Truth in journalism
Why would Rediff list the “Candlelight vigil on the border” in its movie section, unless they recognize the make-believe nature of the farce? Irony ain’t dead ;)
So, Pakistan seems to be complicit in provoding nuclear technology to Iran (obviously illegally, since I am sure both countries are in grave violation of various UN sanctions) - UN report points to Pak nexus in Iranian nuke programme : HindustanTimes.com, so what do Pakistanis do? Why, blame India, of course! - India’s share in Iran’s nuclearisation.
Look at the title of the article and the content - how do they match?
India blames Muslims for bombingBOMBAY, India, Aug. 26 - India’s government blamed Muslim militants Tuesday for explosions that shook Bombay a day earlier and accused rival Pakistan of trying to destabilize the country. The attacks killed 50 people and wounded 154, Muslims and Hindus alike. Indian officials stopped short of saying Pakistan had dispatched the bombers, but the comments appeared likely to undermine a fragile peace process between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. They have fought three wars, two over the divided Kashmir province.and then, look at this piece of information that was completely new to me -
India constitutionally is a secular country that guarantees religious freedom. But in its 55-year history, the country has seen repeated incidents of religious strife that have cost thousands of lives. In the 1940s, riots between Hindus, who make up about 80 percent of the nation, and Muslims resulted in the country being divided into India and Pakistan. The bitterness bred in those times remains. Click a link above to explore some of the worst cases of this violence.Say what? I thought it was the Partition that had created the riots in the country that lead to the deaths of hundreds and thousands and the displacement of millions. Revisionist history, anyone?
Update: More errors from MSNBC Reuters, via JK.
Editor — I’m anti-capitalist. I didn’t vote for Gov. Gray Davis. I reject the politics of subservience to money. Yet I’m voting against the recall (and for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante), and here’s why: Americans are living through the most extreme attacks upon public and civil rights, free elections and the government’s role in assuring public education and health care in my lifetime.
American democracy, to say nothing of the world’s safety and the U.S. economy, can’t afford more deregulation and unending war.
The recall is part of an unraveling of public rights — not a chance to change direction.
As the Arnold Schwarzenegger circus shows, TV won’t allow issues to determine the winner. The recall is thus about furthering neoconservative schemes that have weakened our nation’s economy and resources, created a police state in Washington, D.C., despoiled our environment, outraged most of the world and put our young people at risk in unjustifiable, murderous military adventures. Just say no. MARC SAPIR
Berkeley
Vinos of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but the shackles of dieting ;)
Drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall liveFor those not keen on cutting calories, new research suggests tipping a bottle can be just as effective in attaining longer life. Molecules found in red wine have been shown to mirror the life-extending effects of calorie restriction, a finding that could lead to new treatments for age-related illness, and perhaps, a pill or potion to add years to the human lifespan.
How much would you bet that it will be some “freedom-fighter” organization or some nation “diplomatically and morally supporting freedom-fighters” involved in these blasts? I guess by the time Mumbai’s police get to the bottom of it, the minds behind this can get safe haven in Pakistan and the country will deny they were ever there (see, Dawood Ibrahim).
At least 42 feared killed in 2 Mumbai blastsAt least 45 people were feared killed and over 150 injured in two blasts in south Mumbai — one near the Gateway of India and the other near Zaveri Bazaar in busy Kalbadevi area — on Monday afternoon, Minister of State for Home Rajendra Darda said.
Update: Yazad and Sameer have the news and updates covered in a lot more detail.
Update: More than 100 detonators found on rail tracks
Hours after twin bomb blasts in Mumbai killed 46 people, more than 100 detonators were found from a railway track at a place about 60 km from Nashik just an hour before an express train carrying mostly Kumbh pilgrims was to pass, senior police and railway officials in Nashik said.
Update: Muslim groups are making the right noises, as per TOI - Bring the culprits to book: Muslim groups - The Times of India, but then of course, one of the groups mentioned is the Raza Academy - that doesn’t much add to the credibility of their cause - and now the Sena-crazies threatens to “retaliate” - Sena is prepared to retaliate: Thackeray - The Times of India.
And then of course, even before the funeral pyres have stopped burning, the vultures set in for the charred flesh -
Blasts aimed at Gujaratis? : HindustanTimes.comThese former activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India are also far more committed than the underworld was. While the latter were essentially a bunch of misguided, largely uneducated and unemployed youth in it mostly for the money, today’s activists are committed zealots and the police are finding it impossible to crack their network.Worrying them is the fact that the newer lot of terrorists are not misled at all. They have simmered for over a year over the massacre of fellow Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 and when the minorities of that state were found to be too cowed down to retaliate, Nachan and his gang decided to take matter into their own hands.[Emphasis mine]
Not surprising then that the first of the recent blasts happened in a bus at Ghatkopar which is an area largely populated by Gujaratis. The next major one happened at Mulund on a train - Mulund again is largely occupied by Gujaratis.
And what are they going to do to Britain? Oh, the same thing that Canada was able to do after the Iranian Mullarchy beat to death the Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi? I am glad that UK and Europe seem to be waking up to the vipers’ nest that Iran is turning to, thanks to lovely regime ruling the country.
