Targeting Election Commission?

On Monday, I did my civic duty to vote in the current Loksabha general elections. The process was not just efficient and smooth; it was a testament to our democracy in action. There was a little queue in my particular room, but I remember when the line stretched around the block, filled with eager citizens ready to make their voices heard. There was a queue for a couple of other rooms. But even in those rooms, the situation was calm and orderly, a true reflection of the respect and civility of our fellow voters. I observed voters from all walks of life entering with unwavering confidence, fully assured that their votes would be counted, their voices would be heard, and their significance duly recognized.

I felt proud to vote, but more than that, I felt proud that our country gives all of us this privilege. Having this opportunity available to more than 90 crore people takes work. Lakhs of people from various walks of life work tirelessly to execute the voting framework across all the constituencies. These individuals, our poll workers, are generally paid little and do not work in comfortable situations. They are in a safe environment at best, but it's typically scorching hot with the bare minimum comfort provided. At worst, they are in a dangerous situation where violence is just around the corner to go with the bare minimum comfort provided. Yet these poll workers show up to work under intense pressure and scrutiny. I am deeply grateful for their dedication and service. 

The political parties, especially the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, have continuously treated the Election Commission and the entire Voting process as their political punching bag. It's unfortunate to see the Election Commission being unfairly criticized without any valid reason. I question the political returns of this strategy. The violence commonplace during voting a few decades ago has all but vanished. The process of voting and counting takes far less time. And EVMs generate more confidence among the populace than the old system of counting votes by hand. Does Rahul or the Congress party take voters for fools? Do they think voters are clamoring to return to the pre-technology era? Perhaps. 

Or is there something more sinister lurking here? 

It's not just Rahul Gandhi and his sycophantic party baying for the Election Commission's 'blood.' NGOs and 'activists' like Prashant Bhushan also want to impede the work and defame the process. This cohort has probably yet to do a penny's worth of hard work in their entire life, yet they question the working framework of the electoral process. Prashant Bhushan and his NGO are not accountable to the people, the people's mandate, or the legislative authorities. They make their bread and butter by leveraging their contacts in the judiciary system to get petty petitions heard on a priority in the Supreme Court. Going to Supreme Court with a petition costs money and most importantly, a lot of time. Yet, the Supreme Court is ever eager to entertain petitions and then pontificate based on that. I obviously cannot 'question' the judgments and choices of the honorable Supreme Court. It can land me in trouble. It is their prerogative to keep some cases pending for decades while giving preference to Yakub Memon or Teesta Setalvad. Or to Prashant Bhushan and his inane petitions. The reality is these petitions and honorable justices commenting on them while the elections are still underway sow the seeds of distrust among the voters. It also creates a narrative that the functioning of Indian democracy is flawed. That is, democracy is in danger in India! 

One has to wonder why Prashant Bhushan and his comrades are so eager to file a petition now when the workings of the Election Commission have been transparently available to the masses for a long time. Do they want to create chaos? Do they want to overturn the results? There are hidden motives behind Prashant Bhushan's filing scores of petitions. But why is the honorable court prompt in giving an audience to Prashant Bhushan? Why does the honorable Court see these petitions as constitutional crises and decide to entertain them? Today, the honorable Court asked the Election Commission to explain why the EC took longer than usual to provide voting percentage figures. The Court requested EC to submit the answer within a week! Why is the honorable Court not questioning the timing of the petition? Can this petition or the answers to the questions raised in the petition be answered after the election? Is the petition filed because there is any evidence of fraud? Does the honorable Court believe that the officers of the Election Commission are so jobless that their time is better spent answering the frivolous petitions filed by a dubious lawyer?

We may never know.

As the curtains close on another general election in India, it is time to applaud the Election Commission and its execution prowess. It is time to thank the hundreds of thousands of volunteers, mostly government employees, primary school teachers, etc., for toiling and doing a thankless job so that we all can vote freely and securely.

Kejariwal - The End in Sight!

Seeing Kejariwal finally getting arrested and remanded into custody was so much fun. This was long due. The man always presented himself above the law and was probably delusional to think he was a new-age Gandhi. He obviously is not a Gandhi. But he is equally delusional, for sure. The case against him for anti-money laundering is quite robust. His leading acolytes, arrested for being part of the scam, have not seen the sunshine in over a year. Apart from being trusted lieutenants of Kerjariwal, these individuals were also high-ranking cabinet ministers. Yet, neither the High Court nor the Supreme Court has given them bail. The burden of proof of innocence is on the accused in money laundering cases. Suffice it to say these arrested ministers have failed to provide any sort of proof till now. I hope Kejariwal also goes behind the bar for months or years. The spectacular fall from graces is staggering for someone who spearheaded the anti-corruption movement barely a decade ago. He was also astoundingly successful in uniting the country against the sitting central government. Now, he is charged with bribery and money laundering? Even a Hindi movie may need help to develop a better plot than this story.

 

As I write this article, Kejariwal argues in court that he was arrested without following due process, a severe accusation against central law agencies should lead to his immediate and rightful release from jail if proven. The critical aspect of the defense here is that Kejariwal is not questioning the charges but the process of arresting him. This may be courtroom legal maneuvering. However, the self-proclaimed guru of clean politics holding on to the shreds of procedural lapses to stay out of custody is ironic. 

Even if he manages to get out of jail. The damage done to his reputation is likely to be irreparable. That does not mean he will not get elected. Reputation and electability are independent events. But he wore his 'clean' reputation on his sleeves everywhere. It was his USP, his identity. He continued to bark at everyone because of his self-proclaimed clean reputation. Didn't he tightly hug Lalu Yadav publically during a political rally? Didn't he flip-flop politically while forming, then dissolving, only to form the government again with the support of the Congress party? Kejariwal did this political somersault after telling the masses he would arrest the Congress Chief Minister if elected. During the runup for Punjab elections, Kejariwal openly pandered to anti-India Khalistani elements. In the early days of AAP, he provided space for shady elements like Kavita Ramdas, a Pakistani by marriage. And yet, he continued to wear the 'clean' image as his Karna-kavach. The delusion he suffered wasn't his alone. His supporters are equally crazy. The propaganda that he is the only one standing against corruption, against the system, was so strong despite repeated credible allegations of corruption in the Delhi government. He appeared on TV with a photo of Dr. Ambedkar on one side and Bhagat Singh on the other, and yet, he has taken donations from shady foreign NGOs and has done pandering on their behalf. The man questioned our Army after surgical strikes and attempted to create confusion during the Pandemic. The list continues, yet he managed to stay politically relevant. Never pays for his mistakes and designs. He was never held accountable. 

Not anymore. 

