Two committees

See, this is exactly the thing that gives a huge boost to the terror agents in their recruitment drive. We have two committee reports on the Godhra incident, headed by the so-called respected judges, and their findings are 180 degrees opposite of each other. They are as dissimilar as Gandhi is from Osama.

I mean, if I was an able TV anchor, I would close the inane debate by grandly declaring ‘the truth lies somewhere in between’, but in this context it’s like saying the truth is a cross between Gandhi and Osama and that’s like impossible.

Which means, one of the two exalted committees is deliberately misleading the nation, and to find out which one, we will have to launch a third committee and that means another ten years down the tube. So much for justice in this nation!

And this clear injustice is what drives the fringe elements to blast the lives of innocent people. No amount of weapons and policing and intelligence can help us unless we cure the root cause of this cancer: political interference in the process of justice.

We dunno which committee is telling the truth (perhaps a sting operation on the bank accounts of their respective chiefs could throw a clue?). But we do know this: get ready for another series of attacks in buses and trains and planes and places of worship.

Attacks on churches

I was having a drink with a Christian pal, and he rebuked us journos and the general public for not speaking out against the recent attacks on churches, and adding that we were biased against Christians in India.

And I didn’t agree with him. Because I don’t think we don’t care (history has taught us if we don’t reign in divisive forces in time, the consequences can and will be lethal).

It’s just that we all have been so badly screwed by the regular bomb blasts carried out by the fringe Islamic agents, apart from other routine problems of survival, that we just don’t have any mind-space left to deal with this sad development. We know the last thing we need is for another community to get pissed with the nation, and throw up a brand new set of militants on its fringes, yet we do nothing because how many problems can a human mind cope with?

It’s obvious that if the Bajrang Dal and its like-minded units are against the so-called conversions, then there are civilised means available to protest. A demo at the Jantar Mantar will be a good start. Or even better, creating communications and doing real deeds on the ground to discourage conversions. However, that is a long route, and violent elements of any group have no patience for it.

In short, this nation has become captive to extremists from every religious group (and if attacks against churches continue, we will have a brand new set), and the ruling government’s failure (or reluctance) to control them is costing our secularism and safety big-time. I think the premise on which this nation was born (pluralism, tolerance, co-existence) is under attack, and there’s nothing we can do but sit back and watch its imminent demolition.

Not because we don’t care or are not aware, but because how much shit can we deal with? After a point, you just give up and leave things to the Almighty.

I hope my Christian buddy understands this defeatist attitude.

So when is it enough?

Just a quick thought: Exactly how many bombs and deaths will it take for the political parties to stop politicking and come together to launch a mother of all wars against terror?

When will Sonia and Advani put the nation ahead of their own interests? Like, at what point will that happen, what is the critical mass of dead bodies required to trigger that unity? 2000? 5000? 100,000? One million?

Wish we knew the figure, so at least we know how much our netas value life in this country. It took one 9/11 for America to come together. How many taareekhs do our leaders need?

The real culprits

It is actually neither Jaya’s nor Raj’s fault in the crazy spat the two got involved in. Mrs Bachchan lives in a democracy (or so we believe), and has every right to express her feelings. If she connects with UP more than other states, well, too bad, that’s her choice. It’s like you can’t hang me if I say I prefer pakwan daal over puran poli despite having lived in Maharashtra practically all my life.

And I don’t blame Thackeray Jr, cos he’s forever looking for these situations which assure him the perceived Marathi vote bank. That’s a no-brainer, the man needs opportunities to strike, and he’d be stupid to let go of such a juicy one. So all he did was stick to building his own brand. And I believe he’s onto a good thing, I got a taste of that inside a television showroom yesterday. Raj was addressing a press conference and all the zillion TV sets were beaming that live. The Marathi manus salesmen forgot all about selling, crowded the sets, and rejoiced and gloated over Raj’s victory of having ‘taught the Bachchans a lesson’.

So all that’s cool. To me, the two parties that have emerged villains of this tamasha are one, the state government, and two, the print media. Let me explain.

The Deshmukhs and the Patils need to act swiftly and effectively on all goondagardi, whether actually executed or threatened. That they keep looking the other way each time Raj lets loose his goons, is a dereliction of their paid duties. There are two reasons why this happens. One, their own fears that by targetting Raj they could antagonise the Marathi manus. And two, they don’t want to rock the possibility of an alliance with the MNS at some point. That they keep their political interests ahead of their jobs (which we tax payers pay dearly for), is what pisses me off.

I don’t read the Marathi press, but I am appalled that editors of the English press aren’t coming down heavily on the state government for its total inaction. Unless the media puts serious pressure on errant ruling netas, the entire concept of democracy becomes a joke. I suspect the proprietors and editors of newspapers don’t wish to offend netas they regularly need for licenses and approvals.

Anyways, one thing I know is this: Encouraged by the Bachchan apology, Raj is now going to go all out to create trouble at the slightest chance. And the only sufferers will be we, the aam junta, who get caught in the crossfire.

Moral of the story: Privately, I shall enjoy my pakwan. In public, I shall claim to be passionate about the poli.

Jai Maharashtra!

Checked out Kosi, dude?

Will not be surprised if some geeks in Bangalore mistake Kosi to be a ‘tributary’ of that ever-fav hang-out joint, Koshy. And that to me would be symbolic of the staggering apathy we feel for the disaster in Bihar. No one’s interested in that tragedy, not the urban folks, and by turn, not the electronic media.

I don’t hear of massive Bollywood drives, candle light vigils for the dead, inspiring columns in newspapers, kick arse talks shows, it’s almost as if Bihar is someone else’s problem. Maybe Pakistan’s or China’s of US’s problem. And also because that poor state is irrelevant in our shining scheme of things.

I think we should care, and I say that on an emotional and rational level. The Biharis are after all OUR people, and if we don’t worry about them, who will? Each time we proudly rise to the anthem before the chick flick, we recognise and accept that we are one. Then why this cold disinterest?

On a rational level, it is this double-standard approach of urban India that comes back to haunt us. This is what causes rural people to disconnect with us. This is what causes Singur, this is what causes mass migrations (and with that crimes) to big cities, this is what causes Naxalism, this is what causes farmer suicides, this is what causes hatred for malls and multiplexes and ‘India Shining’. Already the villagers feel cheated out because of disproportionate power transmission into metro towns, while they reel under 20-hour cuts. What will the survivors of Kosi feel and think about us? That we left them to die like rats… I shudder to think. Contrast the attention Mumbai received during the 2005 cloudburst and you’ll get the drift.

So if we are going to discriminate, and are ready for the consequences, please let’s not do the charade of rising when Ja Na Ga Ma Na plays out. Continue hogging your popcorn, and hope that your children remain safe in a divided India.