Telegraph | News | Iran threatens Britain over diplomat’s terrorism arrestPresident Mohammad Khatami of Iran threatened “strong action” against Britain yesterday over the arrest of its former ambassador to Argentina.
So, Palestinian “militants” send proud photos of them planting bombs to AP and they publish them just like that - see militant kill people-style? No comdemning - no notifying IDF - doesn’t it seem like AP has crossed that thin line between reporting news and trying to create and endorse it?
“My dad would shoot me and then commit suicide,” said Sadiq, a quiet, neatly dressed Palestinian who is attending college in the northeast United States.Read the quoted passage above - then tell me what doesn’t fit in. Bingo! Why is being gay in the USA hard? Compared to what? Yes, many people discriminate against gays still and are not comfortable around them - but neither more nor less than the way people treat gays in all the other advanced countries in the world.Being gay in the United States has never been easy.
But being gay and Muslim, especially after Sept. 11, 2001, is a unique act of defiance requiring homosexuals to defend their religious identity in the face of an increasingly suspicious U.S. government and sexual orientation amid hostility from the conservative Islamic community.
Many would rather deny their sexuality than sacrifice family, friends, culture or religion by coming out of the closet.
Now, look at the third sentence in the passage quoted - why is it extra hard for gay Muslims after 9/11? If you read the rest of the article, you will see that these gay Muslims have a lot more to fear from fellow Muslims than from any other “average, ignorant American” (as they are known on that planet that is Reutersville). So what purpose do those quotes serve in the article except to use every freaking chance to bash America? I wouldn’t know.
So, 10000 people die of the heat wave and it is their fault for dying? I mean, how dare they die and make Chirac mad!
The Calgary Sun: Heat wave claims 10,000 - French president blames the publicPARIS — As many as 10,000 people may have died in France’s heat wave, the government acknowledged yesterday, and a solemn President Jacques Chirac promised health system changes. But he also criticized the public, saying many elderly victims “died alone in their homes.”
Thou Shalt Not Pray - Does the Constitution hate God? By Dahlia Lithwick
This was a pretty interesting and thought-provoking article by Dahlia Lithwick on Slate today - I agree with most of the article, but this passage seemed to leap out at me -
… Because we live in a zero-sum constitutional world. In order to be “neutral” toward all religions, including atheism, the courts have had to erect equal barriers to all. In order to privilege no religion (or even non-religion) the courts have elected to privilege none. This includes the vague “Judeo-Christian” theism that most Americans would probably like to see more of in the public square.But then isn’t atheism vs. religion of any kind a zero-sum game too? How do you put barriers against some thing like atheism, that stands on non-belief as opposed to religion? If you put too many barriers against religion, you are inherently in favor of atheism and making it an atheist’s world - on the other hand, if you allow too much religion to encroach in public venues, you are endorsing anti-atheism implicitly and thus making them feel uncomfortable and run over - what is a fair balance?
Awww, look what Israel did now - they hit at one of Hamas’ leaders and apparently caused Hamas to abandon the truce - Hamas Abandons Truce After Israeli Strike - I mean, it isn’t like a suicide bombing that kills kids traveling on a bus is not in keeping with the terms of the truce or something, you know…
Here is an LA Times editorial that doesn’t mince words…
How can two groups compete to say they put a man on a bus carrying a bomb with, to make it more lethal, ball bearings? Yet both Islamic Jihad and Hamas boasted that the Jerusalem bomber was theirs. His widow did not ask how she would support their children; she exulted in his “martyrdom.” The murderer was a preacher in a mosque. How twisted must a man be to find in a religion justification for slaying children? What leads another man to drive a truck into a Baghdad building filled with those trying to help people recover from war? Whether a Saddam Hussein loyalist or a foreign terrorist trying to drive out the United States, he murders people who for years have fed more than half of Iraqis and who work to put roofs on schools and to stop sewage from polluting drinking water.
Diana is is angry…really, really angry - Letter from Gotham: ANGRY VENGEFUL RANT FOR WHICH I WILL PROBABLY BE SORRY ONE DAY - what she wrote what was what I felt when read about the most recent suicide bombing and the pictures of the tiny little dead and injured kids, whose only fault was being Israeli - they were unarmed, they are not fighting you - they are not soldiers. But of course, to the crazed lunatics that are Paletinians, it was a such a happy moment when 5 children were brutally murdered and tens more injured, they distributed sweets.
I hate what Pakistani insurgence is doing to my country - even then, I wouldn’t feel a shred of happiness if I heard about innocent kids being murdered in Pakistan - I would feel as sorry for them as if they were fellow Indians - what do we call the Palestinians then? Are they fit to be classified as humans still?
However, father and director Mahesh Bhatt refused to attend the wedding since Pooja got married in a temple.But then he is a very secular man, this Mr. Bhatt - isn’t he? Oh, I see it! Secularism is only for others - not for me!
I think all these so-called pseudo-secularists and pseudo-environmentalists and activists should make this their motto - “Not for me!”, because you know what? All their preachings and teachings are only meant for poor, ignorant us - they would never think of applying the same rules to their lives.
Letters to the Editor - August, 2003 I have always been fascinated by letters to the editor. They give you a glimpse of what ordinary people from various walks of life think about news and news makers. But what if the news makers themselves wrote the letters?