Kejariwal has finally run out of excuses. He will face the consequences of the fraud he implemented. Kejariwal thought he was smart by not being responsible for any ministry that would absolve him of any issues. The law can be blind but not stupid. Kejriwal plans to siphon money were juvenile at best. It's like a cat drinking milk with its eyes closed. The world can still see the cat! Moves made by Kejariwal and his cronies were closely watched. It can be surmised that the powers to be, in fact, waited for Kejariwal and his team to take the steps and make the mistakes. And when the 'plan' was finally in place, the agencies closed in. The proofs were already available and irrefutable. Though the arrests and subsequent drama spread over a year, the end was always evident. Kejariwal was the kingpin of the fraud, and he was the target, as he should be. Our man considered brazening through this by simply refusing to answer the summons or cooperate. He must have tried every trick available for backroom dealings with the government and central agencies to stay out of trouble. He must have also tried pressurizing the central government through his handlers in Germany and the US. But his juvenile shenanigans had gotten on everyone's nerves. You can fool some people sometimes, all the people at one time. But you can only fool some of the people all the time. Kejariwal is about to pay for his sins, but there is nowhere to run! 

What's next? If Kerjariwal ended up in jail for an extended period, the AAP would likely go through turmoil. His dictatorial style of managing the party means that no leader is left to run the affairs without him. His couple of trusted lieutenants are already rotting in jail for more than a year now. Not having a credible leader does not mean a lack of ambition. The ambitious people of AAP will likely rise to the occasion or, at least, attempt to do so. This means they will either sideline him or the party will split. The party's voter base used to core Congress voters. The party splitting will further splitter this voter base, indirectly strengthening the BJP. But what will Kejariwal do without power because he is as power-hungry as one can get? It's hard to guess, but he will either go completely mad and do some bizarre political stunts or fade to inconsequential nuisance. 

Only time will tell. 

Admiral L. Ramdas - The Paradox of a Soldier!

Admiral Ramdas, a war hero of the 1971 Pak war, recently passed away. Despite being an Admiral of the Indian Navy, his demise did not receive much attention in the media. The Times of India of Hyderabad only had one photo of his coffin on Page 8, and online journals only published his obituary. Shouldn't someone of his stature deserve a better farewell than this?

Or does he?

The complexity of Admiral Ramdas's years of duty in the Indian Navy and his post-retirement behavior is so confusing one wonders if he was dealing with a split personality disorder. The fall from the graces was spectacular and complete. The man who swore to protect his country decided to harm it post-retirement. Let's look at the positives first. Admiral Ramdas was brave and rose through the ranks of the Indian Navy rapidly. His exceptional track record had earned him numerous bravery medals, making him a true hero. He was awarded Vir Chakra during the 1971 war against Pakistan. The award is the third-highest wartime bravery medal. Admiral Ramdas was married to the daughter of an Indian Navy Admiral as well. His father-in-law was the first naval chief of the Indian navy post-independence. Admiral Ramdas was a 'blue-blooded' seaman whom India should be proud of. He should have been a role model for youngsters. Instead, the local newspaper relegated his sad demise to the back pages, with the current ruling establishment virtually boycotting the event. Online news sections of some newspapers did carry the obituary. Some, like The Wire, wrote an eulogy. Admiral Ramdas' life in retirement was a complete contrast to his exemplary service in the armed forces.

 

It is not uncommon to see veterans come into politics. We even had military chiefs such as General V. K. Singh becoming Lok Sabha M.P. We have had retired Air Force chiefs such as Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif getting selected for Governorship of the States and even serving as an ambassador to other nations. However, by and large, former army heads retire quietly. They publish books, give talks, and, I am sure, behind the scenes, get consulted by the Government of India. But they stay out of the public eye. 

Admiral L. Ramdas charted an entirely new path - he became an activist. In India, especially during the decade of 2000, an 'activist' was a ghoulish ideological mixture of 'a serial opposer,' a borderline anti-national, a stooge for a foreign country or a foreign NGO, or a pawn for ruling disposition. We have had a variety of such activists in the last two decades. The UPA government of 2004-2014 provided moist ground for these creatures to thrive. Sometimes, it took time for citizens to discern whether the government was implementing its policies or opposing them through so-called activists. Admiral Ramdas can be considered a pioneer of this new-age activist breed. Admiral L. Ramdas was a self-proclaimed peace activist. These people will oppose everything and anything that can help the economy, society, or environment in any way, shape, or form. The peace activists in India also have an added distinction. This tribe opposes Indian interests and loves Pakistan. They hate Hindus and love Islamists.  

Among his other post-retirement achievements, he stridently opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal because, per him, war is not the answer. Perhaps. But the deal was a civil pact, and it was a critical geo-political move to get the updated technology with acknowledgment of the right to have nuclear weapons (India has not signed NPT). The nuclear pact was about India finally arriving on a Nuclear stage. It was a necessary step from an energy security perspective; it was necessary from a geo-political perspective. But Admiral Ramdas wasn't going to have none of it. Nuclear energy was a disaster in waiting from his viewpoint. He also babbled that India's energy needs can be fulfilled by conventional fuel, completely disregarding the fact that traditional fuel has impacted India's environment and has tied our foreign policy in knots. He was one of the 'luminaries' spearheading the protest against the Nuclear power plant at Kundankulam, Tamilnadu. The demonstration was financed by local churches, which received significant funds from foreign NGOs. Even former Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh called out the role of NGOs in instigating the protest. Admiral Ramdas was happy to be in cahoots with these shady, anti-social elements. 

But what if the energy-related development is not related to nuclear energy? Well, Admiral and his wife had that covered. They actively joined the so-called protest against the Narmada dam. After completion, the dam provided water to reach the far reaches of Gujrat state. Yet, Admiral Ramdas decided to throw his lot against this project. A point worth noting is that the Supreme Court of India approved both energy projects. The pattern looks evident. If there's developmental work, something that will have a long-lasting positive impact on India's growth, this man can be depended on to oppose it. He also agreed to head the Ford Foundation, a notoriously shady organization accused of fomenting trouble in India. Any high-level government officer would not lead a foreign organization. But it felt like Admiral Ramdas wanted to troll his past achievements. Despite leading the armed forces during his career, he agreed to head the Ford Foundation, a notoriously shady organization accused of fomenting trouble in India. 

Admiral Ramdas wasn't just about opposing big-ticket projects. He had protested or opposed some eclectic happenings as well. For example, he opposed and filed a PIL in the Supreme Court against the Government of India appointing Lt. General Bikram Singh as chief of the army, i.e., he asked the executive branch of the governance not to execute their duties. In his opinion, similar to a Supreme Court verdict against the government's appointment of a Chief Vigilance Officer (CVC) due to concerns about the integrity of the appointee, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh cannot be appointed as Chief of the Army. Now, there were no probity concerns against Lt. General here. He was involved in army encounters during his service, which was unacceptable per Admiral Ramdas. In short, he was against a soldier for doing the soldier's duties since that was against the principles of peace! I would bet a hundred rupees if you could show me something more misplaced and delusional than this. 

