Of shoes, protests and democracy

Everybody is doing an al Zaidi these days. First, it was Jarnail Singh doing it on PC, then it was Ram Kumar doing it on Naveen Jindal. On both cases, political leaders were at the receiving end. Now, what do we make out of this novel mode of protest, throwing your shoes at someone you are not happy with? To me, it is not so new, after all. Throwing eggs or rotten tomatoes have been around for many many years. These days, partcularly with heightened perception of security threat, it is unlikely that you would be allowed to carry eggs or tomatoes (however inocuous they may be) to a press conference of none other than the Home Minister of India. Also, it may not always be that you have such a protest preplanned. Things may happen at the spur of the moment, as it happened between Jarnail Singh and PC. In any case, you are still allowed to go in with your shoes or chappals on. I do not know if you are asked to remove your shoes for a security check as in the US airports, but finally you are allowed in with them on your feet. So they come as handy tool to throw.

But the moot question is, is it a justified way of protest? That is a tricky question to address. The answer depends on how you view things happening around you, what type of society you want to build an so on. If we believe in a law-governed society where rights of each individual is safeguarded and upheld, where anyone aggrieved gets a speedy and fair trial in courts of law, where even the powerful people are brought to book for their unlawful acts, this form of protest is not acceptable. In fact, once we allow these protests become acceptable, we will move away from the path of building law-governed society.

However, the unfortunate fact of the matter is, none or most of these conditions are not ture in the present global, or Indian setup. There is no one to even seriously question GW for his acts in Iraq, forget punishing him. After 25 years of the massacre, none has been punished for the anti-Sikh progrom in Delhi. So al Zaidis and Jarnail Singhs are legitimately aggrieved, frustrated and angry. Therefore, unless our political masters are able to give people the sense of security of a law-governed world, where more civilized forms of protests are not non-chalantly ignored by their class, where genuine emotional distress of communities are not brushed aside by labyrinthine legal-bureaucratic processes and speeches, these things are bond to happen.

Will our political masters wake up someday?

No criminals campaign

The Times of India has started the No Criminals campaign this election time. You can register to get info about the MP from your area by registering at www.nocriminals.org, or sending an SMS NC pin to 567678. This is being run in partnership with the Association for Democratic Reforms, National Election Watch and Jaago Re. This is an unprecedented initiative and greatly welcome at a time when our political space, which should ideally belong to the law-abiding citizens of the country has been encroached upon by the criminals. Please, visit the sites, register, vote and make the beginning of a change.

One more step towards Talibanization

After the pub attack comes bashing up of the MLA's daughter and his friend in Mangalore. No arrests after ~12 hours or more of the incident. A few question: If the CM and other functionaries of the govt are holding office after pledging to uphold the Indian constitution and the law of the land, why can't they be called back after they repeatedly fail (or willfully neglect) to so that? If the hooligans now start deciding whom I can or cannot talk to, days are not far when India will look more like a failed state than a country that is governed by law.

In this connection, I completely support Renuka Chaudhury's "Pub Bharo" andolan. The point here is not to promote drinking, or `pub clulture' (whatever that means, if anything at all). The point is, it is within my rights to go to a pub and drink. Nobody, and nobody at all, can tell me whether I can or cannot do something as long as I am not breaking the law or seriously inconveniencing others. If someone tries to stop me, I will react by doing that even more.

Americans are lucky

The world politics today presents a grim picture. There are no guiding principles. Only political expediency rules. No country has a political leader worth his salt. India presents a particularly sorry picture. There is not a single leader with vision, there is not a single leader who has acceptability over any significant part of the land or the population. As a result, regional leaders, with their parochial agenda are ruling the roost.

That would still have been acceptable. But added to that is the hooligans of various hues who preach and profess `clinical violence' to protect `Indian culture'. There are MNS, SRS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, and I don't know how many other bands. In no state has the government shown any intention to stop these bands from continuing with their violent street politics, and to uphold the rule of law. Our learned PM and big-mouth foreign minister look like powerless non-entities when they (rightly) indict Pakistan for the terrorist strikes in our country, but do not utter a word about the continuing lawlessness in the country. Just as Pakistan has fallen to the Islamic Taliban, we are falling to the Hindu Taliban either with full complicity, or due to utter abdication of their responsibilities by successive governments. There are also radical Islamic groups beating up Taslima Nasrin or throwing public life out of gear about her stay in the country though personally I believe they are less potent in disrupting civil life and communal harmony than the Hindu radicals, and the self-styled cultural leaders.

In this time of crisis, Americans are singularly lucky to have got a President with the charisma and vision of Barack Obama. Looks to me India's opportunity is gone, we have missed the bus. If Obama can deliver on his promises, and implement his visions, the US will again emerge as the leading nations of the world.

God save India.

Our space is being encorached upon

All our space is being encroached upon. Our political space has been taken over by criminal goons. Now our civil space is being taken over by self-styled protectors of `Indian culture' who are another band of goons. Criminals in the garb of people's representatives are either looking the other way, or are actively encouraging the second brigade to attack whoever they want: be it north Indians in Maharastra or women in Mangalore.

It is time the liberal, peace-loving, selfish, middle-class woke up and spoke out in their own selfish interest: We decry all such violation of our basic rights as citizens of this country.

NCW should be disbanded

Instead of focusing on the despicable act of the Ram sene goons, who beat up hapless women in Mangalore, the NCW is busy checking license of the pub. If a body supposed to protect interests of women, whose members are women, act like this, where is hope?

Or may be, they also believe in `protecting' Indian women from 'western vices'?

I feel neauseated.