Oh, and in case you guys missed it, I take full responsibility for the JFK assassination, Gandhi’s assassination and MLK’s. (I will make sure people who point out that I am too young to have presided over those, assassinated. Heh)
Al Qaeda claims credit for US blackoutThe operation “was carried out on the orders of Osama bin Laden to hit the pillars of the US economy” and as “realization of bin Laden’s promise to offer the Iraqi people a present”, the statement, which the Al-Hayat newspaper obtained from the Web site of the International Islamic Media Centre, said. “Let the criminal Bush and his gang know that the punishment is the result of the action, the soldiers of God cut the power on these cities, they darkened the lives of the Americans as these criminals blackened the lives of the Muslim people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. The Americans lived a black day they will never forget. They lived a day of terror and fear… a state of chaos and confusion where looting and pillaging rampaged the cities, just like the capital of the caliphate Baghdad and Afghanistan and Palestine were. Let the American people take a sip from the same glass,” Al Hayat quotes the statement as saying.Of course, the funniest claim in the release is this -
“Let the criminal Bush and his gang know that the punishment is the result of the action, the soldiers of God cut the power on these cities, they darkened the lives of the Americans as these criminals blackened the lives of the Muslim people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. The Americans lived a black day they will never forget. They lived a day of terror and fear… a state of chaos and confusion where looting and pillaging rampaged the cities, just like the capital of the caliphate Baghdad and Afghanistan and Palestine were. Let the American people take a sip from the same glass,” Al Hayat quotes the statement as saying.Ummm…Mr. Bin Laden, I am really sorry, sir, but there haven’t been many cases of looting and pillaging during the blackout…Please, don’t be mad! See, it so happens that we are not the Middle East. Yes, sir - I know those infidel dogs cannot be better than you, but you know those damn Americans and New Yorkers! They managed to keep their calm during 9/11, now they manage to do so in a freaking blackout. They file out and help each other as humanely and courageously when they are dying by the dozens as when they are merely inconvenienced by the loss of power. Why can’t they be like regular Arabs and loot a few things or burn a few flags? Ughhh!
Mr. Bin Laden, seriously, you don’t want to mess with these people - they might seem like really pampered brats to your eyes, but take out your ideological blinders and look - here is a country that is not afraid of you anymore. When a white rapper can make joke videos about you (Eminem’s “Without Me”), I hope you can understand it is not that easy to intimidate these people. I mean, think about it - they cut off the head of Taliban by invading Afghanistan and installing a friendly regime, what do you do? Oh, you cut off their power! For a whole day! Big, bad, scary man! (NOT). Again…Heh! :D
How long before this degenerates into a “he said-she said” shouting match? Not that it isn’t there already…
VHP digs up proof of three temples at site - The Economic TimesNEW DELHI: Pushed against the wall by reports that excavations undertaken at Ayodhya by the Archaeological Survey of India, at the behest of the Allahabad High Court, had shown no traces of any temple pre-dating the Babri Masjid, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday hit back at what it alleged was a misinformation campaign unleashed by vested interests. It fielded the Indian Archaeological Society to prove that the excavations undertaken by the ASI, which came to an end on August 7, had stumbled upon enough evidence to prove that there indeed existed not one but three temples at various periods at the disputed site. The last one, Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, built around 12th century AD, was razed to the ground by Babar sometime in 1528-29 and a mosque built at the site.
This got me excited about the coming season now - I think we have definitely gotten younger, taller and more versatile with this addition.I will miss Nick Van Exel, though - he was the little spark plug who put us ahead in the play-offs. Jamison is way better than Zo, Malone or Brad Miller and this trade puts us only below LA, SA and Minnesota, I think, though that could easily change if the other teams have chemistry or “court” problems.
ESPN.com - NBA - Mavs get Jamison in blockbuster nine-player tradeDALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks finally made a major offseason move, acquiring Antawn Jamison in a nine-player trade with the Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks also got guard Jiri Welsch and forwards Danny Fortson and Chris Mills from the Warriors for guards Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson and Antoine Rigaudeau, center Evan Eschmeyer and forward Popeye Jones in the deal announced Monday.
Public bathrooms in the city of Minneapolis may be open to all sexes if a city councilman has his way. That is, as long as you’re just there to do your business and leave.Riiight, so who is going to track a pervert who pretends to be doing his business while checking out women in the restroom with him? What about the men who pee in the open stalls if a woman walks in on them? Who comes up with these idoitic things anyways? Pinnacle Of Evolution
According to the zoologist Clive Bromhall, gay people are the “pinnacle of evolution.”Apparently, they are so evolved they don’t have to reproduce anymore. Seriously though, the book says gay people are so much more “evolved” because they retain their infantility even when they get older - apart from the stereo-typing here, here I was thinking that maturity was a good sign, not childishness.
A fitting commentary on the farce that is the candle-light vigil at the Indo-Pak border - a lone candle fickering, because the organizers forgot getting candles to the vigil. Heh.
