WHERE IS DOUBLE STANDARD

                         

It is an easy tactic to raise accusing fingers against ones enemy to malign him in public estimation and earn popularity. In recent years, in Indian politics, two persons have emerged strongly exploiting this plank. They are Arvind Kejriwal, CM/Delhi and Dr. Subramanian Swamy, MP/RS/BJP. However, a brief analysis of their methods would show the motive behind so that one can locate who is having double face.

We may recall the heydays of Anna Hazare when the Jantar-Mantar and Ramlila grounds used to receive massive public gatherings demanding Lokpal. Anna followed a policy of raising public issues without ever entering into the dirt of politics. Arvind Kejriwal (AK), Kiran bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Shanti Bhushan, Sanjay Singh, and others used to address the crowd who lustily cheered them. Taking the lead, AK became more popular. Then he started diverting to build up his own image to jump into electoral fray to advance his secret political agenda. He started gathering unchecked corruption charges against the bigwigs in the Congress as well as BJP. He targetd Salman Khursheed, Sandip Dixit Robert Vadra, and Nitin Gadkari. He tried to prove that the entire ruling party was corrupt and if given chance, he would stem the rot. Did he take any one to court and follow up? On the other hand , Gadkari filed a defamation case and AK had to lick the dust. Even today, he is running to judiciary in connection with defamation case filed by Arun Jaitley whom he had called corrupt. We know that his charges are so baseless that even the  reputed legal brain of Ram Jethamalani will find it difficult to rescue him.

On the other hand, Subramanian Swamy (SS) is a one-man brigade. Without any trepidity, he has been puting the sharks of Indian politics to dock for last twenty over years. He is a qualified legal expert better than many practising advocates. He meticulously does his homework to marshal evidences so that the accused was not allowed any leeway. He has fired his salvos at Jaya  Lalithaa, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ahmad Patel, Motilal Vohra, P Chidambram, Oscar Fernande etc. Unravelling of 2G spectrum and coal scams are credited to him. While the AIADMK supremo, was convicted, jailed and is out on bail, Raja and Madhu Koda are still behind bars. others are finding the judicial noose tightening around their neck. At present he is very calculatedly following the National Herald case in which the authentic documentary evidences show the accused on a slippery turf. Oppose the wrong wherever it is visible, is his gospel. He joined the Rajya Sabha in the present session and next day moved a privilege motion against the leader of opposition/RS, Ghulamnabi Azad for misleading the House. Azad had wrongly claimed that the UPA had blacklisted Agusta Westland and that the PM had secretly met his Italian counterpart tp strike a deal on Agusta. He has declared to corner the corrupt so long he was alive.

In the above background, though both have been doing the same thing, the modus operndi makes their character open before the public. Yesterday, in connection with the Agusta Westland case, AK was charging that Modi will never arrest Congress President. Today, the court has framed charges against Navin Jindal in coal scam. Jindal is his friend and he is on record to have received contribution for election from him. Has not he got through the last Delhi Assembly election by dint of scam money? How does he propose to atone for?     

NATIONAL NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM FIRE

                                

 Any museum, anywhere in the world tells the history of culture. So whenever there is any damage to any museum, natural, like in Nepal or manmade as in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, it hurts the museum world badly. Earlier I had written an extensive article in my blog ‘My Turn’ entitled West Asian Heritages in jeopardy giving a detailed account of merciless vandalism of archaeological objects in West Asia. On the heels of the same, the devastating fire in the National Natural History Museum, New Delhi has further shocked us.

In the night intervening last Monday/Tuesday, this incident of fire took place. Actually, located near Mandi House, this building belongs to FICCI which is rented out to this prestigious museum. In this 5-storey building, the fire took place on the top floor which later engulfed other areas. It is one of the two such national level museums in the country and so the loss of artefacts is by far a massive cultural loss. Though commissioned only some 25 years ago, the museum personnel had done a meticulous job for collecting rare objects. Some objects being the only available piece in India, the fire has caused an irreparable loss.

