Kamal’s plight..

One can only sympathize with Kamal Hassan for what he is going through now. Viswaroopam still stays banned even after the poor actor agreed to delete some portions of the film which are deemed to be hurting the fragile sentiments of Muslim community. Now, this sham of ‘hurt sentiments’ has been a recurring issue in India over the past few years. Even the Vijay film Thuppakki was attacked by the same fragile minded community. And the government continues to be arbitrary to say the least. No wonder that India has dropped to 140th rank in press freedom, lowest since 2002

Just the other day I happened to watch some portions of a recent Telugu hit movie starring Naresh. It showed Yamadeva and Chitragupta enjoying imported liquor, goddesses dancing with the hero and more such thrash supposed to pass as comedy. Does our ‘secular’ government have any clarity on the criterion to deal with religious sentiments?

Then again, in ‘secular India’, Hindus are expected to have no sentiments at all..

Republic Day musings..

As we celebrate the 64^th Republic Day, the public mood is grim, to put it mildly. The ultimate optimist that I am, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain positive. For quite a long time we have been greeted by news that ranged from disappointing to outrageous. The recurring scams, the inefficient and callous governance, politics devoid of morality and vision, economic crisis, ever rising inflation, an unscrupulous and uncivilized neighbor and the list could go on and on…

Add to this the week response from the state whenever it is called upon to take stern action. Now that the elections are on the horizon, we see the religious fundamentalists wielding more power. If every film has to be cleared by the mullas and imams, what is the need of a censor board in this country? Just because of the latest controversy over Viswaroopam, the government decided not to honor Kamalhaasan with a Padma award. How ridiculous!!

India is the land of festivals and celebrations. But we are really finding it hard to keep up the festive spirit….

What a ‘Chinta’ from an enlightend Shinde!!!

The Home Minister of India has played right into the hands of Pakistan with his irresponsible and outrageous remarks during the ‘Chintan shivir’. Accusing RSS and BJP of running ‘terror camps’ in the country marks a new low (or perhaps high) in minority appeasement. Shinde should know that he is the home minister of a great nation and not of a home called 10 Janpath. What the mandarins of the grand old party fail to realize is that such baseless statements are easily exposed in the new era of social networking and internet news gathering. They may keep trying their best to keep a section of the society uneducated and unskilled so that the ‘Family’ can keep thriving on misinformation. However, India is slowly but surely becoming smart enough to see through the total lack of efficiency and honesty which is the hallmark of Congress polity.

India – a soft target…

While Manmohan Singh has been described as the worst performing PM in independent India, A.K Antony is the most defenseless defense minister ever. All breed of terrorists, naxals, Maoists etc have been striking at will against the hapless aam  admi in India. Now, the Pakistan army has shown the audacity to cross the LOC and kill Indian javans, even beheading one. While the UPA jokers are busy arranging cricket matches and all sorts of diplomatic buffoonery, Pakistan is steadily building up its strategic strength with the support of China. The UPA government has failed on all fronts, a rarity for any government. Over the last decade, India has become increasingly sidelined in international arena. Gone are the days when India was seen as a global player. Now even the small neighbors like Myanmar are defying India time and again. China is swiftly establishing itself in the South Asia and even Indian Ocean as the primary player.

I wonder whether any Indian netajis have a clue about these. The opposition parties including the BJP are as myopic and ignorant as the UPA. How long can we keep echoing the ‘theek hai’ policy…

2013....

It has been a good start for the year, especially because I have been standing up for myself in the last few days. It is a new experience for me as I have always been content with playing the second fiddle. Combined with the famed Taurean patience, perseverance and clarity of thought, I hope this newfound love for my own priorities would stand me in good stead. Here is, hoping for a pivotal year….