Lone candle flickers at Wagah - The Times of IndiaParliamentarians Kuldip Nayyar and Raj Babbar were joined by 12 lawmakers from Pakistan to celebrate the 10th Midnight peace festival. They, however, forgot to take candles to the zero line from the venue of the function. One candle was hurriedly procured to light up the occasion.
Hello all and welcome to the special patriotic edition of the 25th Bharateeya Blog Mela. In this, we are going to present to you some musings on Independence from the Indian bloggers. For the regular Blog Mela, please check out JK’s Varnam Blog. Since we have our Independence graphic above, we will keep the Mela graphic-less, the posts we present will make it up for you. Let’s go then!
Kingsley Jegan has this beautiful post with “Vandemataram”, the original and a translation for the Sanskrit-challenged. Should help the “convent-educated” of us who don’t remember the words of the national song anymore (yes, Kalyan - I am talking to you :)).
Ashwyn tells us a bit about how they celebrated the Independence over in Britain.
Gaurav and Ferzana celebrate Swarajya with poetry.
Anya’s Dreamscapes recounts a story of hope, which is what Independence means to her.
JK and Quizman provide some inspiring thoughts to peruse.
Jivha has a pretty impressive list of all the things India has achieved and not in the short of period of 56 years since her freedom.
P@L has a few things to say to everybody on this happy occasion :)
That was all I could find, friends, readers and fellow Indians! Have fun and have a great Independence Day!
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. Lord Acton
Vande Mataram! Jai Hind!
Since it is almost the 15th in India and tomorrow is the Mela day, I am concluding my Independence series with this post today. This is about how I typically spent my August 15ths and I would love to hear what you guys did on that day.
My earliest memories of the Independence Day involved waking up early in the morning, washing my hair, wearing new clothes, the usual. Then we did one of the things that I loved as a child, we bought a little fabric Indian flag and pinned to my dress - I cannot express how much I liked it. They sold those flags only around this time of the year and they cost just 5 paise, but they made me so proud, sometimes I you’d find me with about 10 of them pinned all over my dress :)
After that, we would have really early breakfast and leave to go to the military barracks in the city with my dad (we means me and my sister). We would stand outside the wire fence and watch along side hundreds of watchers such as us, proud soldiers march past the flag. Sometimes it would get so crowded, my dad would have to put me and my sister on his shoulders, so we could see everything. I had an uncle and a cousin in the marching band of soldiers - we would always try to pick them out when they marched by.
As we grew up, things changed - we moved far enough that our ritual trip to the barracks proved too much. Instead, we attended ceremonies in the school, ate the handfuls of candy passed out there and then came back home to watch the celebrations in Delhi on our boxy Black & White TV. Well, in time, the TV became a color TV and we moved on to switching channels between DD for the Delhi celebrations to the various other channels celebrating the Independence MTV-style or with a deluge of patriotic songs. Now of course, my Independence celebrations are a flurry of e-cards to my parents and friends and some pretty pixels on my website :) That has been my journey …
This is almost going to be like a stream-of-consciousness post, but there is a deeper thought behind everything -
Can a gay man still be a Christian, since the testaments supposedly are against sodomy? Can a person who has had abortions or uses birth control be a Christian? Can a violent person be a Christian?
Can an alcoholic be a Muslim? What about someone who eats pork? What about people who don’t exactly mold themselves after Muhammed and find his morals not compatible with their current lifestyles?
Can a beef and pork-eater be Hindu? Can someone who believes Rama and Krishna are really interesting, “mythological” characters and not real be Hindu?
What about the Jews? Are those who don’t keep kosher still Jewish? What about those who don’t follow the commandments? (admittedly, my knowledge of Judaism is extremely limited - I know, Diane and Meryl, shame on me!)
What I am trying to say is, what makes a person belong to a religion? What identifies a person as a true believer in a faith? Pretty much every single religion is not followed the way it was preached at the time of inception. Does that mean the current Jainism is still Jainism if the Jains don’t wear masks around their mouths like the ones of yore? Are the current versions of all religions even to be called by their original names when they are so different? When you conform the religions to fit in with the current moral code, aren’t you saying the original religions were not good enough to be carried as they were into the modern times? What is the point of belonging to a particular religion or anything at all, if they are not really what they were supposed to be or somehow incompatible with modern values?
(disclaimer: This is just a re-examination of my belief system, not an attempt to belittle any religions)
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Two people were killed and 48 others injured in two blasts in Kashmir, while five people died separately in an escalation of violence ahead of Indian Independence Day, police said. At least 44 people were wounded in a powerful explosion near a restaurant and a bank in the town of Bandipora, 60 kilometres (38 miles) north of Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital.
I will start off with the movies I recently watched, that I liked [that means there is going to be rant at the end - imaginary Ed] -
1. 3 Deewarein - The only hindi movie that I watched in the recent times, that I really liked and had absolutely no shades of any other Hollywood movies. It is a beautifully narrated story of three prisoners sentenced to death (Nagesh Kukunoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Jackie Shroff), a battered wife/documentary film maker trying to get their story (Juhi Chawla) and the common thread that unites them, that they have no idea about. There are no songs in the movie, no laugh-out-loud scenes - just chuckle-inducing mild humor - and no fights in the climax with a twist ending. I highly recommend the movie - it had held my attention throughout with not a single moment of boredom.
