny2GmnBpyJyj7tCOmtdY4NY5hgzp4U_biQ" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Katju or Justice Katju as he is
more commonly referred to, became the chairman of the Press Council of India in
October 2011 and ever since his tales of valour have reached everyone. His benevolent
deeds have affected all, except journalists.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His heroics are too big for
someone like me to describe but I will give it a try. Katju declared that 90
per cent of India is fool. But, he left it to the enlightened mind of the rest
10 per cent to decide whether they are a part of the 90 per cent or not. He sought
clemency for Sanjay Dutt as he could not get bank loan. He once famously announced
that agitations like that of Anna Hazare lack ‘scientific Idea’. One of his
less reported heroics can be read <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?284685">here.</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Last but not the least he stated
that a journalist should have a minimum qualification to become a journalist
and as I write, there is a panel that is working to decide the contours of such
qualification. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Journalism is good old days was
driven by common sense which gave the ability to decide what is news, why it is
news and how it is news. And however deep the regret, even now there is no
degree that can evaluate common sense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
According to Katju , the level of
excellence in journalism has fallen because of ‘bright’ people staying away
from the profession leading to the ‘ mediocre’
having a field day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Katju however ignores the reasons
behind why is journalism seen as the last abode of the fallen warriors? Why not
the battle field of Athena and Hermes?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A popular adage say that if you
pay peanuts you get monkeys. Now, I am told that even monkeys have graduated to
bananas. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/mc09rI8HgjMCW4zJMc8yIitGQAYqyfW4hszVJDOUvf92uJebM4EBD8OZwVHBN6kx6BkxaIN2iUM2XKfErOZ-H6LiSZrunT50dQU5Ccak3xXZlnz3W70G4D_5PaJvhAw5VjjmKnETVEk" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/mc09rI8HgjMCW4zJMc8yIitGQAYqyfW4hszVJDOUvf92uJebM4EBD8OZwVHBN6kx6BkxaIN2iUM2XKfErOZ-H6LiSZrunT50dQU5Ccak3xXZlnz3W70G4D_5PaJvhAw5VjjmKnETVEk" width="320" /></a>Katju, if he was aware of the
ground realities, would realize that the ‘bright’ people stay away from journalism
because the salary in this profession is not at par with what they might
receive in other profession. A law graduate who is interested in journalism won’t
think twice while deciding whether he should join Amarchand Mangaldas where his
initial salary would be close to Rs.90,000 per month or join any news agency or
a newspaper where he will not even get Rs.20,000. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The answer to this paying of
peanuts was Majithia wage board or at-least this was what many journalists hoped. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
The implementation of the
recommendation of the Majithia wage
board for journalist is pending since ages. However, since the ‘Maaliks’ are
not in favour of increasing the wages of the journalists, the recommendation have
become a dead horse, which is not even being flogged now.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The government too has chosen its
side by agreeing with the rich ‘Maaliks’ rather than the poor employee.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Has Katju ever spoken on this? What
has stopped him from writing a letter, which is one of his many strong points, to one and sundry seeking the
implementation of the Majithia wage board? Maybe the fact that it doesn't have
the glamour quotient that would attract headlines discouraged him from meddling
in this affair between the 'Maaliks', the government and the journalist. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Someone should tell him that the
panel that has been setup should also dwell on what ails journalism more? Lack
of intellect or lack of enough money to attract and sustain an intellect mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Journalists in this country seldom forget and rarely forgive. ( Just saying)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "http://images-onepick-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?container=onepick&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Fmultimedia%2Fdynamic%2F01419%2FHY07KATJU_1419618f.jpg" with "https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/3bYDTHT1XB7hHbDEAhL1HWymAvY9gf029VcWMI78k3bjqDJF2J50tPslWrZH0o1WnbzNzLTk6yIDnUHwgkfc7u90Ny2GmnBpyJyj7tCOmtdY4NY5hgzp4U_biQ" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "http://images-onepick-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?container=onepick&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindubusinessline.com%2Fmultimedia%2Fdynamic%2F01292%2Fkatju1_jpg_1292425g.jpg" with "https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/mc09rI8HgjMCW4zJMc8yIitGQAYqyfW4hszVJDOUvf92uJebM4EBD8OZwVHBN6kx6BkxaIN2iUM2XKfErOZ-H6LiSZrunT50dQU5Ccak3xXZlnz3W70G4D_5PaJvhAw5VjjmKnETVEk" -->Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-61056986478541674992013-02-22T22:17:00.001+05:302013-02-22T22:17:45.904+05:30Bombing of German bakery was a part of Karachi project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories/german-bakery-350_080212100623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories/german-bakery-350_080212100623.jpg" width="320" /></a>Syed Zabiuddin alias Abu Hamza
aka Abu Jundal who has been arrested for his role in the Mumbai 26/11 attack
was in close contact with Himayat Baig, the accused in the German bakery case.
This has been revealed in his interrogations by security officials.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
According to officials, Jundal,
who was acting as the handler for the 11 terrorists who had attacked Mumbai,
along-with one Fayyaz Kagzi, had trained Baig in Colombo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“It was after being trained by
Jundal that he carried out the attack”, a senior police official stated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Baig, who was arrested by ATS
Maharashtra is presently in judicial custody. According to officials, the two
used to exchange mails and avoid telephonic conversations. “Jundal had created
25 email ids to converse with each other. All these were in different names to
avoid detection.”</div>
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Baig had traveled to Colombo in
2008 on the instructions of Jundal's accomplice in Aurangabad arms haul case,
Fayyaz Kagzi, to receive training in bomb-making for the German Bakery attack.</div>
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“The close contact between Jundal
and Baig establishes that the Pune Mumbai was a part of a larger conspiracy,
aided by ISI,” an official stated.</div>
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The 2010 Pune bombing occurred on
13 February 2010 in which seventeen people were killed and 60 injured.</div>
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Officials said that the bombing
of German bakery was a part of Karachi project. The “Karachi Project” has been
described by security analyst as part of an overall strategy adopted by the
Pakistani Army to use terror outfits as a crucial part of a strategic arsenal
to hurt India's military and economic might. </div>
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This startling disclosure was
made by David C. Headley ,who stated that ISI is running, since 2003, a