He was always supported by, and sometimes, his shenanigans were led by, his wife, who, as I mentioned earlier, was the daughter of an Admiral herself. As if this weird family dynamic was insufficient, Admiral Ramdas's daughter, Kavita Ramdas, married a Pakistani 'peace' activist! The daughter of an Admiral of the Indian Navy married a Pakistani! 

As an aside, Kavita joined the Aam Aadmi Party and went 'legitimate' in opposing India's interest! 

Don't let any eulogies fool you into believing who Admiral Ramdas really was. He was a soldier with a compromised ideology, a leader with misplaced ideals, and an activist for the sake of publicity. Admiral Ramda's activities have caused the nation pain and suffering and impacted our national interests. The saga of Admiral Ramdas's life is confusing and unfortunate. It's sad that our country produced and reared somebody like Admiral Ramdas. It's rather unfortunate that someone like Admiral Ramdas led the Indian armed forces. He used his stature and the pulpit that was afforded to him by Indian armed forces to be a shady 'peace activist' who seemed to be doing bidding for anti-India forces. 

I hope his 'aatma' finds 'sad-gati,' and I hope we don't see more like him in the future. 

The I.N.D.I.A Alliance - House of Broken Bricks

The name I.N.D.I.A. alliance was always a stretch of the imagination. It is an incredulous concept mixed with incompetent execution and headed by imbecile leaders. Did these guys think they would challenge the might of Modi and B.J.P. election machinery? And I need not even talk about Modi's charisma and strong connection with the masses. I am speaking strictly from political strategy here. Coming together to defeat a strong opponent is not against the art of politics. But for a set of people to achieve the goal of unseating an entrenched incumbent, they need a common enemy, a common philosophical platform to stand on, and a common goal to achieve. The challengers also need to be clear about their ambitions as well. The common platform is not to get Modi and B.J.P. to win the third term. But what about a common goal? In a somewhat ironic and comical manner, all members of this alliance aspire to become the candidate for the position of Prime Minister. They all want to be the Prime Minister. That's not a goal; that's an ambition. That's daydreaming. That's delusional! 

Modi's rise was sudden, but only some from the opposition thought it would last this long. PM Modi is already in a rarified air of completing two full terms with an absolute majority. Only Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi completed two consecutive terms with absolute majority. However, Prime Minister Modi is unique in the history of independent India because he does not come from the vaunted 'Gandhi-Nehru' bloodline or any politically heavyweight family. Many mainstream politicians and political parties probably thought the people's mandate PM Modi received in 2014 was a fluke. They may have reasoned that it's more anger against the weak Manmohan Singh government than a vote for Modi and B.J.P.

The 2019 must have shaken this belief to the core since people reposed their faith in Modi and gave him a more significant mandate. Any sane person would attempt to learn from the defeats and do the course correction. But our opposition leaders are not rational; worse, they are not leaders. All they care about is their personal fiefdom and family-run political parties. The whole administration and governance system is rigged so spectacularly at this point that it has effectively become a well-oiled machinery to siphon off tax money. And these family-run political parties have developed generational acumen to do precisely that. As the Modi government rapidly expanded governance through technology and a direct-to-beneficiary model, the money available in the system started to dry up. That got everyone's attention. When Modi and B.J.P. continued to post impressive wins across multiple state-level elections, these families joined to fight against Modi and his party. 

Modi and B.J.P. are winning the election because they continue to provide a narrative and a governing philosophy to the masses effectively. To a large extent, they have changed a multitude of things across administration, governance, and bureaucratic domains. Their work is evident across infrastructure, G.D.P. growth, personal income growth, and internationally. Instead of developing a sensible alternative governance model, the opposition has been resorting to remarkably short-sighted tactics. For example, petitioning the Supreme Court to put a break on the Enforcement Directorate (E.D.) from raiding and seizing illegally hoarded cash and properties. No sensible commoner will ever support any political party or politician in this endeavor. Then why do that? Because it was not about public trust, elections, or any electoral strategy. The move was only self-serving. Since the fear of getting arrested for corruption and not having enough opportunities to siphon off money drives these people together, self-preservation takes center stage, not any sensible political strategy. 

Another point to note is that a lot of these political parties are regional parties, and their fight on a central platform is only to ensure security in their states. They want to continue to rule the state and do not care much about anything else. These regional parties are founded in regional jingoism and have no prospects beyond the state borders. For example, The T.M.C. has zero presence outside of W.B. and has zero interest in gaining any such foothold. The same goes for the Shiv Sena or Samajwadi Party. On the other hand, A.A.P. has a national ambition that stomps over the Congress vote bank. 

 How can these cats even be herded? 

As if the lack of a common philosophy and goal is not a big enough issue, the Congress party, run by Rahul Gandhi, assumed they would lead the block. The party and the leader have made some of the most inane political blunders in the last decade, and the party has consistently lost public trust at the national level. Not only trust, but their presence has rapidly decreased across North India. The party does not have a presence in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Although the party is strong in Karnataka, it only holds power at the assembly election level. The party should not even be called a national party at this point. However, Rahul Gandhi believes his dishonest tactics will help him and the opposition coalition win votes!

All this chatter is not to prove Modi and B.J.P. will be elected again in 2024. I hope they get elected. But any functioning democracy should have a functioning opposition. Without opposition, hubris sets in. And we are too familiar with the results when that happens. Let's hope that the Indian electorate sensibly electing Modi and B.J.P. in 2024 also plays a crucial role in electing sensible opposition. 

The Ram Temple Movement Redux

With 'Ram Lalla' firmly placed where he always belonged, it's surreal to look back more than 30 years. There are so many characters, so many events, so many lies, and so much politics. I recently came across a couple of good articles. The first article is by Shubhabrata Bhattacharya titled "Ayodhya - Congress's Epic Tragedy Of Errors" The authors list a litany of political missteps the Congress party had made on the topic of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Some of the Congress party's strategic decisions took even me by surprise. For example, the Congress manifesto for the 1991 general elections promises to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya! Congress wasn't always such a staunch Muslim party. The metamorphosis results from Sonia Gandhi taking over the party's reins in 1998. The Congress party of Rajiv Gandhi opened the gates of the Babri structure (funny side nugget: the District Magistrate of Ayodhya had to break the locks of the Babri structure since keys were nowhere to be found!) and allowed Hindus to pray. Subsequently, the Rajiv Gandhi-led central government also allowed VHP to perform the 'Shilanyas' at Ayodhya. The Congress party did not try to stop Karsevaks from moving towards Ayodhya in 1992, nor did they use any force to stop them from bringing down the controversial structure. Going back a few more years, before the Rajiv era, the VHP leadership was scheduled to visit a day after when Indira Gandhi was tragically killed. There is no conspiracy theory here that I am floating. It's just that a person of her stature was ready to talk and listen to VHP leadership on Ram Mandir's issue. This is entirely opposite to the view Sonia Gandhi era Congress took. For Sonia Gandhi Congress, anything remotely associated with Hindus or Hinduism was an anathema. VHP and RSS were terrorist organizations, so much so that post the 26/11 attack, Congress did their best to pin the attack as a Hindui terrorism! Though the Congress-led coalition did get elected for two consecutive terms, the party is now considered a staunch anti-Hindu party, which is reflected in their Lok Sabha seat counts. 