2. Darna Mana Hai - A pretty good movie for hindi standards, but then you come to expect that from Varma Productions. A novel idea - 7 friends trapped in a jungle trying to tell each other scary stories to pass time. The stories are pretty nice and Roald Dahl-esque (not the kiddie ones, the other stories). Again, no songs in the movie and the tension is pretty good and the ending is kinda neat too, leaving enough threads hanging to justify a sequel. My only gripe is the way each of the narrated stories ended - some of them were carried beyond what should have been the punchline, which is as if the director doesn’t think his audience are clever enough to “get” the ending unless he drives the point home - this is especially evident in the Aftab’s story and Raghuvir Yadav’s story. Vivek Oberoi’s story was the best.
3. Two Girls and a Guy - I curse Netflix for giving this DVD an interesting enough blurb that I wanted to watch it. What a waste of time! Carla (Heather Graham) and Lou, find out that they are waiting outside an apartment complex trying to surprise their boyfriend flying in that day, who happens to be the same guy, Blake (Robert Downey Jr.) - a lying, two-timing, loathsome freak. The rest of the movie is set in Blake’s apartment, where the girls get drunk, try to get Blake to answer why he was cheating on them, have sex with him and talk some more (though not in that order). The only reason I watched the movie to completion was to make sure there wasn’t a point to the movie that I was missing.
I was right - there was no point to the movie. The dialogue was stilted and fake - in parts it looked as if the actors were told to talk and the camera started filming them, since I can’t believe someone was paid to write that crap. Robert Downey acted pretty good and was the only saving grace of the movie, while the other two are so unconvincing, they might as well be talking at each other instead to them. All in all, a really weird movie.
To move on to a sort of facetious but not completely inconsequential role headdresses played in the freedom struggle as expressions of defiance, protest and peace - here is a pretty interesting article.
The Headdress HeritagePugree, with its multi-dimensional social ethos, was a political symbol in India during her freedom struggle. It played a very important role during India’s struggle for independence. It was the symbol of Indian pride. When the British were trying hard to penetrate the Indian socio-political field, the Indians were nurturing anti-European feelings. Once Gandhiji remarked, “People these days dislike anything that has a European flavour.” Boycott and a bonfire of European clothes gained currency in the early 19th century and it kindled a new spirit, a new hope of pan-Indianness. As a reaction to the Western cultural onslaught people started giving symbolic importance to Indian headgears. It became a symbol of protest against the British subjugation. Indian freedom struggle is a live example of the tens of thousands of martyrs who sported their own specific pugree or cap to demonstrate their pride for their motherland. In the context of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre one can find a picture of the notorious “Crawling Lane” where a Punjabi man is forced to crawl under the threat of the bayonet but even then his traditional headdress is held high in silent symbolic protest.
I think this makes sense - I pay for extra storage with MSN, since if I don’t do that, most of my email would bounce daily, owing to the over 100 junk mails I get a day. Spam is actually costing me money - why shouldn’t I make them pay for it? If I have to pay to send someone a mass-mailing by post, why shouldn’t the spammers pay for the mass-wmails?
Make Money Fast!!!! - If you owned your inbox, spammers would pay to get inside. By Jonathan RauchTechnologically, no quick fix is in sight. But it’s helpful to think about what sort of fix the technologists should be hunting for. The answer, I think, is this: I should have property rights to my e-mail inbox, and I should be able to charge you for admission.
So, we are hitting the quarter-centure mark on Blog Mela this week and boy, does it feel good - especially so, since the 25th Blog Mela also coincides with the Indian Independence Day. Yes, folks - this week’s Mela is going to be up on the 15th, so as to feature the Independence day celebrations amongst the Indian blogging janta.
In view of the above, we are making a slight change to the Mela this week and hosting in two places - here at “Dancing with Dogs”, we will have the patriotic version, featuring posts with the Independence Day theme. We will be having a regular Mela at JK’s Varnam Blog too, with posts of all other flavors.
So, get going and get your entries in, before 8PM CST, on the 14th of August. you can leave your entries in the comments or email them to me at madhoo.1atemaildotcom. Let’s make this the Mela to beat all Melas!
Why would Rediff list the “Candlelight vigil on the border” in its movie section, unless they recognize the make-believe nature of the farce? Irony ain’t dead ;)
I know it is pretty confusing, but don’t worry - Super Sam got it all covered here.
Not to be outdone, Yaz espouses bureaucrashing in this post - AnarCapLib: BureauCrash! (love the che picture he put up!)
Ravikiran, when he is not hatching secret schemes to spread biological weapons (SARS, punitis), is writing about Coke, Pepsi and pesticides in India.
According to the website below, “Hul is a Santali term. It means a movement for liberation.” The story of the butchery recounted below was one I had never heard before. Going by the sheer numbers alone, it should rank with atrocities like the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre. It is a story of bravery, courage and the determination to liberate themselves.
Freedom StruggleSantal Hul was one of the fiercest battles in the history of Indian freedom struggles causing greatest number of loss of lives in any battles during that time. The number of causalities of Santal Hul was 20,000 according to Hunter who wrote it in annals of Rural Bengal. The Santal Hul of 1855-57 was master minded by four brothers Sidhu, Kahnu, Chand and Bhairav; a heroic episode in India’s prolonged struggle for freedom. It was, in all probability, the fiercest liberation movement in India next to Great Sepoy Mutiny in 1857.