residential protected compound in Karachi where a conglomerate of anti-Indian
individuals and groups were working together.</div>
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In-fact, LeT operative David
Coleman Headley, had conducted a surveillance of the German Bakery. Later,
Mirza Himayat Baig, too, carried out a reconnaissance tour of the German Bakery
on 31 January 2010.</div>
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The interrogation of Jundal has
also revealed that Baig was responsible for the merger of Laskar E Toiba (LeT)
modules with those of IM. "He was the LeT chief of Maharashtra and he was
the one who selected the targets, got in touch with the sleeper modules,
planned and execute the attack," said an official.</div>
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Mirza Himayat Baig was arrested
from Pune in September.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-35680172402461779372013-01-01T20:51:00.001+05:302013-01-01T21:04:57.327+05:30RIL had started drilling operations in KGD6 without environmental clearance <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222;"><span class="GingerNoCheckStart"></span>Reliance</span> Industries Limited (RIL) had begun drilling operations in the five blocks of the coast <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="off:0" grmarkguid="c6711bcb-131f-488e-8413-66a39fbf9622" gruiphraseguid="a9b9b676-06a1-4162-b324-b024136bbaa3">off</span> Andhra Pradesh without obtaining the mandated environment clearance in 2002. This was revealed when an official communication was made by a director rank officer in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to RIL in the same year.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9N1QzV8jCN8/UOL-ptlLXqI/AAAAAAAAA1I/IwS_1H3Z6SU/s1600/ril.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9N1QzV8jCN8/UOL-ptlLXqI/AAAAAAAAA1I/IwS_1H3Z6SU/s320/ril.JPG" width="248" /></a></div>
The letter dated October 28, 2002 has been addressed to A.N. <span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="Sethuraman:0" grmarkguid="5e2c6977-6a69-4283-a581-42cb0dd66ccf" gruiphraseguid="ee39e1f4-896b-4c5e-851c-642e0eca6aa6">Sethuraman</span>, then vice-president at RIL Delhi and has been written by Dr.G.V .Subramanyam, Director of Impact assessment, ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).</div>
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The letter talks about exploratory drilling operations undertaken by RIL in KG-D6 basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh and the application and documents that was forwarded by RIL to the MoEF for the same.</div>
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Dr<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=".:0" grmarkguid="a14686dd-a78b-4624-8d76-2c4c04426e33" gruiphraseguid="9630f4b3-d92f-4d91-bd85-713dd186d8bd">.</span>Subramanyam’s letter says that RILs application for environmental clearance was not accompanied by details of <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="public hearing:1" grmarkguid="02dad4fc-494f-47f3-8af1-dfd937cd00b7" gruiphraseguid="9630f4b3-d92f-4d91-bd85-713dd186d8bd">public hearing</span> which is mandatory under the environmental impact assessment (EIA), 1994.</div>
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More importantly, the letter mentions that RIL had started drilling operations without obtaining prior environmental clearance. <i>The content of the letter reads- “It has come to the notice of the ministry that M/S RIL have started drilling operations without obtaining prior environmental clearance. The ministry of petroleum vide their letter no- G-22012/5/2002-<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="):0" grmarkguid="6f2bd5e5-2217-44bc-89e9-b41fea07b845" gruiphraseguid="4aca3291-9329-4380-93a0-b58627396077">)</span>NG.DV dated September 12,2002 informed the ministry that M/S RIL (operator) vide their letter dated 22 August 2002 had indicated to the directorate of hydrocarbons that two wells have been drilled and a third well under drilling in KG-DWN-98/3<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="(:1" grmarkguid="a3735f2d-5f1f-479d-961b-031a74f3f52a" gruiphraseguid="4aca3291-9329-4380-93a0-b58627396077">(</span>KGD6).</i></div>
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According to the communication, the public hearing reports for all the 5 blocks were received by the ministry in September 2002. Whereas the drilling process has already begun in August.</div>
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The letter has also been marked <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="to:0" grmarkguid="d0989b1b-4a49-49e8-902e-3cd974c9d56f" gruiphraseguid="f1b5baa4-77b9-4413-8f73-03cc295a5246">to</span> the Secretary<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:0" grmarkguid="6b8cc25a-e89f-4452-a0ce-ec9f541a667f" gruiphraseguid="e576f540-c696-4b33-8410-67dde7540cf2">,</span>department of environment, Andhra Pradesh, Chairman, Central pollution control board, Chairman, Andhra Pradesh state pollution control board<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:1" grmarkguid="2b26923a-be88-47ac-b86f-701f8c89b67e" gruiphraseguid="e576f540-c696-4b33-8410-67dde7540cf2">,</span>Chief Conservation of forest, Bangalore, Senior advisor, MoEF and to the monitoring cell of <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="MoEF:2" grmarkguid="ddead9d1-d841-4ec3-a44c-06d0aa801dc4" gruiphraseguid="e576f540-c696-4b33-8410-67dde7540cf2">MoEF</span>.</div>
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The letter, while restraining RIL from commercially exploiting of hydrocarbon at that stage added that the state pollution control board of Andhra Pradesh had issued the no-objection certificate for this project only on 6 November 2002. This is more than three months after the actual drilling was started by RIL.</div>
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When contacted, the spokesperson of RIL had told journalist of a leading magazine, that the company had followed all the required rules. According to the spokesperson “As per the contract it was assumed that environment clearance was given if there was no response for 120 days from the concerned authorities. We waited for close to 200 days before beginning the drilling operation. Also, as per a draft circular, since these wells were beyond 30 kms of the territorial boundary of India, there was no need for a public hearing.”</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-13397358126300163892012-12-30T00:00:00.000+05:302012-12-30T08:40:41.133+05:30Journalists occupy government bungalows,refuse to pay rent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Senior journalists, including editors </span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:0" grmarkguid="13e6813b-5609-4497-9fee-14a57e746a63" gruiphraseguid="0a73a962-9537-4a12-924b-bb1336a683db" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">representatives of several Delhi, Chennai and Chandigarh based newspapers</span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:1" grmarkguid="addf3693-3179-489f-a890-75794e7da5f0" gruiphraseguid="0a73a962-9537-4a12-924b-bb1336a683db" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">magazines and news agencies are among the defaulter media persons who have not paid rent for the government accommodations given to them by Madhya Pradesh government in Bhopal. The 214 journalists, who have been staying in these bungalows for years and in some cases for over three decades, owe Rs 14 crores to the MP government.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sqie0Vfaoyg/UN82lejoKdI/AAAAAAAAA00/n4lcIYpmwek/s1600/52835955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sqie0Vfaoyg/UN82lejoKdI/AAAAAAAAA00/n4lcIYpmwek/s320/52835955.