The second article is by Hasan Suroor titled "Why Muslims made a profound mistake over the Ayodhya dispute." I am not a big fan of this writer. But every now and then, he makes sense. This article is one such time. His point of view is Muslims should have gifted the site of Babri masjid to Hindus. There is no religious significance associated with that mosque. And no Islamic jurisprudence stops a mosque from moving to a new location. Apparently, moving Mosques from their original location happens all the time in Muslim countries due to infrastructure development. Mr. Suroor also believes that political parties playing the game of 'secularism' and Islamic bodies vying for pole position among Muslims muddled the water for their own benefit. Even though I appreciate the last point, which is true, it was apparent from the start of Shilanyas in 1986. A variety of Muslim bodies like AIMPLB, the Sunni Waqf Board, and so-called leaders like Syed Shahbuddin, a closet Islamist, never had any intention of solving this issue. The benefits of boiling this pot outweighed anything that may be gained from solving it. 

Now, the author's main point about Muslims should have given up the claim of the land for Hindus may come out quite reasonable, but I find that thought process diabolical. The land never belonged to Muslims, so they had to give up the claim. But by suggesting that Muslims should have done that, the author is conveniently trying to distract the readers from the historical fact of foreign Islamic invaders destroying the original temple. And it was not just about destruction but by building a mosque from the rubble of the original temple, the invaders sought to impose their superiority over the 'kafirs'. The moment we accept this charade of 'Muslims should have given up their claim,' the Hindus will automatically lose their claim on Kashi and Mathura mosques. The mosques in those holy places were built over the rubble of ancient Hindu temples, and unless we establish the pattern starting with Ayodhya, how do we reclaim those sites? In Sanskrit, this type of argument is called 'ku-tark'; we have seen so much of this in the last 30 years. 

These articles provide a good composite of the controversy, the reality, and the final resolution of the Ram Mandir movement. We need to be vigilant with such verbal jugglery of Hasan Suroor's of the world. Otherwise, before you know it, that becomes the narrative. 

The General Elections Are Here!

The recently concluded state elections in four states have finally brought India to the doorstep of the great General Elections of 2024. Elections have always been a discussion topic in every household in the country. The elections would have given us better outcomes if people were concerned more about the municipality elections than assembly elections and as compared to national elections that elect our Prime Minster. Municipality elections do not have any charismatic politicians and do not attract the media's attention beyond the city's borders. The politics in India are personality-driven, meaning leaders on the national stage take prominence and catch the fancy of a wider audience. That also means every local gully politician aspires to command the central stage. Another probable aspect is India has always governed in a 'maay-baap' fashion. The governance framework needs a decision-making process executed in a bureaucratic fashion per the precedence, rules, and law. This way of functioning is not to say governance does not happen. It does, and there is a framework, but then it can always be, and routinely is, circumvented. This short-circuiting leads to abuse of power since politicians gain excessive power beyond their legislative duties. This unaccounted and under-the-table power has been a bane to the administration of India, leading to inefficiencies, stalling of reforms, slow speed of modernization of governance – in tools, training, or people in management and obviously, to increase in corruption. 

All this talk about inefficient bureaucracy and corrupt political system is not to say Indian voters are not wise. The self-styled political 'pundits,' 'activists,' and the press always insinuate that Indian voters are either wrong, misled, or simply not smart enough. They feel this way, especially when the results do not go their way, i.e., the so-called 'secular' parties lose badly. The reality is precisely the opposite. I always maintain that Indian voters are among the smartest in the world regarding electing leaders. One can always argue about who was a better-suited candidate, and to be honest, there are regular flubs and surprises along the way, but dig a bit deeper, and the reasons for voting become clear. One can furthermore question whether the pattern is not in the national interest or the interest of a more significant cause. Still, it is a natural tendency to vote for immediate gains. For example, there is always discussion on how caste still plays a critical role in electing leaders. Whether that's a good thing or not is a different topic. Check out the prospective bride and groom advertisement in any local or national newspaper; the lines are still drawn based on caste, solidifying caste identities. If one ends up marrying within the community or the caste and, thus, ultimately hanging out primarily within the same caste or community, it shouldn't take Einstein to understand how people still vote within their castes. Heck, even every fact of governance, administration, government benefits, admissions in the education system, and finally, jobs in the government sector are caste-based. In such an environment, why would a voter not vote along the caste lines?  

Returning to the general elections: It is a temporary entertainment for everyone. The politicians are acting desperate, making fools of themselves in the process. The strategies implemented are sometimes half-baked and ill-thought. Most importantly, people across the country now have something in common to talk about at home, in clubs, at parties, with relatives, with friends, and even with an unknown co-passenger. It's one of the few common topics and language that cuts across caste, religion, geography, age, and gender. "to iss baar bhi Modi aayenge?" and boom…you are in for a ride!

Another factor, the new phenomenon of the last decade, is the rise of Modi-centric politics. Modi ji has charisma and oratory skills to hold the attention of swaths of the masses. He is an outstanding administrator who understands how government machinery functions and proceeds to make it work. Modi ji also generates fierce loyalty in the political circle and among voters. The term 'Modi-bhakt' is not far from reality, and the rank and file of this club continue to proliferate. But Modi ji is also an exceptionally shrewd politician. He has mastery over caste interplay across various states in India. He also understands how regional political parties play the game and knows the antidote for that game. He knows how to use government machinery to pit regional parties against each other and unabashedly take advantage of rising rifts. Apart from Indira Gandhi, India has probably yet to see a complete combination of a shrewd politician, administrator, ideologue, and political force to reckon with. I rate Indira Gandhi relatively low in administration compared to many other Prime Ministers.

Modi government is completing its second consecutive term. It's almost 50 years since the last time India gave a complete majority for successive terms. The Modi government is gearing towards winning a complete majority for a record third term. Last time that happened? Prime Minister Nehru led the Congress party back in the 50s and 60s. India, during that period, had a much simpler electorate and elections. The emerging Bharat is a cauldron of rising aspiration, global ambition, a consumer-centric economy, rapidly reducing poverty, and a very confident electorate. In short, what Modi BJP is attempting to do is unprecedented. As I said earlier, the voters are not something to be taken lightly. Anti-incumbency is a fundamental factor since voters feel like giving the other candidate or party a chance. The setting of hubris within the BJP and the BJP leadership is also a natural progression. I still believe BJP and Modi will win the third term. The margin of victory may be lower, but it will be comfortable. BJP and Modi ji have a message, an ideology, and a philosophy of governance (with a record) to present to the voters. And they are not shy of hammering that message. And a set of goals spread across social engineering, constitutional amendments, market reforms, international geopolitics, and correcting historical wrongs. 