…
The courage, chivalry and sacrifice of the Santals were countered by the rulers with veritable butchery. Out of 50,000 Santal rebels, 15,000 20,000 were killed by the British Indian Army. The Company was finally able to suppress the rebellion in 1856, though some outbreaks continued till 1857.
The Santals showed great bravery and incredible courage in the struggle against the military. As long as their national drums continued beating, the whole party would stand and allow themselves to be shot down. There was no sign of yielding. Once forty Santals refused to surrender and took shelter inside a mud house. The troops surrounded the mud house and fired at them but Santals replied with their arrows. Then Soldiers made big hole through muddy wall, and the Captain ordered them surrender but they again shot a volley of arrows through the hole and Captain again asked them to surrender but they continued shooting arrows. Some of the soldiers were wounded. At last when the discharge of arrows from the door slackened, the Captain went inside the room with soldiers. He found only one old man grievously wounded, standing erect among the dead bodies. The soldier asked him to throw away arms, but instead he rushed on him and killed him with his battle axe.
The Khilafat Movement, Muslim League and Mohammed Ali Jinna were probably at the root of the million-dead and millions displaced during the Partition of India into India and Pakistan. Here is a very interesting perspective on the Khilafat Movement from a Muslim man - Hamza Alavi. It helps us keep our perspective cleaner and tells us again not all Muslims think alike and thus shouldn’t be lumped together with the extremists and fundamentalists.
Ironies of History:Contradictions of The Khilafat MovementThe ‘Khilafat’ Movement of 1919-24, is probably quite unique inasmuch as it has been glorified with one voice by Islamic ideologists, Indian nationalists and communists alike and along with them by Western scholars, as an anti-colonial movement of Muslims of India, premised on the hostility of the British to the Turkish Sultan, their venerated Caliph.1 Little attempt has been made to examine the premises on which the movement was founded, the rhetoric of its leaders being taken at face value. On closer examination we find extra-ordinary paradoxes and contradictions behind that rhetoric.As for the ‘achievements’ of that Movement, its lasting legacy is the legitimised place that it gave the Muslim clergy at the centre of the modern political arena, armed with a political organisation in the form of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind (and its successors after the Partition) which the clergy have used to intervene actively in both the political as well as the ideological sphere. Never before in Indian Muslim history was the clergy ever accorded such a place in political life.
The Khilafat Movement also introduced the religious idiom in the politics of Indian Muslims. Contrary to some misconceptions (and misrepresentations) it was not the Muslim League, the bearer of Muslim Nationalism in India, that introduced religious ideology in the politics of Indian Muslims. Muslim Nationalism was a movement of Muslims and not a movement of Islam. It was an ethnic movement of disaffected Muslim professionals and the government-job-seeking educated Indian Muslim middle class, mainly those of UP and Bihar and urban Punjab. Their objectives were modest, for they demanded not much more than fair quotas in jobs for Muslims and certain safeguards for their interests. Muslim Nationalism in India was a secular rather than a religious movement. Nor was it, in its origins, a Hindu hating movement as is sometimes made out. To the contrary, by virtue of the Lucknow Pact of 1916 it had already moved decisively towards a common platform with the broader Indian National Movement and unity with the Congress Party. The Khilafat Movement intervened in that context in a way that decisively killed the politics of the Lucknow Pact. The intervention of the Khilafat Movement in Indian Muslim politics has had a considerable retrogressive ideological influence on the modern Indian Muslim mind that reverberates still in Muslim thinking and their politics in present day India and Pakistan. For that alone, it deserves to be reviewed and re-evaluated.
India has for a long time produced almost as many feckless female leaders as she did male ones. Unlike in most other civilizations and contrary to popular belief, Indian women played politically and socially important roles since times unknown. Here is a look at a few such forgotten women heroes of the Indian freedom struggle.
india women, women india freedom fighters, freedom struggle of womensWoman’s participation in India’s freedom struggle began as early as 1817 when Bhima Bai Holkar fought bravely against the British colonel Malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. In 1824 Rani Channama of Kittur resisted ate armed might of the East Indian Company.The role played by women in the Great Revolt of 1857 invited the admiration even leaders of the Revolt Rani of Ramgarh, Rani Jindan Kaur, Rani Tace Bai, Baiza Bai, Chauhan Rani, Tapasvini Maharani daringly led their troops into the battlefield.
The greatest however was Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi whose heroism and superb leadership laid an outstanding example for all future generations of women freedom fighters. Married to Gangadhar Rao head of the state of Jhansi. She was not allowed to adopt a successor after his death by the British, and Jhansi was annexed.
When the skies turn cloudy and Earth washes herself with rain, all Ican think of is you? Why is it that when I look out the window and see the flowers shake the cleansing rain out of their petals, all I feel is despair? Why do you still mean so much to me? Why do I still feel I have lost you?