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In some cases <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="multipule:0" grmarkguid="e8118a4f-c003-42f2-9e50-e045005f6adb" gruiphraseguid="a6cd387d-413a-459f-85af-a19bc9f7fa15">multiple</span> bungalows have been given to <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="media organization:1" grmarkguid="98ef0977-e8ba-4763-8645-a1f0b513cad8" gruiphraseguid="a6cd387d-413a-459f-85af-a19bc9f7fa15">a media organization</span>.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">According to the list prepared by Ajay Sharma, Director of estates, the government had to evict some journalists from their government quarters as they did not pay the outstanding rent despite repeated reminders. As per the list , many journalists who have left the profession or staying outside Madhya Pradesh, are still staying in government quarters. These facts came to light after the the Jabalpur High Court accepted a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking action against the journalists for unauthorized possession of government bungalows.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The PIL was filed by SP Dikshit, who retired as joint director of <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="directorate:0" grmarkguid="2b23c75e-328f-4658-841e-d0896ce8aed8" gruiphraseguid="3b676547-fa93-4cf1-82e2-8bc58239def0">directorate</span> of public relations and information department, Madhya <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="pradesh:1" grmarkguid="b0a3e0a8-f8d5-4acf-b714-d558d404b84b" gruiphraseguid="3b676547-fa93-4cf1-82e2-8bc58239def0">pradesh</span>. <span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="Dikhsit:0" grmarkguid="c17b0625-9e63-4a8d-a981-464402f472f2" gruiphraseguid="1ea1aab6-a605-4f8c-ba38-b38f830748ef">Dikshit</span>, who accessed government documents relating to the allocation of the bungalows through RTI, found that the journalists were given bungalows in the posh and VIP areas of Bhopal including Char Imli, Shivaji Nagar and 45 Bungalows. The bungalows in these areas are generally given to ministers and senior bureaucrats.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Dikshit said that even the Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) had termed </span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="these possession:0" grmarkguid="13701d40-456b-492e-bb9f-a82181907202" gruiphraseguid="113306e2-4e4b-4f60-bc2e-fe47f50a7337" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">these possession</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> as illegal and had asked the state to recover the rent due. “The Supreme court in 2006 had asked the state governments including that of Madhya Pradesh to get the Bungalows evicted of these journalists. However the government is doing nothing as it does not want to antagonize the journalist fraternity. Many of the organizations like UNI</span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:0" grmarkguid="41028c57-bf85-41bc-b9a8-3a11d47046e4" gruiphraseguid="3358adf1-7a59-4f7c-8111-fa07342d0ea8" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Dainik Bhaskar</span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:1" grmarkguid="b990dc0e-3405-4a21-9e1a-c02b5d9c3e7b" gruiphraseguid="3358adf1-7a59-4f7c-8111-fa07342d0ea8" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Jagran</span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:2" grmarkguid="5048371b-6249-44ab-9ea0-42e6f44c2830" gruiphraseguid="7f467216-bfcf-498a-9b21-b0a6a0397d7b" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Times of India, Hindusan Times and PTI have more than three houses in their name”.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">According to officials of </span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="directorate:0" grmarkguid="308a200e-a269-42cd-acee-cc890a8977dc" gruiphraseguid="f0c3aef9-acde-4bb6-9cd1-3cd68d68ba8a" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">directorate</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> of estates, which is the department responsible for the allocation, it has managed to take back the possession of 23 houses. “As per the rules a house to a journalist can be allotted only for the period of three years. The government is taking the required action in cases where the time period for which the houses were allocated have expired. 176 bungalows are in illegal possession while 11 journalists moved to the high court and took a stay”, an official stated.</span><br />
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Dikshit said the list of defaulters as submitted by the director of estates will expand further if the dues of 2010-11,2011-12 periods are also included.</div>
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He added that Shivraj Singh Chauhan government has given plots of land to the journalists on concessional rates at Airport Road and on Hoshangabad Road but they still continue to occupy government houses .”The Previous governments too gave them land for construction of houses <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="at:0" grmarkguid="75bc3347-380a-4bab-b53c-2f0c090fcbb5" gruiphraseguid="0295b69a-56e3-43f8-968b-983587a33a10" style="background-color: white;">at</span> Chunna Bhatti Road .The journalists have rented out their houses to commercial establishments and staying in government accommodation,” he claimed. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A perusal of the list ( as <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="on:0" grmarkguid="a2e37cb5-952e-4c7f-aa6c-4d79677a5e0b" gruiphraseguid="eac49e2c-5d60-4146-a9d1-13496c27e97e">on</span> 30-11-2010) reveals that many of the journalists were given the bungalows as they were working for <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="national newspaper:1" grmarkguid="3703429c-22d9-4d74-aa88-822316625c2c" gruiphraseguid="eac49e2c-5d60-4146-a9d1-13496c27e97e"><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="national newspaper:1" grmarkguid="fb24cf2c-4534-4ebc-be39-782aa8439bca" gruiphraseguid="9060615f-2178-4143-8bb9-a3c5906f31bc">national newspaper</span>, </span>but they are still living in these bungalows despite the fact that </span><span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="national newspaper:1" grmarkguid="3703429c-22d9-4d74-aa88-822316625c2c" gruiphraseguid="eac49e2c-5d60-4146-a9d1-13496c27e97e" style="background-color: white;">have </span>now shifted to operating <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="websites:2" grmarkguid="46b492f6-9526-4507-aed9-adae817198cf" gruiphraseguid="9060615f-2178-4143-8bb9-a3c5906f31bc">websites</span>.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">“Many of the journalists are now staying in Delhi or other parts of the country but they are still occupying the bungalows in Bhopal. Some of them have left the profession and are working as public relation officers for companies yet they continue to occupy these bungalows. They have also <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="farm houses:0" grmarkguid="24645807-badb-4e8e-8bed-74379a809f95" gruiphraseguid="a02f37d9-04db-475f-bbb1-c9f71636bdaa">farm houses</span> in the capital which have been given to them at <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="nominal rate:1" grmarkguid="b38bc753-a32a-40d5-98a8-d238326e4105" gruiphraseguid="a02f37d9-04db-475f-bbb1-c9f71636bdaa">nominal rate</span> by successive government. Many political workers have been allotted these bungalows under the journalist quota”, Dikshit said.