There is no opposition worth any salt. Shrill rhetorics is good for the next day's headline only. It cannot be an ideology, nor can it be an election strategy. It is not about just seat sharing either. There must be a counter-message or a counter-narrative to present to the voters. All they have is a dead horse of 'secularism is in danger' to beat. And none of the opposition parties are in any hurry to fix the issue either. In the long term, having such morally and ideologically bankrupt opposition will ultimately hurt Indian democracy.

 

For now, though, 'Aayega to Modi hi"

The Israel-Palestine Conflict - Part Infinity

Will the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas have the potential to have far-reaching implications on international geopolitics? Perhaps, not. As the famous Stock Market - the known information is already baked into pricing. The known information here is that it will not resolve anything. There will be a substantial amount of bloodshed this time, as compared to prior instances but it will sow seeds for the next round of conflict, mayhem, and another round of destruction. And more and more blood!

However, the Hamas attack is different than prior instances. One, it was incredibly coordinated. Even if we may say they got lucky with IDF dozing soundly, the sheer scale, brutality, and audacity of the attack caught everyone off guard. The consensus seems to be that Hamas was quite lucky in their 'success'. Hamas probably never thought they would have so many of their fighter enter the Israeli territory without any resistance. The borders turned out to be porous and what ensued was pure terror. 

This is the point I would like to emphasize. Even if we agree that Hamas was lucky in getting into the territory so easily, the brutality that followed was calculated. Once in Israeli territory, these Islamic terrorists went after innocent, unarmed civilians in systematic brutality. Killing by guns and knives was just a basic thing. The women and children bore the brunt of the attack. Rapes were recorded, babies getting tossed in the oven or bashed against the wall were recorded, point-blank headshots were recorded, and hunting for women for rapes was recorded. There was no hesitancy in their act. There was a fervor. To be hateful is one thing, to be vengeful is one thing and to be Hamas perpetrating some of the acts that I wish I had never read about is an entirely different ball game. 

How is one supposed to respond to this inhuman and degrading violence? One option is to fold meekly and give whatever the perpetrators are asking or the second option is to unleash the fury. Israel chose the second option and rightfully so. And in a true Macbre fashion that only Islamic terror would be able to achieve, Hamas is coming out 'victorious' since Hamas is shielding themselves from innocent children of Palestine. Isn't that something? And what's worse is the majority of the so-called liberal Western population along with a useless piece of the crap body called the UN is siding with Hamas and asking for Israel to stop the retaliation? The equivocation is jarring. These bodies and actors condemn Hamas only when they get to condemn Israel, putting both of them on an equal footing. How? 

Israel is likely to essentially take over northern Gaza. I would not be surprised if they settled out the northern Gaza as well. Dust will settle down at some point. The lives of 1200 will not come back. The memories of ghastly killings and rapes will continue to haunt us for eons to come. This is unlikely to solve the core issue but going forward, the bloodshed will only increase. And with so many 'liberal', 'humanitarian' supporters, Hamas will grow in power! 

Back to Medival Age!

Generally speaking, the news of someone getting elected to be the Speaker of the House in any country does not even deserve a byline in international news. It's not like the Speaker does not have power or influence but it's mostly a procedural post that is far below in the hierarchy that it is probably at the bottom of the front page news even in the native country. 

But if you pay attention to the most recent speaker of the US Congress then one will be left with philosophizing pointlessly since it is excruciatingly hard to wrap head around the choice the Republican party made in choosing the man they choose. 

There is so much to unpack here. However, we will let go of internal party squabbling and posturing. That's too internal matter to discuss. The country of the US is the most technologically advanced nation on the face of earth and dare I say, in the known history of mankind. The industrial, mechanical, and technological advancement this country has achieved in less than a hundred years is so astonishing that it will be another hundred years before mankind can start appreciating it. Industrialization and mechanization have brought unprecedented economic progress and comfort to every home, hitherto unknown to the civilization. The technology like the internet or personal computing industry, they built has, at least for now, positively impacted the world in general. And yet, the speaker of the Congress that one of the only two main political parties in US politics decides to elect is fervently anti-science. He does not believe in evolution or climate change. He does not believe Dinosaurs existed or that the Earth is millions of years old. The man believes that Earth was created 6000 years ago by a person, who he calls, God! He did not believe in COVID-19 and certainly not in the vaccine. The man questioning the reality so hard even Saturday Night Live won't be able to develop any caricature of him. The situation is dark when reality writes itself as satire. I am not even getting into his denying the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. That can be rationalized as political posturing. But who in a sane mind questions the evolution or questions the existence of dinosaurs? 

The insane mind only and the hoards of them have reached the seat of power. 

The obvious question for the non-US world is, why should anyone care? There are enough numbnuts politicians across the world. Each country has a buffoon passing themselves off as civilized. We don't care about them, do we? The case is not the same when it comes to US and US politics. The US is still the sole superpower in the world. What they do and think matters and impacts the rest of the world. They are the biggest polluters in the world. So if the Speaker of the Congressional House denies climate change then any possibility of the country working towards reducing carbon footprints drops drastically. Modern science is one of the greatest discoveries of mankind that has changed our world drastically. So, if the Speaker of the congressional house denies dinosaurs, or denies evolution, it will impact the spending on Science, which in turn will impact scientific progress. Moreover, we should not see him as a singular entity that has reached the position of power. This is not about a frozen potato reaching the highest echelon of political power. This dude is what part of US society saw fit to elect and propose. He is a reflection of large swaths of the country's society. The fact that so many people share his beliefs, his lack of faith in science and should worry all of us. 

The worst is there is nothing we can do about this development. We all get to suffer though! Some solace. 

The Roadrunner - At the end of the road!

I recently watched The Roadrunner, a documentary on the life of Anthony Bourdain. It was a wonderfully made tribute to Bourdain covering key parts of his career while vividly portraying the personality that we all fell in love with. The off-camera persona of Anthony Bourdain comes out exactly the way he was on the screen. No garnishing was required. The documentary also captures the sudden and unfortunate demise of the hero delicately and with ample empathy. It was not his sudden demise that shocked people. It was the way he decided to exit the stage. There was no cursory 'Bye' to anyone. A man with millions of words at his disposal could not muster even a few words worth a note before heading out. No one would have predicted the end. Perhaps, not even the man himself. I would be lying if I told you I did not choke up.  