Why is it that everytime I feel young again, I am looking for you beside me? Why do I still pine for you from some corner of my heart? Why are my happiest songs and saddest sighs in your name? Why is it that when I am sleeping and vulnerable, you take over my dreams?…
I have found it more a rule than an exception that every time I think I am doing something unique, someone else has already done it way before me and in a much better way. Here is a comprehensive list of all the revolts against the British Empire - the famous and the unsung.
Unsung Heroes of the Freedom StruggleWhile much has been written on the Indian Freedom Movement as led by the Congress and Gandhi, little is known of the numerous uprisings by peasants, tribal communities, princely states and other isolated revolutionary acts of resistance against the British. Heroic acts of resistance against the British during 1763 to 1857 are particularly unknown. The following is a listing of armed revolts that were brutally suppressed by the British as the East India Company consolidated it’s rule in the century preceding the 1857 revolt:-
I mean, all I do is pet my dogs when I am around, let them lie on our bed when we are not. I also drive them 20-miles each way every week to the dog-park so they can run around, exhaust themselves and get muddy. Bad me! I never thought about how to make them more fulfilled instead (rolling eyes).
Is Your Dog Fulfilled?I drive a couple of hundred miles each week so my border collies can embrace their destiny—or is it their ancestry?—by herding sheep at a farm. When I’m there, I’m always amazed at the scores of people who show up with all sorts of dogs, from avid herding breeds to bewildered mutts. Their owners are all eager to expose them to the ancient art. “I do agility, obedience, and therapy dog training,” the owner of a Lab/shepherd mix told me, “and I’d love to add herding. We have Thursdays and Fridays open.”
Tanguturi Prakasam or as he is widely known in Andhra Pradesh - Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu - was as well-known for his adherence to Gandhian principles as for his feckless courage in the face of real danger. He was also called “Andhra Kesari” (Andhra’s lion). Here are two brief historical accounts of his life -
Tanguturi PrakasamThe Hindu : Courage was his watchwordIn the days when the entire nation was in a political upheaval, the freedom movement of Andhra found a great champion in T.Prakasam who was a rare combination of a great lawyer, journalist, nationalist and a politician. It is no wonder that his lifelong exertion in such diverse fields in the service of nation has earned hum the honour of Andhra Kesari conferred on him by the people of Andhra Pradesh. Tangutri Prakasam was born on August 23, 1872 at Kanuparthi village in Ongole Distt. in Andhra Pradesh.
The year 1927 was a watershed in the annals of the freedom struggle, when the Simon Commission was deputed to discuss with leaders of the Indian National Congress the reforms and amendments to the existing statute pertaining to British India. When the commission came to Madras it faced a hostile crowd of processionists shouting full-throated: ‘Go back Simon Commission’. The police opened indiscriminate fire at the protesters in Parry’s Corner, the busy centre of the city, and a young volunteer died on the spot. The procession leaders asked the police officer to allow them to identify the victim. Training his rifle at the processionists, he threatened them with dire consequences, and none dared to approach the body. But one leader among them bravely unbuttoned his coat showing his chest before the rifleman and shouted: ”Shoot me”. Fearing fatal consequences, the police officer withdrew the revolver, whereupon a plethora of voices came from the crowd shouting loudly `Andhra Kesari ki Jai’. That was Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, who from then onwards came to be reverentially called ‘Andhra Kesari’.
Go check out the Bharateeya Blog Mela hosted by future “PM” of the DCLI, Yazad Jal - AnarCapLib: Bharateeya Blog Mela # 24!
This sounds pretty cool, if it is true. It could also end up saving a lot of lives - good job!
India develops device to ‘pre-empt’ terror blastsNEW DELHI: Hundreds of people who die each year in remote-controlled explosions set off by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir might be saved by a radar-like scanner developed by India’s defence industry, officials said on Thursday. The device — to be tested this month — will detonate explosives in terrorist hideouts before they can be planted in markets or under police and army vehicles.
The column below says all about the ruckus that I was thinking - I agree with every single word. It was horrifying to me when I saw how so-called fans were savaging Cuban on message boards. I heard another fan on the ESPN radio saying that Cuban has to go as an owner - Oh yeah? Who would you rather have as owner? Mark Cuban or Donald Sterling? This is the man who turned a bargain-basement franchise around in a matter of three seasons - and the so-called Mavs fans turn on him so quick! Shame on you!
But then, you don’t have to be a Mavs fan to see the truth in Cuban’s word - I wanted to reach in and grab Randy Galloway’s throat, every time he screeched “But he said it was GREAT for NBA!” on ESPN radio - no Randy, he didn’t! He said it was good for the NBA in a business sense, in that it is going to generate more interest in the sport for the short term. He didn’t say it was good for NBA’s image or that all ball-players should go and rape somebody. All this is exposed as even more of a hypocritical piece of crap when you think back to Steve Nash’s comments and Nick Van Exel’s comments about the war. No one in the league said anything about that, except for teh Spurs’ David Robinson - why the double standard? At least Cuban was saying that was relevant to NBA - unlike the players he supported when they spouted off about things they DIDN’T have to talk about.
ESPN.com: NBA - Scaring the outspoken into silenceThe reaction was so painfully predictable, these pompous and protective housemen for the NBA telling Mark Cuban to stand on the sidelines, shut his mouth and cling to the company line. Everyone probes and prays for that provocative line, an original thought and when it comes, it, what happens now?They vanquish the voice.