</span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-4344920067899137042012-11-20T02:08:00.000+05:302012-12-30T08:43:06.477+05:30Mumbai might have cried for him but it was Bombay that suffered the most because of him<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The three days of drama that was played out by channels finally ended as his </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">funeral pyre was consigned to flame <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid=",:0" grmarkguid="31eb1a8f-e9ee-44be-8d0a-4732cf77f67c" grphrase="3cc274e69648c04b1991ec5fb67d03e9374b0324" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7ac3e299-edd5-40fc-a00f-2433f43e2622" id="GRmark_3cc274e69648c04b1991ec5fb67d03e9374b0324_,:0">,</span>mercifully, without Mumbai <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="being:1" grmarkguid="13feafbc-8c68-416f-a5dc-55235d308a2f" grphrase="3cc274e69648c04b1991ec5fb67d03e9374b0324" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7ac3e299-edd5-40fc-a00f-2433f43e2622" id="GRmark_3cc274e69648c04b1991ec5fb67d03e9374b0324_being:1">being</span> burnt. However, his <span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="eulogization:0" grmarkguid="3a3d43f9-ad5c-40df-925e-02da9c4796de" grphrase="82889c1654eb2cd1ca1351fc7fee3f6b1f0b2151" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7acf9bda-4d95-4f0c-ad6b-7e55bb7b30ae" id="GRmark_82889c1654eb2cd1ca1351fc7fee3f6b1f0b2151_eulogization:0">eulogization</span> <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="contined:1" grmarkguid="eeff790e-f8b4-4c87-a7f3-ccc4ad1fa44a" grphrase="82889c1654eb2cd1ca1351fc7fee3f6b1f0b2151" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7acf9bda-4d95-4f0c-ad6b-7e55bb7b30ae" id="GRmark_82889c1654eb2cd1ca1351fc7fee3f6b1f0b2151_contined:1">contined</span> for long, very long.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://thuppahi.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/06-bombay-victim-23-feb-1993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://thuppahi.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/06-bombay-victim-23-feb-1993.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He was a
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="man:0" grmarkguid="42d82a18-333a-40c2-9122-e2583d815a93" grphrase="b9f31e764c0ad166a13fa7f08d8310ee378e5649" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7924720f-f7c6-4ab2-b6bb-90d18c17d5fe" id="GRmark_b9f31e764c0ad166a13fa7f08d8310ee378e5649_man:0">man</span> who was accused in dozens of different criminal cases, was indicted
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="by:0" grmarkguid="9baed279-be2f-4ffd-b2b2-82ffe7e63af2" grphrase="dc7f1ebcafdc67227bc56cf2657902229a50225d" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="4fff9634-d045-4249-b0b0-8b63953d11ef" id="GRmark_dc7f1ebcafdc67227bc56cf2657902229a50225d_by:0">by</span> law for his supremacy in the Bombay riots, had boasted that if he is
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="arrested:0" grmarkguid="fd91c3d7-4275-47ec-8ac8-ec958db2957a" grphrase="5e3f8ef507f537da634ba919e1d61e5c83a85191" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="bd4e4ad7-7a81-42c5-a342-b75a5ef1b3ee" id="GRmark_5e3f8ef507f537da634ba919e1d61e5c83a85191_arrested:0">arrested</span> than the whole of Bombay will burn and yet none of the famed <span class="GRcorrect" grphrase="996b0e7881e58f9f0b21ef2fecdcf01515d5e9ae" grtype="null" id="GRmark_996b0e7881e58f9f0b21ef2fecdcf01515d5e9ae_journalists:0">journalists</span>, columnists, anchors and activists, even mentioned, even for the sake of moral
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="ethics:0" grmarkguid="cd39307f-8232-4f9b-8e98-94813c8b4de0" grphrase="9b60dc1b58d3aa9db2692edf2ff38a22afd4b71a" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="69a30811-7a9c-4a57-9552-e4115c884884" id="GRmark_9b60dc1b58d3aa9db2692edf2ff38a22afd4b71a_ethics:0">ethics</span>, the dark side of this man. Was it fear? Hypocrisy? <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="or:0" grmarkguid="59162b00-c8b8-4948-991d-d34e13cecd38" grphrase="9044980c00295937470e19afdee8db7b806cd49d" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="5d077a4b-b8b8-4479-b8e3-1be920ec57ab" id="GRmark_9044980c00295937470e19afdee8db7b806cd49d_or:0">or</span> both?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The next day
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="came:0" grmarkguid="482ae5d4-5157-47bc-9aeb-10fb4b49808a" grphrase="1f70bd8e69864ad4fe71137585a62f0f82215ee0" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="d988d485-1cbd-483b-84f6-e888eedbf5ec" id="GRmark_1f70bd8e69864ad4fe71137585a62f0f82215ee0_came:0">came</span> as a bigger shock, with all the newspapers devoting most
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="of:0" grmarkguid="9e06666c-9401-4e74-bf57-ef0ae4c6f854" grphrase="550717945bc2a17f4b4489b5e3387c592f60f6f9" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="d37e1390-fa10-45fa-9208-45bd3ac6a6b2" id="GRmark_550717945bc2a17f4b4489b5e3387c592f60f6f9_of:0">of</span> their resources to glorify the tale of this man, who much to my amusement,
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="was:0" grmarkguid="43d7deb9-96f1-48d1-a034-f45f8b14e783" grphrase="74f106ed1379e7c5982b6b9b321b7be9fed2a598" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="64731d60-5d2b-4238-8daa-9f8fe7bcd75f" id="GRmark_74f106ed1379e7c5982b6b9b321b7be9fed2a598_was:0">was</span> called by one of the channels as the ‘tiger’ of Maharashtra. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He was
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="glorified:0" grmarkguid="a2bb0d6e-e34f-48cf-882d-8a73dde14d9f" grphrase="4b76049b5959430d0c29a5207884274f0c2747c1" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="2422fc13-b7f0-4f54-bdaa-6d9d911fc14e" id="GRmark_4b76049b5959430d0c29a5207884274f0c2747c1_glorified:0">glorified</span> when he was alive and he immortalized when he died. I was told by some
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="of:0" grmarkguid="64360c23-7632-4911-9824-7c71ce5f9810" grphrase="07afca059a129f900d22610fd5976c3ff85bef14" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="cfbd6999-80db-431f-a50c-dd5ee042400d" id="GRmark_07afca059a129f900d22610fd5976c3ff85bef14_of:0">of</span> my friends that Mumbai mourned, like it has never before, on his death. But
I believe that even though the decibel was much lower and there was not a human
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="flood:0" grmarkguid="53769598-0ada-4ad4-845d-ad658bb3c275" grphrase="a425e0849bfcc7c0400c4bf1a5d911466c6b24f2" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="e3e86556-1ed5-4e51-846f-2fca0292438a" id="GRmark_a425e0849bfcc7c0400c4bf1a5d911466c6b24f2_flood:0">flood</span> to prove it, yet the heart of Mumbai bled the most when it was attacked
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="on:0" grmarkguid="719ae133-7b51-4dee-879d-199f077e740c" grphrase="89b5c91a074529ed8decba156a74fbbc08da8aed" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="dc7e124b-f42d-41f4-aad3-8bb893bfbab9" id="GRmark_89b5c91a074529ed8decba156a74fbbc08da8aed_on:0">on</span> the infamous night of 26/11.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even though
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="the:0" grmarkguid="4d8008a1-7905-433d-a444-f38ad3b01fbe" grphrase="2fe3895007c559d440c43d0757c43d58909446cf" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="87fc59bd-3f47-40b5-b020-440232eba63a" id="GRmark_2fe3895007c559d440c43d0757c43d58909446cf_the:0">the</span> ocean of followers gave the "undisputed king of Mumbai" a teary farewell, as
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="described:0" grmarkguid="3ed17410-c91f-4ebb-a3e6-8db1b55a6ad3" grphrase="c884767367ab27e8470d19dfbdc33b389bb536e8" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="d46ee3cb-92df-4e5b-b24e-6207d1917afc" id="GRmark_c884767367ab27e8470d19dfbdc33b389bb536e8_described:0">described</span> by a leading English daily, it is not a big ask to imagine the pain