I first read Kitchen Confidential in the summer of 2003. I randomly landed on it, most likely because I liked the lanky, good-looking fellow with knives on the cover of the book. And just like millions of others, I got hooked on the disarming monologues that filled page after page. Though a foodie myself, I never gave any thought to the food I was eating or the chefs that were making it. I have never thought about people running the restaurants. It was amusing to know how restaurants function. It was hilarious to read about why not go for a buffet on Mondays and why not order fish on Monday nights. Bourdain did shed bright lights on the underbelly of the restaurant business but he also lovingly painted the people who peel potatoes, who make the sauce, who ferry the plates, and the people who own the show. But the book, wryly honest in tone was not just about food or about the restaurant business. It was a memoir, a musing about the philosophy of life, the philosophy of wasted opportunities, being grateful for the opportunities received, and the world in general. And just like millions of others, I was hooked on the persona that was Anthony Bourdain. I couldn't get enough of this dude. The way he was flying around with his thoughts gave me a different perspective about everything around me. Anthony Bourdain was legit cool! Jaded yet clear, rueful yet honest, elite, snob yet completely street. 

I wanted to be like him and yet I knew, I could never be like him! 

When his No Reservations show started airing, it felt like a natural transition for Bourdain's personality. He took his intense gaze and ability to philosophize even the mundane happenings to a wider canvas. The narration, the thought cycle appealed to me because it felt like a monologue of a wanderer. Bourdain was as American as one can get (and as New Yorker as one can get) who didn't travel extensively before the show, yet his point of view to look at the world - curiosity, respect, disdain, and nonchalance, all mixed in exactly right quantity, showed the world from an immigrant's point of view. Perhaps because he worked on food that is inherently always been a global phenomenon. Or maybe he worked with a staff full of immigrants. I don't know but that way of analyzing the world felt very strongly personal when he started traveling around the world. I was an immigrant myself at that time. Was trying to fit in a foreign land, attempting new types of food and enjoying it, and yet, was trying to hold on to the past and the country. All immigrants go through that, I wasn't any special but the experience that all immigrants have is certainly special. And somehow Bourdain managed to showcase this brilliantly. Food is not just what we eat, how we eat, and how we cook. It's a cultural reference point, a representation of centuries of living by a certain set of people under certain geographical and weather conditions. Dig deeper and one will see how society grew and most importantly why. Passing down the recipes over generations and centuries is a thread that strongly binds societies and cultures. The food is not just to fill the belly but it represents the people in and out. The way they look, act, behave, and react all boils down to the food, and Bourdain, either by design or by accident, succinctly managed to use food as a lens to look at the world in his travels. There was a curiosity but there was never one-sided judgment. There was healthy respect but never over-the-top reverence. There was a monologue but it effortlessly weaved the cultural narration of the region he was travelling. There have been numerous travelogues before and since Bourdain's No Reservation. It's not like there are no other good travelers. My personal favorite has been Ian Wright of Lonely Planet/Globe Trekker fame. Ian was just so much fun to watch but he could never impose his personality on the episode or the location. This is where Bourdain distinguished himself. The show wasn't just about traveling, sightseeing, or about food. It was Bourdain traveling, sightseeing seeing, and eating the food. 

Some of Bourdain's traveling episodes were poignant. His travels through Vietnam and Cambodia were travelogue masterpieces. I still remember the scene of him dining in the hut of a guy who lost his legs to a landmine. The pain, shame, and regret were quite evident on Bourdain's face. The nation, the family, and the hut graciously hosting him had borne the brunt of the US invasion of Vietnam. And though the invasion had ceased more than four decades ago, the violence through landmines continued to be a steady feature of life. Bourdain and his crew handled the situation outstandingly. It left an indelible mark on viewers. Such episodes were quite frequent on his 'No Reservations' show. A militant meat eater, he was amazed at the vegetarian choices offered in India. His food side chat with the owners of a famous vegetarian restaurant in Rajasthan was quite fun to watch. The beauty was how Bourdain became part of the entire scene. The hustle and bustle of that restaurant - it was not a fine dining place, Bourdain having heart-to-heart with the young men, his genuine amazement after knowing that all of these men are engineering graduates made the episode a great watch. It is not just about food anymore. It was about people and it was about how Bourdain effortlessly brought that side to the viewers is where his genius sparkled. 

I lost 'touch' with him almost a decade ago. I didn't feel like watching his CNN show. Partially because I felt a bit betrayed. On CNN? Common man, you are better than that! You are the rebel I looked up to, not a schmuck on CNN! I still watched him whenever his old shows were on or whatever he wrote but I did not pursue him actively. If you watch The Roadrunner closely, as his fan, as his 'friend', you can see something's not right. He was running away from something when nothing was pursuing him. Our 'roadrunner' became the road himself. In search of something, he seems to have lost himself. That 'something' was never apparent though. Was it adrenaline? Was it the next curiosity? Next weird food? New culture? New people? New destination? something more fulfilling? Or maybe, some happiness? A new person to love? We don't know and what's worse, we will never know. The dude spoke millions of words, visited thousands of places, and became the coolness quotient for millions of everyday schmucks like me and yet, no one saw his sudden demise coming! He hid in plain sight. Maybe he hid from himself and all the traveling, he could not find his true self. 

It's a good idea not to get too close to the people we look up to. Not to go deeper into their personal lives. Anthony Bourdain was no saint by any stretch of imagination. They are commoners just like us in most facets of life. However, certain aspects of their personality shine brightly and enrich our lives. It's been almost a half decade since Bourdain left the scene but his cigarette-heavy voice still sounds fresh and his travelogues still make us look at the world with curiosity and empathy. I would like to just stick to that and celebrate his life.  

The General Election of 2024 - Making of Great Chivda!

For those who are uninitiated - Chivda is a mixture. The food is popular partly because you never know what ingredient you will taste next. In Maharashtra or among the Marathi people, it's also used as a euphemism for a mess.

And that's exactly what the current Indian political situation looks like. You never know what will happen next or who will speak what next. You also never know who is the Prime Minster candidate. The so-called 'Chanakya' of Indian politics has his party in tatters. He was supposed to be leading the opposition effort to bring down the Modi government. Now he is trying to count how many MLAs he is left with. In the confusion, he is making new and contradictory statements every other day. I don't know if he is confused or if he still thinks he is tricking others. As Lincoln (allegedly!) had famously said, you can some people sometimes but you cannot fool all people all the time! 

The situation with Congress is more perplexing. They just won the Karnataka state election. This should 'refill' their empty coffers (the state Deputy Chief Minister has already told everyone that there is no money left for development. One doesn't have to wonder where all money will go!). Yet, the party is acting as if they are a non-existent force. The party still commands a 20% vote share in the country and yet, they meekly capitulated to the strong-arm tactics of AAP and Kejariwal. It was astonishing to Congress agreed to AAP's demand of opposing an ordinance on the governance of Delhi, that was always going to sail through the parliament. Is there no one in Congress who thinks rationally, thinks about ROI, or thinks about the party's future? AAP has always eaten into Congress vote share. AAP has not been able to make any serious dent in BJP's vote share. By supporting AAP in their childish game against the Central govt., Congress has gifted their vote share in Delhi to AAP. (which in the short term and from the perspective of the Delhi assembly election scenario, is bad news for the BJP) But somehow, despite missteps after missteps, Congress believes they are the pole position around which all opposition parties of India should gather and fight against Modi govt. in the next elections? The think tank in Congress should get their heads checked because if two rupees worth of a blogger like me can see through this stupidity then I wonder what sort of knuckleheads are running the show in Congress! 