The way the Thought Police jumped Cuban was a complete disgrace Tuesday, one more reason why the sporting culture is doomed to eternity with the mindless and milquetoast clichés of the morons and scared deer that inhabit it. Because the thoughtful figures, the ones with the courage of conviction, will soon be completely shouted into silence. Why open your mouth, say something completely plausible and not be told that someone disagrees with you, but you shouldn’t say it at all?
A very clear-eyed and non-romanticizing piece about the current courtship between Pakistan’s mullahs and the Indian administration. I think our administration is really acting like this hopeless lover who is so enamored with this super beautiful and manipulative girl, that he keeps going back to her in hopes of being taken back, regardless of how many times she broke her heart before.
So why did the Maulana say his conciliatory piece, make the sort of statements that had the Lahore Alumni Association dancing with joy in his host country? The logical conclusion would be that he - and his fellow travellers in Pakistan - perceive America as the more immediate threat.America’s presence in Afghanistan means Islamabad can’t control Kabul. The Pashtun passions that have been unleashed threaten to completely destroy Islamabad’s hold over not just the NWFP but even areas of Baluchistan. While the jihad junta sorts this little problem out, it wants India to give it breathing space.
In its right mind, India wouldn’t even consider the offer. New Delhi’s waffling circuit is, however, not the appropriate exposition of India’s right mind. An argument that sees a temporary Indo-Pakistani truce to check American expansionism as a historical successor to Hindu-Muslim unity against the British empire is not just flawed, it is downright dangerous. In effect, India is being asked to choose between America and Pakistan, between the neocon man and, simply, the conman.
To take the analogy further, the amorous lover can see nothing but his beloved in everything he does and refuses to consider there might be more women around him - who might be more attractive and ultimately better for him than the one he is after. Isn’t that what is going on with India right now?
Vajpayee went there on a bus - Nawaz Sharief and Musharraf took the opportunity to shake his hands and stab his country in the back. Then he invited Musharraf to Agra - what came of that? Now everyone is getting all excited about the new overtures - does anyone really think anything is going to come out of this? Pardon me, but I am not getting excited yet.
Another bigger problem for India is that if she hopes to be a serious player in the world-politics, it doesn’t help that regardless of what song we sing, the chorus is always “Pakistan!”. We cannot pretend to be giants on the world stage when we allow ourselves to be dwarfed in our world vision by puny Pakistan. If we allow ourselves to be defined by Pakistan, we shouldn’t be surprised when the world treats us on par with Pakistan. I think it is time for the Indian administration to leave the little one behind and move on to bigger things and more important pursuits.
An answer to the country’s out-sourcing woes? Check it out - Primate Programming™ Inc - Talent!
This is an interesting bit of history that I had no idea of - the role of Muslims in the struggle for liberation of Hyderabad and the integration with the Indian Union.
Hyderabad Liberation - 1“I will not declare holiday in this school, because Mr.Rizwi is dead. We will not mourn the death of this Anti-national and terrorist leader and rather rejoice that our days of being with India is near. ” To say this before a voilent mob of Razaakars and Nizam police, who had assembled before Gosha Mahal School in Hyderabad, was only possible to one person, that is Mr.Sarfraz Ali - an eminent scholar, nationalist and a person of strong conviction and courage !!
Following a study released by researchers at UC Berkeley that examined The Makeup of a Political Conservative, researchers from the Institute for the Study of Total Wankers released a study that revealed that the Berkeley Researchers are “A bunch of prejudiced jackasses”. Said lead researcher Dr. Leon Wiseacre, “[Our Team] performed a fair, unbiased look at the pseudo-scientific hacks at Berkeley, which was completely unaffected by own own political views or personal opinions. We studied their views and some of our braver members actually tried to make some sense out of the drivel they’ve written over the years. We fed this data into our supercomputer and it used the information to build a profile of how a UC Berkeley researcher behaves. You see, our study - just like the Berkeley study - is the result of painstaking research and not just a bunch of opinions we threw together with some jargon and a nice cover page.”
The Khuti area of Ranchi has been tense after a catholic-run school displayed Lord Ram in jeans and Sita in salwar kameez while enacting a play.But, is that the full story or is there something else much more serious and offensive than just jeans and salwar kameez?
Rama was reportedly presented as a drunkard and as the villain of ‘Ramayana’, with Ravana shown abusing and beating him with slippers. The audience of the play point out that it seemed the play was meant to lower the dignity of the Hindu god, which irked the few students and teachers of the schools.Aha! That was it - see, once you read the stuff quoted above, you don’t need to be a fundamentalist Hindu to be angry with a missionary-run school going out of its way to distort and degrade the Hindu mythology.
So why does SIFY lead with a misleading title and opening paragraph?
This article was particularly interesting, since the “forgotten regiments” mentioned in the article below happen to be Muslim regiments who fought valiantly beside everyone else in the freedom struggle of India. The article is written by a Pakistani, lamenting the fact that most Pakistanis have forgotten these heroes, while honoring British loyalist-Indians(or currently Pakistanis) and rewarding them with Pakistan’s first Prime Ministership and