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="of:0" grmarkguid="b407e356-9487-4fb9-bc97-51da4b23da4f" grphrase="659b960d1f6e2f498800f9c24081aa251dc48889" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="b1646e17-1f21-4775-9eb7-80eef2f727d4" id="GRmark_659b960d1f6e2f498800f9c24081aa251dc48889_of:0">of</span> Mumbaikars, would have been much
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="more:0" grmarkguid="edd14264-1368-4d14-8047-db2affb9b06e" grphrase="773362f9ac65ba7f338345f92844e5eebce9b744" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="0ef3a59e-647b-4b91-a0e8-600eef6dea04" id="GRmark_773362f9ac65ba7f338345f92844e5eebce9b744_more:0">more</span>, when Mumbai was burning during the 1992 riots, which led to the ‘E’ from
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="the:0" grmarkguid="c09d61a3-b667-47de-817c-7d8baaeaa3c6" grphrase="81769135bdd6e0c5fbe213a229cdbb8f419908f8" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="53834813-c4fe-43db-a6de-ccf934e1b42a" id="GRmark_81769135bdd6e0c5fbe213a229cdbb8f419908f8_the:0">the</span> iconic ‘Bombay <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="dyeing:1" grmarkguid="d2900ecf-4ed8-4900-9b57-29a0fb76d12a" grphrase="81769135bdd6e0c5fbe213a229cdbb8f419908f8" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="53834813-c4fe-43db-a6de-ccf934e1b42a" id="GRmark_81769135bdd6e0c5fbe213a229cdbb8f419908f8_dyeing:1">dyeing</span>’ being erased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The man was
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="responsible:0" grmarkguid="19fd105e-a478-429c-9748-423f34454aa8" grphrase="d98f8f8d273c2588d95eca3ef19bd361e100af91" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="4293fade-f946-48b3-93e7-b50d689ea972" id="GRmark_d98f8f8d273c2588d95eca3ef19bd361e100af91_responsible:0">responsible</span> for holding a beautiful city to ransom till he was alive and when
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="he:0" grmarkguid="9773b409-59c9-4942-9a48-687d3f75fce8" grphrase="b0159fce9250f15a33a0965f36f04817eb8beddb" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="c77c1b82-24c3-4bbd-95ed-d95aea960602" id="GRmark_b0159fce9250f15a33a0965f36f04817eb8beddb_he:0">he</span> died the city still struggled to come out of its suffocating hold. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He created a
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="myth:0" grmarkguid="a5acaec7-23c0-41fe-8374-508f10911e70" grphrase="b51ebc2a704d281870b28dd1addc86205a1c1763" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="3248b062-4ac5-47b6-8d0e-fdf8215daaaa" id="GRmark_b51ebc2a704d281870b28dd1addc86205a1c1763_myth:0">myth</span> that it was because of him that the <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="under world:1" grmarkguid="01f5761b-8e41-471e-b674-3a279cf92159" grphrase="b51ebc2a704d281870b28dd1addc86205a1c1763" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="3248b062-4ac5-47b6-8d0e-fdf8215daaaa" id="GRmark_b51ebc2a704d281870b28dd1addc86205a1c1763_under world:1">under world</span> was checked and it was
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="because:0" grmarkguid="801128f2-6a5d-467c-87cb-3a6891138ea5" grphrase="78f2fd487fc24ea087af786edc76e60fe05e17fe" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="6d6ef92d-6640-49d8-a368-412b97161f20" id="GRmark_78f2fd487fc24ea087af786edc76e60fe05e17fe_because:0">because</span> of him that the ‘religious balance’ of the city was kept in check. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Such was his
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="legacy:0" grmarkguid="accf761a-47fd-4a75-a07c-8f52ed945157" grphrase="8ae08aaa8d7832c5570e77eb0717bdb7aed2d1cd" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="d5cb5a7b-ab4d-4f11-938a-6d39d1c944f8" id="GRmark_8ae08aaa8d7832c5570e77eb0717bdb7aed2d1cd_legacy:0">legacy</span>, some ‘idiot’ might call it fear, that people who are admired by
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="thousand:0" grmarkguid="107f921f-39f9-4e33-8f7c-5c57370ed8be" grphrase="1e93184321650b29cb055ad14deea359fc5bb788" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="cbd330bc-17d9-47f4-82b1-876d3b3f21f4" id="GRmark_1e93184321650b29cb055ad14deea359fc5bb788_thousand:0">thousand</span> others, made sure that their name is registered in the list of those
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="who:0" grmarkguid="15c561f3-f871-49e3-9c21-b40332af3a57" grphrase="f439fb05c0bb86f35941390f0597d2c8fefdccc1" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="26bb9a36-3762-4ff5-aff6-8e7e38c820f2" id="GRmark_f439fb05c0bb86f35941390f0597d2c8fefdccc1_who:0">who</span> paid their last homage to him. He ruled through fear and this fear was
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="evident:0" grmarkguid="ccf9fa52-88d1-40e9-bfe6-81cffdc72246" grphrase="c3187851f81e0f164329229f454050a02c0bde81" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="e76e866f-a89f-45ff-a2d9-1f5d6d9a9de0" id="GRmark_c3187851f81e0f164329229f454050a02c0bde81_evident:0">evident</span> even after his death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But let’s
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="step:0" grmarkguid="c9f33974-9527-4a2b-aca1-11302c6c3849" grphrase="e904ab4d4ec1c93e16d61a15206a32b63ee3a6b7" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="3670ee28-35c6-43fe-8fa0-f87142b26cc5" id="GRmark_e904ab4d4ec1c93e16d61a15206a32b63ee3a6b7_step:0">step</span> back and think of those who lost their lives in the hands of his goons. What
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="would:0" grmarkguid="7557e216-3f38-4b84-b800-fdf523c68650" grphrase="389c4f1d345d252e5eed559605e4879960aa863e" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7382db55-e32e-4f1f-b348-9c0f354d7876" id="GRmark_389c4f1d345d252e5eed559605e4879960aa863e_would:0">would</span> have been going <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="though:1" grmarkguid="66ba3873-82cf-4c78-a4d4-162d9c65193a" grphrase="389c4f1d345d252e5eed559605e4879960aa863e" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7382db55-e32e-4f1f-b348-9c0f354d7876" id="GRmark_389c4f1d345d252e5eed559605e4879960aa863e_though:1">though</span> their minds? How would have they felt after
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="witnessing:0" grmarkguid="e133893b-6065-4aef-9fdf-d55f56d9671a" grphrase="a37f17114bf21f8a92067c6885f00dfd9fdf99f3" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="2836aefc-5f7a-4d19-a089-6f56bd0f4268" id="GRmark_a37f17114bf21f8a92067c6885f00dfd9fdf99f3_witnessing:0">witnessing</span> the endless onslaught of glorification and eulogizing of someone who
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="single:0" grmarkguid="0c909012-db28-4994-9193-2497b14e9ff0" grphrase="1b473e89b942d29b746bf08a6ece259d768deb05" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="9fbbd371-fc03-4893-aaf8-d943944ce98c" id="GRmark_1b473e89b942d29b746bf08a6ece259d768deb05_single:0">single</span> <span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="handedly:1" grmarkguid="fa625ba5-0e59-4fcb-93bb-de300f8d3553" grphrase="1b473e89b942d29b746bf08a6ece259d768deb05" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="9fbbd371-fc03-4893-aaf8-d943944ce98c" id="GRmark_1b473e89b942d29b746bf08a6ece259d768deb05_handedly:1">handedly</span> sowed a seed of long lasting mistrust between two communities?
Someone who became world famous for ‘successfully’ holding Bombay riots?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">B.N.