There are a host of regional ambitions running wild. Some have personal vendettas like Nitish Kumar who is running out of allies to backstab. Yet, he believes Modi is the villain here. Vendetta politics can get you returns in the short term but on a grand level like the Indian general election and over the long term, personal vendetta will lead only to disaster. Nitish has been CM of Bihar for almost twenty years and back in 2005, he was primarily elected to throw out the Laloo gang. It is rather sad to see him now joining the Laloo gang in his attempt to take revenge on Modi. How will that serve anyone? And most importantly, do these people think that voters won't see through this game? 

Then there is Mamta. She is ready to kill anyone who will voice against her. She has done that multiple times. The bloodbath after the last assembly elections in Bengal was so bad that even god-awful people like Rajdeep Sardesai had to acknowledge the violence. Unfortunately, her violent politics means she cannot get out of Bengal and set the national stage for her ambition. Yet, she believes she is or should be the kingmaker in the next elections. The largest party by seats in the 2019 general election was BJP with more than 300 seats and Mamta's party, which is the fourth largest party by seats, won 22 seats. BJP has a vote share of more than 37% while Mamta's party has a 4% vote share. The party is decidedly regional and still, Mamta believes she is a PM candidate. I don't know what is the thought process here but the mixture of ambition and personal rivalry seems to be at play. 

I talked about only some of the key actors from the opposition camp. There are a host of competing personalities and parties that are in play. All this drama but unfortunately, the sad reality is there is no true opposition. And a functioning democracy should always have a capable and thoughtful opposition. These parties are family-run fiefdoms who just want to survive at any cost. There is no vision, there is no new thought. It's just noise. And this is the best we will have to make do with. 

The Pawar, BJP and the Powerplay

To say no one saw it coming would be an exaggeration. The timing was a surprise but all dynastic or family-centered political parties are bound to go through the phase of rebellion. It is just natural. A family member is given precedence over another and the other decides to split. Sometimes the split is successful while for most purposes, the usurper is defeated soundly. The two Laloo brothers fought but Tejaswi, the first choice of Laloo, emerged a winner. Bal Thackeray chose his son over a potentially more deserving candidate - his nephew. The nephew has been in the wilderness since then. Similarly, Stalin soundly defeated his elder brother and has been running DMK since then. In short, it was a matter of time before NCP also goes through the split. The nephew here is much stronger when it comes to public support and he is a strongman as well. While the daughter has been getting elected as a Member of Parliament for decades now, her sway over the Maharashtra electorate has been mediocre at best. Sharad Pawar seems to have decided to throw his weight behind his daughter instead of his nephew. There is a bit more nuance here that is critical. The senior Pawar has not relinquished his power yet. He has not given reigns to his daughter. He is desperately holding on to the power as if his life depends on it. Even at this advanced age, senior Pawar wants to be the kingmaker. Perhaps, he took that moniker given to him a bit more seriously. 

Or Ajit Pawar saw the writing on the wall and decided to chart his path. The party has barely grown in the last two decades. Their vote share in MH has consistently come down since 1999. Their maximum seat winning was 71 seats out of 288 legislative seats. Unsurprisingly, the party recently got delisted as a National Party. With the rampaging BJP rushing ahead of everyone and the emergence of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, now was the time for Ajit Pawar to branch out. Otherwise, there was a healthy chance of Ajit Pawar going down like Uddhav Thackeray. All these political equations make sense for Ajit Pawar and a good number of NCP leaders and MLAs. But does that mean BJP should take him under their wing? Politics is all about benefits and somehow, I do not see Ajit Pawar's defection helping BJP in any way. I foresee considerable headaches and concerns from within the party and most importantly, from the loyal vote base of BJP. 

Sharad Pawar has been playing games from the shadows for far too long. He hoodwinked BJP and Devendra Fadnavis in 2019. The move he made not only ensured Uddhav Thackeray and Congress joined hands with NCP in forming the state government but I am sure senior Pawar got a kick out of him landing a knockout punch squarely on BJP's chin. The party known for a multitude of leaders, think tanks, cadre based organizations was so summarily defeated in the game of politics that it won't be surprising if the party and especially, Devendra Fadnavis decided to make this personal. With retribution in mind, they helped destroy Pawar Senior's party from the inside out. Perhaps, the vote share will split further favoring BJP in the 2023 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. Perhaps, the confusion may lead to further infighting in Congress, in Uddhav's Shiv Sena, and NCP leading to more seats for BJP. All that is possible but what if BJPs vote share comes down? Can that happen? Perhaps. 

This is simply because BJP has been projecting itself as the most non-corrupt party. There is an element of truth to that. Then BJP has been projecting itself as a political party that puts governance, development, and people's mandate above political slug-fest. They are the party that would not compromise on its principles and would even let go of power if needed. They have done that in the past. Those moves did not immediately bring them electoral benefits but that type of politics has gained them an extremely loyal voter base. Just look at the recent Karnataka Vidhan Sabha elections - the party's seat tally came down drastically but their vote share has not budged much. People who voted for them continued to vote for them. Another example is the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections where BJP has barely any presence in the seat tally but their vote share has gone up in the last decade. All this is because of their fastidiousness with principles, ideology, and their capability to even let go of power for principles and ideology. And all this is no longer visible in the current scenario. 

NCP and associated leaders have been accused of massive corruption. I will provide only one example, Ajit Pawar, irrigation minister for over a decade, is infamous for irrigation project scams worth billions of dollars. The cases have been long pending with no end in sight. Similarly, in the social engineering space, NCP has amped up caste-based, anti-Brahmin tirade that has led to multiple cases of violence and in creating disharmony in the society. The party is known as a party of only one caste while not serving even that caste appropriately. The last home minister of the state, a leading figure of NCP, has been embroiled in an extortion scandal and was in jail for months. Another home minister from this same party was helming when the 26/11 attacks happened. The list of corruption scandals, insidious political games, and complete failure when in administration for NCP is too long. Yet, BJP believes that combining forces with NCP and with Ajit Pawar is a good idea. Have they lost touch with their ideals, with their voters, and with their beliefs? Please don't tell me that there are no enemies in politics. You don't have to be enemies but you don't have to be friends as well. Remember, birds of the same feather flock together. Is BJP changing its feathers? Because NCP or Ajit Pawar surely are not going to change theirs! 

As mentioned earlier, NCP has been fading for a long time in MH now. They would have ceased to be a political power very shortly. With a strong part of Shiv Sena already with them, the likelihood of the BJP winning a massive mandate in next year's Vidhan Sabha elections was very high. They may very well win the next election or even the next one after that. But in the long term this strategy will severely impact BJP. 