Several fire tenders were pressed into service which doused the flame after five hours of struggle. Though there was no casualty, but some fire-fighters have sustained burn injuries. All the living and retired personnel, associated with the opening of this unique museum are lamenting the shocking damage. On the other hand there is a strong public hue and cry to find out the cause and fix the responsibility for any administrative lapse. Dr. Venugopal, Director said that the fire preventing mechanism was in place. The FICCI authorites claim that from all angles, safety arrangements were there and the building had clearance from the concerned authorites. However, the firemen pointed about a defective power connection. They also complained that the hydrant was defective. Since artefacts fetch huge payment in the international market, as we have seen the ISIS doing in Syria, possibly some insider, out of greed might have committed the mischief. On the other hand the possibility of short-circuit, normally known cul[rit, also cannot be ruled out. The truth will emerge only after an effective enquiry.

Meanwhile the situation demands adequate preventive measures to stop such a recurrence. The Cultural Minister visited the spot and revealed that in Delhi there were 34 museums under his ministry and assured to conduct safety audit to ensure that no such painful incident occured if manmade. Seeing what happened in Tamil Nadu after the Tsunami, our step should also target natural calamities. We cannot stop earthquake, flood, torrential rains etc but we can definitely apply preventive measure to minimize the loss.   

MYSTERIOUS SINO-INDIA RELATIONS

  

The perceptible thaw in the Sino-India relations, consequent upon the India visit of the Chinese President, about a year ago, appears getting eroded. The existing lukewarm state of affairs leave the observers of the developments in these two countries quite confused. Political analysts are of the opinion that while China has created a façade of warmth, simultaneously she is working overtime to encircle India by befriending Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives. The Xinjiang-Gwadar corridor through an ambitious tunnel is yet another calculated move to give pin-pricks to India. At the same time it leaves no stone unturned to hoodwink India in several international fora.

About a year back, in my blog ‘My Turn’ , I had written a post on ethnic disturbances in Xinjiang province of China. The issue is, once again alive affecting our bilateral relations. Earlier, Indian move in the UNO to hold Azhar Mahmud of Pakistan as a terrorist was vetoed by China giving a setback to Indo-China relations. In this backdrop, when Dolkun Isa, a Uighur leader applied for Visa to attend a conference at Dharmshala, HP, India did not hesitate to oblige. Then China pointed out that Isa was wanted as Red Corner Notice was issued against him and immediately India had to retrace its steps. The issue is being hotly debated. While some accuse India succumbing to Chinese pressure, others call it that responding to that notice is our international obligation.

We know, Xinjiang is the last Chines province in north  -west. Its main population is Uighur Muslims (90%). They speak a separate language, contiguous to Turkish. The overall Uighur culture is quite different from mainland China. Over the years they have been enjoying autonomous status. The things took a  bad turn since 1990 when the Beijing started settling Hans from eastern provinces in Xinjiang. This not only disturbed the demographic equations but also denied the job opportunities to the original settlers. Since then the Muslim youth have taken to militant methods to seek autonomy. Isa is the head of the World Uighur Congress which is struggling to safeguard the interests of the sons of the soil.

According to serious political analysts, these developments are the result of some undercurrent diplomacy. India has been charging China of its misuse of veto on a baffling issue of terrorism. Finding itself all alone on the issue, China appears ready to soften its stand with the rider that India should block Isa's visa. Moreover, despite the developmental hype of last one decade , China is down the hill and the melting down of its currency has compelled the dragon to look for lift from others. On the other hand, despite the worldwide inflation, Indian growth has been satisfactory, enabling the country to boldly stand and handle diplomatic challenges.  

In last two years, the present Indian politics, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, has left a niche on the international arena. The world is listening to us. Even othetrwise, on defence, nothing is being left to be desired. Expected monsoon bounty is bound to give us yet another boost to say more loudly what we have to say. Let China also listen. 

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                                                (Money by hook or crook)

In the present day rat race for money, the earners see just the money and the society does not see the source. This creates a confusion. The ongoing debate on black money and white money is enough to indicate that all paper or plastic currencies are not the same. I am reminded of a comment of a Roman Emperor Vespanius, who succeeded the accentric Nero in 68 A.D. Once on night patrol of the capital city, he saw people collecting urine from a public toilet. On enquiry, he learnt that this human waste liquid was being used by weavers to give shine to clothes. He applied his logic and at once imposed tax on human urine as it was being used for commercial purposes. When his son, later complained being teased by his friends referring to this dirty money, he took out a coin from his pocket collected as tax on toilet and putting it under his son’s nostril enquired if it carried any urinary smell. When the son replied no, he quipped, any money is money. This ancient joke-like truth appears like a childish argument. Money in a brothel and in the hands of a philanthropist are not the same as their sources are diametrically opposed.