<span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="Srikrishna:0" grmarkguid="35edf3a9-4e53-42b7-9944-9ab0e642c51f" grphrase="f4a6a11ca58fd4da65c741fca20dd94e6f138f6a" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="bbe86d39-9035-4f4c-9c28-54fff6d59c3d" id="GRmark_f4a6a11ca58fd4da65c741fca20dd94e6f138f6a_Srikrishna:0">Srikrishna</span> Commission, that was asked to look into the riots, had these words
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="for:0" grmarkguid="c761e2ea-83d5-40d3-9e5c-73ae832a987b" grphrase="8ff374861ce20c64a501a5fa6565bf0eb6685cb2" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="099f9224-b083-43e6-8f83-6c12d93745ae" id="GRmark_8ff374861ce20c64a501a5fa6565bf0eb6685cb2_for:0">for</span> him-"Veteran general commanding his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate by
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organised:0" grmarkguid="12ed9b31-2726-4919-b5d6-d3c92da08185" grphrase="fd203a59cb070586f7031fd58126d261a5803940" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="393dd7ad-1287-4a50-ad9c-cb0025c56dd2" id="GRmark_fd203a59cb070586f7031fd58126d261a5803940_organised:0">organised</span> attacks against Muslims.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The commission
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="had:0" grmarkguid="45f481b6-f2fb-4bb6-af16-c40d5e664c94" grphrase="532efdc66488aa1a2848f5d97f72a1c09e3b0d7c" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="e13eb10e-9b99-4ffe-8dcc-e16ac84a00c0" id="GRmark_532efdc66488aa1a2848f5d97f72a1c09e3b0d7c_had:0">had</span> left nothing to ambiguity – “There is no doubt that the Shiv Sena and Shiv
<span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="Sainiks:0" grmarkguid="1bec4038-b2b8-4873-9337-c55e7dce5619" grphrase="cb947b19d8697b83cec55c70f0be8bfb3273dc0a" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7442aefc-6931-499c-bd22-2b6c0473367e" id="GRmark_cb947b19d8697b83cec55c70f0be8bfb3273dc0a_Sainiks:0">Sainiks</span> took the lead in <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organising:1" grmarkguid="596e45d5-bed2-434e-a7d3-53d3ca1a6981" grphrase="cb947b19d8697b83cec55c70f0be8bfb3273dc0a" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7442aefc-6931-499c-bd22-2b6c0473367e" id="GRmark_cb947b19d8697b83cec55c70f0be8bfb3273dc0a_organising:1">organising</span> attacks on Muslims and their properties
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="under:0" grmarkguid="aa0a4a30-649f-4ae8-8e78-2c20cfa34155" grphrase="349b793fb38acc9340ce0fe74fab712303e3064c" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="6a263679-cf64-4527-8404-ad0eed45c57a" id="GRmark_349b793fb38acc9340ce0fe74fab712303e3064c_under:0">under</span> the guidance of several leaders" from the level of shakha pramukh to
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="that:0" grmarkguid="3dc802a0-71f1-495d-9f7e-b4f3641c7df3" grphrase="f195b1259ad99c58394ad6b58803353f4b54b1ce" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="77dae4e9-4c67-4751-a817-2b5e3e56ebb3" id="GRmark_f195b1259ad99c58394ad6b58803353f4b54b1ce_that:0">that</span> of Sena chief Bal Thackeray”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But this man
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="was:0" grmarkguid="b64425c3-fe47-4df1-8122-49dc1395b183" grphrase="cf1e27d5978bdcbcfb7b67d6d9c1f9f949d463c3" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="dc22917e-7e84-4aae-979d-9ab186c8a4c2" id="GRmark_cf1e27d5978bdcbcfb7b67d6d9c1f9f949d463c3_was:0">was</span> never arrested, never faced trial and was never asked that how does one
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="justify:0" grmarkguid="51dc7dda-bede-4d99-8b55-db8c929ca8dd" grphrase="a9fa96f65c826ab58d945fab4d07139b80830884" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="34246b61-b828-4173-9d6e-1013dec345ff" id="GRmark_a9fa96f65c826ab58d945fab4d07139b80830884_justify:0">justify</span> the killing of harmless humans. He was a shadow of darkness that was
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="there:0" grmarkguid="b6f8f4e1-f9af-490c-a11e-7ea67b141eec" grphrase="456783620d90b5b8c864fb7509a157b43d22231a" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="4b16d857-f8ac-4800-ac1a-9027f58bf444" id="GRmark_456783620d90b5b8c864fb7509a157b43d22231a_there:0">there</span> even on the brightest of Mumbai night. His arrest was unthinkable- Bombay
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="would:0" grmarkguid="62f8a662-03e7-454d-9a82-e21ae1042ee6" grphrase="8e423af444ad3b99dc49fc602232850a45aa96f7" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="720a9473-1f56-4cd6-9e0f-5a3e6bc6a7ed" id="GRmark_8e423af444ad3b99dc49fc602232850a45aa96f7_would:0">would</span> have burned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Whom were we
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="praising:0" grmarkguid="a50f4900-6142-40f8-8ca4-d11f356105e3" grphrase="f5efd36f8e51261e2dabf2862e43ecab15be21e2" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="e067f5bf-0183-47f8-8d82-7d7bb6b159b6" id="GRmark_f5efd36f8e51261e2dabf2862e43ecab15be21e2_praising:0">praising</span>? Some anchors told me that he was a mass leader, an efficient
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organizer:0" grmarkguid="9ec98883-2b82-4c9a-a536-e388a249f90a" grphrase="248f111faec9b38a98494f314d1c2b52686eb60f" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="a9088d59-aaae-414b-8a55-bfd1f144af13" id="GRmark_248f111faec9b38a98494f314d1c2b52686eb60f_organizer:0">organizer</span> or more ironically an artist of par excellence, who was put in the
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="same:0" grmarkguid="56bc766f-02a6-4914-8c7e-7007aa7c83a9" grphrase="d386d7c5c9605f3a0d7b073101568f3ab15915bf" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="25f6e17f-9119-4742-80e8-b75bb98cd2ec" id="GRmark_d386d7c5c9605f3a0d7b073101568f3ab15915bf_same:0">same</span> league of R.K Lakshman by others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But, was not
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="he:0" grmarkguid="be74b927-099a-447f-bd01-5962a3169e83" grphrase="16d5f7ea873cab24d80cefcb3e0ac20ae86ba2b9" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="7fe4e86a-d38c-4b45-ba65-ce5ac5d876ee" id="GRmark_16d5f7ea873cab24d80cefcb3e0ac20ae86ba2b9_he:0">he</span> responsible for 900 deaths in Mumbai? No- that happened in 1992. Twenty
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="years:0" grmarkguid="e68322c0-ed12-4bca-9f22-dc8bee1d3444" grphrase="a2a7e345a7832602de8f52d9834cf645ffa315b7" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="45ca09b0-2995-417f-ba24-7f57554fb5a5" id="GRmark_a2a7e345a7832602de8f52d9834cf645ffa315b7_years:0">years</span> of <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="politics:1" grmarkguid="850bd84f-a884-4fb5-8f4c-535eba3d1dbe" grphrase="a2a7e345a7832602de8f52d9834cf645ffa315b7" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="45ca09b0-2995-417f-ba24-7f57554fb5a5" id="GRmark_a2a7e345a7832602de8f52d9834cf645ffa315b7_politics:1">politics</span> and hooliganism can wash of many things, including murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some would
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="say:0" grmarkguid="f9522c21-836c-4aa8-a0db-e03fc4050558" grphrase="9cdd6aaaad497d1426347ae03f04826c382e0699" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="8ef409ad-ea48-450c-ad98-0f28aa87dd1b" id="GRmark_9cdd6aaaad497d1426347ae03f04826c382e0699_say:0">say</span> that he deserved the state funeral that he was accorded with. They will
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="also:0" grmarkguid="1ff521e1-6514-4e12-8764-759ffdd27a8f" grphrase="ff61369a4740d56c19c16878ee2b5d9327245249" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="58694e2f-521b-4eef-8ff2-f48f189589ea" id="GRmark_ff61369a4740d56c19c16878ee2b5d9327245249_also:0">also</span> say that his final journey was well served by the presence of superstars,
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="industrialists:0" grmarkguid="68e20105-f342-4f3d-a569-ed6f94a1d730" grphrase="66489f3383f3f4995836290614b25e79aa88822d" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="ed31fd99-8533-4111-890f-1925d5f4d1f5" id="GRmark_66489f3383f3f4995836290614b25e79aa88822d_industrialists:0">industrialists</span> and politicians alike. But a few would like to know that was not
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="he:0" grmarkguid="22144916-09fc-4491-9785-21ad4a6a9c0b" grphrase="fa23b96421de89978d47b2479c049520000285a8" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="201e5590-f3c3-4e34-82df-b1273ae0ffc0" id="GRmark_fa23b96421de89978d47b2479c049520000285a8_he:0">he</span> a murderer after all? A mass murderer? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They tell me
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="that:0" grmarkguid="7cc2350b-d62d-49f2-8117-1fd1ff809fed" grphrase="ef2e5d114b6f12b0c8e78e6bda13a6fde446360b" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="40e22cb6-48c0-4c88-a8ba-a5985a9b6c6c" id="GRmark_ef2e5d114b6f12b0c8e78e6bda13a6fde446360b_that:0">that</span> thousands cried when he passed away but spare a moment for those who died