The Adipurush Effect

The recent release of Adipurush, a film based on Ramayana, is generating massive and frankly speaking, unnecessary controversy. Not surprising since the age we live in is an age of controversy. I have not watched the film but based on the trailer and other random clips, the screen looks shoddy, the actors are looking confused and the VFX is juvenile. The dialogues are also cringing. Overall, the movie seems to be a poor production. But since when did the poor quality of a movie become a controversy? 

From what I understand the director has not changed the story of Ramayana. There is still Ram, Sita Ma, and Laxman. The movie still has Hanuman and also has Ravan. The villain is still Ravan and the hero is still Shri Ram. Given the current discourse in the country, I am happy to take this. Now, if the story has not changed a bit, then we can love or hate the movie's quality. We can even laugh at the production. But there is no reason to get angry and upset about it! 

There has been a spate of Hindu world-centric movies in the last 3-4 years. Partially it's a reaction to the overtly attempted 'secularised' and 'urdu'isd' movies and partially, due to changes in the political environment that made it safe to make such movies. There was a movie on the Great Bajirao I. The movie quality, direction, and acting were quite good. Much better than the Adipurush. But to have Bajirao I dance with his soldiers was simply unthinkable. Here is a warrior who never lost a battle in the field. He roamed conquering regions from Delhi to Hyderabad. His name is synonymous with victory in Marathi and Hindi language. And then the director from the Hindi film industry had a creative epiphany in which, Bajirao would be dancing with his soldiers! Yet the movie was a huge hit. And that's a good thing. People had forgotten about Bajirao I. India, which Maratha ruled for almost 120 years, had lost the memory of the Maratha empire, of Maratha warriors. How do we get people to learn about the history? At least, the key events or key characters of the history? We can and should update the history textbooks. But what if we can tap into mass media and spread the message? That's where movies come into the picture. Whether one likes or detests Bollywood, they do have immense power over the imagination of vast tracts of our country. Their ability to influence tens of crores of people is unparalleled in modern India. So, having them produce a movie on Bajirao (or later a movie on Battle of Panipat) is only a win-win situation, the quality of the movie notwithstanding. 

Can we say that all presentations of Ramayana on big or small screens have been great productions? The Japanese anime presentation of Ramayana that came in the early 1990s was brilliant. But can we say the same thing about Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana? Sagar's Ramayana was right on time and was well- acted but as compared to BR Chopra's Mahabharata, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana looked quite elementary. Yet we liked them all. That's because the original material, Shri Valmiki's Ramayana is just superb. The story of Shri Ram and Ma Sita is a story of human struggles, it's the story that perseverance, it's a story of following duty to the T. It's a story of love, lust, anger, triumph, and ultimately human tragedy. It's a story of standing tall despite suffering. In a month or so most of the population will forget about the Adipurush. However, the movie has brought back Ramayana in conversation. It's back on the center stage. It's back on people's minds, back in their imagination. People are looking for old clips from prior representations of Ramayana. People are again discussing Ramayana. Perhaps, we can all agree that the movie has achieved its (unintended!) objective already. 

The Kerala Story

I have not watched the movie. I am unlikely to watch it either. I did not watch The Kashmir Files either. The topics and subjects cut too close and hurt so much that if I watch the movie my rage will probably make me go insane. 

A bit of overreaction I guess. It's a movie after all. Movies always take artistic liberty and tend to paint the picture in a color that generally does not have a gray color. Unlike the gray area in that, most of these controversial issues reside. Or so the so-called liberals and rationalists would like us to believe. But then sometimes, the situation is so drastic, full of blood red that people then try to paint it gray. It is sort of a defense mechanism. Since, it is too hard to digest the bloodiness, hard to accept the reality, and hard to fathom the failure. Sadly, gray color or not, the reality does not change. The blood-soaked rice was forced on some people, Kashmiri Hindu women were raped and killed, and mutilated for being Hindu, the region of Kashmir was rinsed of Hindu presence, Hindu girls of Kerala were indoctrinated, converted to Islam, sold off to sexual slavery only because that's all that kafir Hindu girls deserves. And all this happened in the last 30 - 40 years only. In the age of TV, digital media, social media, and activism. This happened without any protest from Hindus despite the perpetrators doing all this without even an iota of shame. The Islamists of Kerala or Kashmir wanted more people to know this since they know the 'secular' governments of Kerala or Delhi will not do anything against them. In fact, in Kerala especially, the government will help them abduct, convert and sell Hindu girls. The Islamists wanted the limelight, they want to advertise. They want to spread the terror. They want to show their supremacy - "we will kill kafirs, rape their women, sell their children into slavery and no one can do anything. No one will dare touch us" 

I will not even talk about the visceral reaction from so-called secular, liberal, progressive people. In India, these labels are usually garb for being staunchly anti-Hindu. Never bother talking to these folks since they are already brainwashed. How are you going to make any sense to them or have a logical discussion with them when they don't own their mental faculties? They are more rabid, more fundamentalist, and more irrational than even the rabid, most fundamentalist, and most irrational Islamists of Pakistan! The reaction was expected. It made movies more popular. It led people to the theater. Both movies went mainstream and both became mainstream hits. I say, we should not engage these rabid secularists or liberals but we should let them shout shrill. 

But one key point I do not see discussed when people defend the movies or the subject is the historical precedence of Hindu genocide by Muslims in Kashmir or Islamic slavery of Hindus in Kerala. The tactics, the objective, the modus operandi, and the rationale behind it, are nothing new. Islamists and Muslims have been doing it for centuries. During the first onslaught of Islamic invasions in Sindh - they looted our temples, killed men in lakhs, destroyed cities, and sold Hindu women en mass. It is documented that they used to send 1/8 of women abducted for sex slavery, to their Caliphs in Arabia! Genocide had been common in Afghanistan and Pakistan for centuries. Take a look at the Hindu population in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan post-1947. Either Hindus were forced out, killed, raped, or forcibly converted without impunity in all these three countries. The Islamic supremacy and with that justification, the ability to unleash violence, met out sub-human treatment to Hindus has been a routine. The Godhra train burning? The massacres in Noakhli, WB during partition? The Mophala riots, rapes, and forced conversions of thousands in Kerala? The geography is different, the rationale is the same, the justification is the same, and the conviction is the same. "Hindu men are not men and so, Hindu women are fair game" "Kafirs do not have any place on earth" "Killing kafirs is a good deed" and "Raping Kafir women is ordained" One will not find any of this in so-called news articles, in so-called scholarly journals or for that matter even in public discourse. And that's the reason the Islamists get to kill, maim, rape, loot and destroy again and again and again! 

And yet, Hindus are the ones justifying the movie that shows the reality! And Muslims and Islamists cry, victims. Jihadis get the batch of secularists and Islamic terrorists are called martyrs. Unless the language does not change, unless we do not sugarcoat their deeds, unless we call a spade a spade, the situation will keep repeating. 

As it had been for centuries.