Husain in a mischief monger

There, I said the cruelest thing possible about a grand old man, a man renowned for painting goods that fetch millions of dollars in the market.

Popular view suggests we must not be harsh on a man that age. And I say, a man of that age should in fact be expected to appreciate banal things like respect for the law of the land, respect of people’s sensibilities, and most importantly, respect for all religions.

Under the excuse of freedom of expression for artists, Husain cannot get away with insulting gods, whichever religion they might represent. God only knows how deeply the Indian masses feel connected with their almighties, a visit to a local temple, masjid, church or a gurudwara would be an enough hint if you are still in doubt. Even our movies and television soaps reflect our strong beliefs in faith. India is a failed democracy, our leaders have consistently let us down, and all the common man/woman is left with is faith, faith that keeps them going. And any mischief with that aspect is bound to cause hurt, and I am dead sure our artists understand that. These Johnnies aren’t beings from Mars, they invest in real estate, they hold meetings with their CAs, they dabble in stocks, they too live the real lives. But moment the brush comes into the hand, they behave like super creative, super beings, who must be left alone to do what the eff they want. Bollocks, mate.

In my view, it is creatively burnt-out artists looking for easy recognition who stoop to the level of degrading people’s religion. They know some rabid fanatics will seize upon the chance to whip up further emotions, in fact that’s what I suspect they WANT to happen, as it gives them some form of a cult status and cheap publicity. There are a hundred billion subjects artists can choose from, but the only one thing they want to draw is that what creates hysteria.

It’s a pity Husain didn’t stick to drawing raunchy images of Madhuri Dixit; his sexy muse got married, flew out of the nation, and worse, put on oodles of weight. But she’s back again, and has lost a lot of kilos. Perhaps he should shift his naughty focus back on the backless choli lady.

Be Husain’s muse again, Ms Dixit. Only you can save gods from further degradation.

The unthinkable has happened

Without a doubt, Mayawati cannot be trusted. Any neta who comes up with the preposterous idea of building a shopping mall as an annex to the Taj, needs to have his of her head examined, and if found sane, needs to be put behind bars. And you can imagine what awaits us if such a leader becomes the PM one day (and Mayawati well might). She’d pass an order for a multiplex opposite the Raj Ghat.

Having said that, even as the rest of us in Bombay gave all the tamasha over the UP elections a quite go by, as we should (except of the fact that Bachchan was caught lying in the TV commercials to appease his fixer bhhaiya, and except for the fact that failure of political leadership in UP and Bihar adds to the numbers of taxi and rick drivers in the city), Mayawati went and changed the country a bit. And shockingly enough, for the better.

It’s staggering to believe that in a caste and community damaged and divided nation like ours, the woman managed to bring Dalits, Brahmins and Muslims together under one roof, and they all voted for her! This is like a tiger, deer and wolf joining in the same party, and doing a merry jig together. Yes, it’s that incredible.

Of course, what helped her cause were some asinine side acts. Like the foot-in-the-mouth disease Rahul Gandhi suffers from. Like the fact that the BJP is as relevant in our lives today as a manual typewriter. Like the loss of credibility Bachchan enjoys in this country, from the date he started hanging out with Amar Singh.

Despite the above, you have to admire the lady for having achieved the unthinkable. She reached out, and the masses trusted her, as simple as that. While the rest of us weren’t watching or were simply sniggering, she’s gone ahead and changed the course of history, she’s actually made us look like a better nation. Whether Mayawati has the skill or the desire to make the most of this development, remains to be seen. It would be a waste if she spends the next five years only on digging into her rivals’ skeleton filled cupboards, and sadly she will, but at least she’s made a difference for now. Maybe now the rest of the politicians will realise the divide and rule policy no longer cuts ice with India, maybe now they will move onto developmental issues. And just for making that happen, much as though I hate to say it, Mayawati should be chosen Prime Minister, sooner than later. I for one am deffy voting for the BSP, come next elections.

Sure, there will be a Mallika Sherawat doing pelvic thrusts next to Bapu’s samadhi, but at least we won’t be killing each other in the name of caste and religion. This is Gandhigiri, Maya style, and boy, am I lovin it.

Law and disorder

Phew! The Bombay High Court has done the right thing. It has pulled up the prosecution in the Alistair Pereira hit and run case, saying it was ‘insensitive’ while dealing with the matter. (I think insensitivity is a kind word in this situation, I would be tempted to use much harsher terms.) In a stricture for the lower court that acquitted Pereira of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the High Court said it should have examined co-passengers as witnesses. I cannot believe the prosecution failed to make the witnesses testify, usually we are saddled with crimes where there is no witness, and here we have as many as three of them, and yet they aren’t interrogated. The High Court has asked the Police Commissioner to explain certain "loopholes" in the investigation. The honourable judges have also asked the investigating officers to verify whether the victims have got the compensation and how they have invested the same. Sure, not only should the victims be adequately compensated but also I do hope the judiciary doesn’t let the prosecution and the cops get away with this. Alistair Pereira must face the music for sure, but so must those people who indulged in ‘shoddy’ work. In fact, I hope there is an investigation into whether the work was indeed shoddy, or were there some financial transactions involved. The High Court has the opportunity to make this into an exemplary case for all future hitters and runners, and their helpers.

What about Narendrabhai?
With the Gujarat government facing the heat in the fake encounter case, the state CID has detained a few middle and lower level policemen who were part of the operations led by the three arrested senior IPS officers, according to NDTV. A case may be registered against these eight policemen and they are likely to be arrested once the CID is sure of their role in the crime. The CID is interrogating certain policemen of the ranks of Inspector, Sub-inspector and Constable who were members of the team that tracked the victim Sohrabuddin Sheikh all the way from Hyderabad till the scene of the encounter in November 2005. What worries me about this story is this: while it is all very well to track down the criminal cops and try them in the courts, what about the culpability of the netas under whose instructions and goodwill these heinous crimes were committed? Sadly, they will as usual get away with murder, which is, to my mind, the single biggest failure of our great democracy.