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="in:0" grmarkguid="859f721a-f47f-4054-a280-3666c92cf93c" grphrase="cc5aea30bd86968282e448fd6b4d2e7411bb657f" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="864d2671-9c06-4a96-9e0d-ed535a81f76d" id="GRmark_cc5aea30bd86968282e448fd6b4d2e7411bb657f_in:0">in</span> 1992 and their relatives who will have to live with the fact that the
<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="perpetrator:0" grmarkguid="d4129dd9-6223-4997-a4c5-5cd3b1e00353" grphrase="8379de8431ba054fb044cadad17f58da8700e43e" grtype="null" gruiphraseguid="c1e8a8b5-2609-4091-bd55-6fb5c01163a6" id="GRmark_8379de8431ba054fb044cadad17f58da8700e43e_perpetrator:0">perpetrator</span> of those riots died without being brought to justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18px;">Mumbai might have cried for him but it was Bombay that suffered the most because of him.</span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-4139610744201815282012-10-23T23:16:00.001+05:302012-12-30T08:42:27.773+05:30Delhi Police claim on Pune blast refutes Shinde’s statement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This was first carried <a href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/investigation/delhi-police-claim-on-pune-blast-refutes-shindes-statement">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="authorName" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">ABHINANDAN MISHRA</span><span class="camCase" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Policemen search for clues at the site of a blast in Pune in August this year. Four low-intensity bomb blasts in quick succession shook the city. PTI</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The claim made by the Delhi police that it has solved the 1 August Pune blast by busting an Indian Mujahideen (IM) module, flies in the face of earlier statements made by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the Pune police commissioner. On the day of the blast, Pune police commissioner Gulabrao Pol had said that the blast was a case of "mischief" and not an act of terror. His words were echoed by the newly sworn in Home Minister, Shinde.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">However, Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar announced on 11 October that the blast was masterminded by the founder-brothers of the IM, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal. He also said that that they had arrested Asad Khan, a resident of Aurangabad, Imran Khan, a resident of Nanded in Maharashtra and Sayed Feroz, a resident of Pune, from Nizamuddin railway station on 1 October for being involved in the blast. According to Kumar, the blast was carried out to avenge the killing of suspected IM member Qateel Siddiqui in Yerwada jail in Pune on 8 June.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kumar alleged that the terrorists had planned everything meticulously. "They brought explosives and electronic items for assembling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) from an <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="electrical:0" grmarkguid="f6680e3f-8202-4d58-b3d0-12e8c88bd658" gruiphraseguid="63281f62-decf-4409-91cb-810d691d4525">electrical</span> market in Budhwarpeth, Pune. They also bought digital watches and circuit boards. Ball bearings were brought by Imran from Nanded. The accused conducted reconnaissance in Mumbai before deciding on Pune," Kumar told the media.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The whole bombing plan was <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="done:0" grmarkguid="557ac558-97f1-49ec-990a-62fe9429e03b" gruiphraseguid="5916a91f-b267-46a5-a946-cdfd8853ffae">done</span> inside 55 days of Siddiqui's killing. Kumar said that vital inputs were provided by Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, one of the alleged handlers of the 26/11 Mumbai attackers, who was shown to be arrested on 21 June.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">However, the police commissioner did not answer how Jundal, who, as per government's own submission to the Supreme Court, was in Saudi custody, could have been a part of the plot, which was hatched after 8 June.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.5em;">Siddiqui was killed on 8 June, while Jundal, after being in Saudi custody for 16 days, was handed over to India on 21 June. Going by this chronology, Jundal was arrested not later than 5 June by the Saudi authorities and hence he could not have been directly associated with the plan to avenge the death of Siddiqui.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The arrest of Sayed Feroz from the Nizamuddin railway station has also raised questions <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="on:0" grmarkguid="fd25fb99-532d-4f98-ae4f-f30d58f1eedc" gruiphraseguid="d8029e57-881e-42a0-83fd-a3fd67df5501">on</span> the working of the Special Cell, which is notorious for making questionable arrests. This is not for the first time that the Special Cell has arrested someone from a railway station or a metro station. Recently, the Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA) in its report titled "Framed, Damned, Acquitted" questioned this "routine" practice of picking up suspects without enlisting the help of independent witnesses. The JTSA quoted a couple of court observations questioning the Delhi police's actions. In the State versus Irshad Ahmad Malik case, the court noticed that any effort to enlist independent witnesses "was omitted by the police deliberately".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Similarly, in the State versus Mukhtar Ahmed case, the court questioned the arrest of an alleged accused by the Special Cell and noted that "the distance between the Special Cell office and the Azadpur Mandi (from where the accused was allegedly apprehended) is 20 kms and is dotted with numerous government offices. In the four and a half hours (the time between the receipt of secret information and arrest) they had, on the long stretch to Azadpur, the Special Cell could have enlisted some credible independent witnesses."</span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-77914209274619270052012-10-20T21:10:00.003+05:302012-10-23T23:18:28.770+05:30Police framed journalist in Israeli case, claims lawyer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Syed Mohammed Kazmi’s lawyer has pointed out several loopholes in the chargesheet filed by the Special Cell. This was first carried <a href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/component/content/article/39-investigation/14865-police-framed-journalist-in-israeli-case-claims-lawyer">here.</a></div>
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The car carrying Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua Koren was attacked on 13 February. PTI</div>
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he chargesheet against journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi filed by Delhi police special cell is filled with loopholes. Kazmi's lawyer Mehmood Pracha alleges that the discrepancies prove that the Delhi police is trying to frame the journalist in the Israeli embassy car bomb blast case.</div>
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Kazmi is an accused in the attack on Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua Koren on 13 February, which left her seriously injured. The chargesheet names Kazmi as the main accused and lists four Iranians among the suspects. Kazmi was arrested on 6 March.</div>
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The chargesheet has three different versions on the motorbike that was allegedly used by the person who carried out the attack. According to Koren, the attacker was riding a black bike. However, two independent witnesses, "A" and "B", who were driving behind Koren's car, said that the bike was red, and that there was no bike, respectively. "These two witnesses were at a vantage point to see what was happening. Even they are not sure whether the bike was black, red, or whether there was any bike," Pracha told this newspaper.</div>
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Pracha says that his client has been "made a scapegoat". "The police had to book someone. As soon as Sanjeev Yadav of the Special Cell (SC) took over the case on 26 February, the investigation went in a wrong direction. It was he who came out with the sticky bomb theory," said Pracha.</div>
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Similarly, the Special Cell cited a mobile phone number that it alleged was being used by Houshan Afshar Irani (Iranian national accused in the case). Kazmi often called this number from his own mobile phone, the Special Cell claimed. It provided a copy of Irani's passport, which it furnished as proof for obtaining the number.</div>
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Kazmi’s lawyer said that his client was being framed because he was in the forefront of the Karbala movement and the restoration of the graveyard located under Rajdhani Nursery in BK Dutt Colony.</div>
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"It is easy to use someone else's documents to get a SIM card. How can we be sure that someone else did not use Irani's passport to buy the SIM? The copy of the passport can be easily obtained from FCRO (Foreign Credentials Referral Office) .Why wasn't the statement of the shop owner who gave the SIM taken by the Special Cell?" asked Pracha.</div>