The above background has been given to rightly judge the personality of celebrities in India, who allow their name and popularity to be used in advertisements to fleece the meek  public. The righteous decision of M.S. Dhoni, taken only a couple of days back to back out from brand ambassadorship of the Amrapali Group of housing society has stirred up hornet’s nest. Amir Khan’s contract of ambassador of Atulya Bharat campaign was annulled immediately after he went public admitting that there was intolerance in India. A similar comment by another filmi icon, Shahrukh Khan, brought him loss at the ticket counters when his film was released. What about other iconic persons like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Saina Mahiwal, Priyanka Chopra so on and so forth ? Has the public ever thought of punishing their bundlebajee on screen by promoting bogus products ?

In the present day adworld, there is an accepted trend of associating the products with celebrities to add public acceptance. In last at least fifty years, I have seen all top filmi heroines recommending the use of Lux soap for smooth and shining skin whereas none ever personally used the same. Benani cement has hit the market only recently  and any civil engineer will tell you that the life of cement is 50 years,but Big ‘B’ says it is for centuries. If any cream can turn black into white skin, at least the opulent in Africa and Latin America could have definitely made tryst with this trick. Still Yami Gautam has become a top model by promoting fairness cream.  Despite massive ads orchestrating wonderful results of Colgate in dental hygine, tooth decay is rampant in India. In newspapwers we regularly see adds, recommending Japanese capsule and oil for enhancing male vitality. Has ever any authority tried to bridle such fantastic claims ? Who suffers ? Definitely the gullible public. Should public figures allow their status to be used for such immoral business?

Earning by promoting bogus products is same as those of dacoits, swindlers, pick-pockets, tax evaders, crash money lenders, terrorists and other similar anti-social elements. The public awareness has to be created as the govt alone may not tackle this white-sin effectively. While the icons should first check and speak for only genuine items, the public should not shirk resorting to legal punitive measures if the claim found hollow. 

NOSE, LEG AND THIGH

                                                

In course of their stay in Delhi, the English Prince William and his wife Catherine Middleton ( it was larrer’s first visit) saw different historical places including the Raj Ghat. But  on April 11, 2016 while they were offering wreath on the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate, the skirt of the Duchess of Cambridge went up with the strong seasonal westerly and several smart photographers shot those private moments. One national newspaper gave this visual a lead position on the front page. It has spread like a wild fire and several TV channels are staging debates on the moral norm of journalism.

I am reminded of an incident of mid-1960s, when in a public meeting at Kalahandi in Orissa, a miscreant pelted a stone at Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her nose sustained a minor fracture. There was a great hue and cry, with a wide and blistering criticism of the incident so much so that a section of the press which had earlier trumpeted India as a cultured country for having elected a lady prime minister, lost no time to to go for volte face and declared that it did not smack of any civilized society. I remember that the most polpular English daily of Bihar, The Indian Nation (now defunct) carried an interesting editorial, “Cleopatra’s Nose”. The editor had argued that had the nose of Cleopatra not been that shapely and sensuously charming, Caesar might not have blindly fallen in love and the history of the Roman Empire and for that matter entire world could have been different. Did that hurt nose later turn the sufferer grow  revengeful with her vindictive face in June 1975?

Now a genuine question is what the photographer/editorial team of that news paper intended to communicate to the readers by showing her unintentional exposed lower extremities? In a strong wind, anybody’s (either gender) loose lower or upper garments can go haywire and miss the exact position. Should this ordinary incident of day-to-day life be given this hype? Will a photographer show the same smartness if the lady happens to be his close relative? The flap of the Prince’s coat also went up without inviting any lens.

Let the readers judge the role of the press by asking whether it wanted to show the exposed body of the celebrity or the news that they paid homage to the martyrs? Which  one carried the priority?