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Surprisingly, the call records of the mobile phone allegedly used by Irani to show that he was present at the attack site have not been attached as evidence.</div>
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Pracha also questions the recovery of the "bomb making material" from room number 305 of Hotel High 5 in Karol Bagh where the alleged perpetrators of the attack were staying. According to the hotel manager, the room was unoccupied from 13 February to 26 February when the police first went there to seal the room. All the other rooms were occupied during that period.</div>
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"It is hard to believe that for 13 days no one occupied this room when all the other rooms were booked. Secondly, it's harder to believe that for 13 days the hotel staff did not go inside the room to clean it."</div>
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Kazmi's lawyer said that his client was being framed because he was in the forefront of the Karbala movement and the restoration of the graveyard located under Rajdhani Nursery in BK Dutt Colony: "He was a leading member of the movement and his writings criticising Israel were not liked by people in the establishment."</div>
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"He is innocent and soon he will be released. However more than focusing on his release, Kazmi has told me that I should also make sure that the court punishes the police personnel who have wrongly framed him," said Pracha.</div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-977271281617618941.post-30443069309536226552012-10-11T10:03:00.003+05:302012-12-30T08:44:06.534+05:30Anti-India Hizb-ut-Tahrir raises its head, goes unnoticed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="authorName" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">ABHINANDAN MISHRA</span><span class="camCase" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: capitalize; vertical-align: baseline;"> NEW DELHI | 26th Feb 2012</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This was first published <a href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/anti-india-hizb-raises-its-head-goes-unnoticed" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Indian government is yet to take note of the accelerating emergence of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), a political <span class="GRspelling" gruiphraseguid="b10d2b72-75b6-4105-ab9f-74b49c27550c">organisation</span> banned in several countries. The HuT was recently in the news for its alleged involvement in the failed coup attempt in Bangladesh, orchestrated to bring down Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is seen as pro-India.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Till now, the only instance of HuT's presence acknowledged by the Indian security establishment is the demonstration that it arranged at Batla House in New Delhi, in 2010, to protest Israel's action in Gaza. "The HuT has a presence in the national capital. This was visible in the 2010 rally, which was mostly attended by students," said a top official who is with an anti-terror body. The HuT is known to be behind the floating of several NGOs that target police action in sweeping locations where terrorists are suspected to be clustered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The HuT, which was founded in 1953 in Jerusalem by a religious cleric Taqiuddin <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="an:0" grmarkguid="7db7eadc-2549-40c5-b1a1-89a10167337a" gruiphraseguid="7f66e2d6-45c4-4bc5-8bbc-1a2af24b3268">an</span>-Nabhani, has a presence in more than 40 countries. It aims to establish an "Islamic" way of life in Muslim countries and unify them under a caliphate. It continues to grow in several European, Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries. However, it is the UK that is considered to be the HuT's main recruiting ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A top official with the Intelligence Bureau (IB), requesting anonymity, said that the name of HuT has not come up in any major incidents in India till now, and hence it is not seen as a major threat here. Its name also does not figure on the list of 35 <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organisations:0" grmarkguid="952faada-1ccc-4b77-8633-0c5d62f75408" gruiphraseguid="defd3c39-27cb-4a8e-87ad-af5db3c95517">organisations</span> that have been declared as terrorist <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organisations:1" grmarkguid="49152250-df76-4251-b5b8-e83214890e0b" gruiphraseguid="defd3c39-27cb-4a8e-87ad-af5db3c95517">organisations</span> under the Unlawful Activities (Preventions) Act, 1967, which has been compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Do we need a covert <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organisation:0" grmarkguid="830a6c3f-f643-455b-813e-4ee7ac01516e" gruiphraseguid="5599fda1-ae2f-4668-bb4a-c379f7e13c16">organisation</span> to give a newspaper advertisement before taking steps to check its activities?" asked a security expert in exasperation at the Indian government's "indifference" to HuT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Another example he gave was the granting of an Indian visa to Anjem Choudhry, who has openly called for the overthrow of the political system in India and its replacement by (his version of) Shariah law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A former RAW chief said that the emergence of HuT needs to be followed because of its philosophy. "Even though the HuT says that it is a non-violent political group, it is hard to believe this because its philosophy is based on the Khilafat movement of 1921, which turned violent in Kerala."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Former Director-General of Police (DGP) Hormis Tharakan feels that even though the HuT has not made its presence felt in India in an obvious way, yet, it cannot be conclusively ruled out that it's trying to build a base in India so as to cause serious problems <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="to:0" grmarkguid="280f4521-f380-4509-86c4-3f0b4e3228d8" gruiphraseguid="f7542296-e86a-4e90-8bac-b1477dcd0806">to</span> national security.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Commenting on the fact that no security agencies see HuT as a serious threat, Tharakan said, "Their presence in India cannot be ruled out just because they have not (publicly) undertaken any major incident. Security agencies have not studied the HuT deeply enough. They need to follow them and study their subtle way of functioning, which is quite dangerous."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sanchita Bhattacharya of Institute of Conflict Management (ICM), a Delhi based think tank, did not rule out the possibility of the HuT working with the militant <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organisation:0" grmarkguid="8eeddf73-e5be-4b2c-b19f-5b19d618af5f" gruiphraseguid="3eb3333b-d608-4850-a450-5d44eef99540">organisation</span> Harkat-<span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="ul:1" grmarkguid="bcb9aede-5dbb-4057-a613-a2187c46a9dc" gruiphraseguid="3eb3333b-d608-4850-a450-5d44eef99540">ul</span>-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and Indian Mujahideen (IM) covertly. "The specialty about HuT is that they are focusing on scholars and elites of the Islamic society. Unlike other militant <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="organisations:0" grmarkguid="565a2c2c-37d8-48a8-980d-61973194cb40" gruiphraseguid="d7db5f24-d7c2-48f2-817e-3a50b66ba5ba">organisations</span> that target the illiterate and the mullahs, the HuT is focusing on the progressive population of Muslims. They try to indoctrinate the educated elite."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Hizb <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="ut:0" grmarkguid="4c7a68e2-4b22-428e-9ee7-b22ebdd76d79" gruiphraseguid="04b9ed03-33df-4095-afbb-7af517f8757c">ut</span>-Tahrir follows a strong anti-Jewish policy and has repeatedly called for the dismantling of Israel. Sources in the police said that the recent attacks on the Israeli diplomat are being investigated through every angle and the HuT is on the radar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Experts believe that the modus operandi of HuT to bring military personnel, members of academia and the elite under its umbrella makes them highly dangerous. In the past they have used this method to <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="destabilise:0" grmarkguid="0424de8f-34a0-4f9e-9efc-69853049208f" gruiphraseguid="d448cdb1-3aad-4454-9e79-7c876bfca11a">destabilise</span> Pakistan where it tried to bring change through the military. Brigadier Ali Khan of Pakistani army who was arrested by the police was alleged to have links with HuT and was working on a plan to bring an Egyptian and Tunisian style uprising in Pakistan.</span></div>
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Abhinandan Mishrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132902569649976031noreply@blogger.com0