Jan

31

A young mother’s humiliation

January 31, 2009 posted by indiatime | 1 Comment

India’s health minister has now come out swinging against the so-called pub culture that he believes is not part of Indian ethos. It is amazing how, in an election year, the mantle of moral policing seems to be changing hands so fast.

The health minister would do well to stick with matters that matter most to his ministry, though. Especially the matter of medical aid to those who need it and aren’t getting it. In Mumbai yesterday, Aariya Khan, a poor young woman ended up delivering a baby on the railway platform after she was denied aid in any of the local hospitals or maternity homes. Aariya Khan delivered the baby on the railway platform, in the midst of a human circle created for her by fellow women passengers.

The Indian prime minister recently went through an open heart bypass surgery, and not surprisingly, the news about his advanced surgery grabbed headlines. Any shade of pride anyone felt about the quality of healthcare in India would be tamed by yesterday’s shameful neglect of this young Indian mother who had to bear the incredible humiliation of being denied admission to a maternity ward as her water broke, asking people around her for help, opening up her legs before hundreds of strangers, and delivering a baby without any medical help at all.

Some may argue that the healthcare system is overwhelmed and overburdened and all. But Aariya Khan’s case had nothing to do with that. It did not matter whether she was a poor person or a beggar or a Muslim or a Christian or a lower caste or a Brahmin. It did not matter where her husband was and why she was pregnant with a child if she didn’t have funds to properly plan a pregnancy. Hours before she delivered her baby, Aariya Khan was just a young mother who needed the utmost care that the society could offer, no matter what. In spite of being a poor person on the streets, this young woman had apparently saved some money to get herself into a maternity ward. In spite of being out on the streets, she did show up at the area hospitals and tried to do the best she could for her newborn. But a morally corrupt, cruelly negligent and a ruthlessly insane health system failed this young mother. Whoever was watching from the heavens, Rama or Krishna or Allah or Jesus or Budhdha or Waheguru, I assure you He must have been furious at the humiliating way a fellow human being was treated in Mumbai yesterday.

Jan

30

Pakistan underworld threatens Indian comedian

January 30, 2009 posted by indiatime | 4 Comments

Raju Shrivastav, the funnyman of Indian Television, has done what Indian government and India’s intelligence agencies have failed at for last several months. In a recent skit on an Indian channel, Shrivastav blasted Pakistani government, its secret services and the Indian gangsters who now call Pakistan their home. Shrivastav’s verbal darts must have hit dead center, because for last 15 days, the Mumbai-based comedian is said to have been getting threats from Pakistani underworld (which is really Indian expat gangsters in Karachi).

For months, India’s prime minister, external affairs minister, and the defense minister have been softly twittering about Pakistan’s complicity in the terror attacks in India. But their soft and ineloquent whispers had proved totally ineffective and had failed to generate any response from Karachi’s underworld bosses such as Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon and Chhota Shakeel. But Shrivastav’s brilliant comedy seems to have ruffled Pakistani underworld’s feathers, prompting the Karachi dons’ stupid sidekicks to pick up their cellphones and dial the comedian’s home number, threatening him to stop making his audiences laugh.

Raju Shrivastav’s comedy probably doesn’t reach many beyond the reach of Indian TV, but its effect is almost akin to other comedies that have dared to challenge terrorism in the past. ‘Jihad, the Musical’ a satire that premiered in Scotland last year, tackled the sensitive issue of terrorism by selectively satirizing the bad guys, using loaded but funny ballads.

Shrivastav’s recent skits satirized Pakistani authorities unwilling to give up their terrorist guests, hinting how influential positions within Pakistan are still held by those sympathetic to the terrorist causes. Using laughter, satire and the impeccable comic timing from his quiverful of comic tools, he was able to say a lot more than the usually carefully worded and politically correct diplomatic shitspeak that scarcely ever evokes a response from the other side.

Here’s funnyman Shrivastav in one of his earlier satires on Mumbai’s gangsters:

Jan

29

Karna’s kins

January 29, 2009 posted by indiatime | 1 Comment

Gyanant Kaur, an 82-year old army lieutenant widow from New Delhi, has become the oldest organ donor in India. Yesterday, she posthumously donated her liver and her eyes to three lucky recipients whose lives will now be changed forever. For the Organ Donation Program of the hospital she died at, this is the third multiple organ donation just within this month and 18th since the program started almost 2 years ago.

Barely a few days ago, 3-year old Bangalore girl became the youngest multiple organ donor in India, when she posthumously donated her heart, liver, kidneys and eyes. Her little heart went to a 2-year old from Chennai who will now forever cherish the Bangalore girl’s loving gift.

During this same month, Mumbai too, has recorded 5 kidney & 1 liver donations, its highest organ donation number for a given month. Mumbai’s total annual numbers for kidney donations were 14 and 16 for last two years, a dismal show indicating a range of problems from logistical issues to social awareness and attitudes towards organ donations.

Earlier this month, rifleman Vijay Singh, a young Indian soldier who had died in a road accident, saved three lives, posthumously donating his liver, kidneys and eyes to needy recipients.

Seven Pounds, Hollywood actor Will Smith’s recent adventure, tells the tale of a grief-stricken generous soul who lights up seven strangers by donating multiple organs - heart, bone marrow, kidneys, corneas, and his liver. Although the movie hasn’t received the best of reviews, its incredible premise of a man redeeming his soul through the ultimate act of generosity, doesn’t seem that far-fetched when one reads of Gyanant Kaur, Vijay Singh and and the 3-year old baby from Bangalore all of whom, I’m sure, are in heaven right now, smiling and chatting with God.

Karna, the great warrior from the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata, was known for being the most generous soul of his times. Every day, there used to be long lines outside his palace, people from all over asking for donations and alms. When he fell in the battlefield and lay dying, he was approached by some obviously insensitive people who asked him for money. As he breathed his last breaths, the generous warrior broke his gold tooth and gave it away. That long and ancient tradition of giving generously seems to be making its way back.

Jan

28

Thieves in VVIP box at the Republic day parade

January 28, 2009 posted by indiatime | 6 Comments

In an embarrassing expose of Indian capital’s incredibly inept security, the top Japanese diplomat in India is said to have lost his wallet and valuables while he was sitting in the VIP enclosure, a few feet from India’s president. The incident happened in the midst of the tightest republic day security manned by more than 35000 cops, antiaircraft guns, snipers and spotters. It’s obvious the security personnel were looking for terrorists and not pickpockets, the fact that such a theft could have occurred under the watchful eyes of the CCTV cameras is rather hard to understand.

Naoki Ito, the Japanese Ambassador to India, did not lose a lot of money, he only lost Rs 15,000. He also lost his credit cards, keys, and his diplomatic passport. Next to Ito were several heads of state and foreign dignitaries. So even if the thief is eventually found, the whole matter may have to be hushed up if it’s some bigshot kleptomaniacal international VIP dignitary who turns out to be Ito’s thief. So far, nobody is suspecting any security personnel since they were not even allowed to enter the VIP/VVIP enclosures.

By the time Ito cried Dorobou, the wallet thief had long vanished. Famous Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1949 masterpiece Stray Dog, told the story of a Tokyo detective who pursued a pickpocket that had stolen his gun. Kurosawa’s detective Murakami (played by legendary Toshiro Mifune) in search of his lost gun in the capital city of Tokyo and ambassador Ito in search of his lost wallet in the capital city of Delhi, would eventually find that most great societies and ancient civilizations have follies and fallacies that sometimes do rain on their proud parades.

Jan

27

January 26 - A day in the life of India

January 27, 2009 posted by indiatime | 6 Comments

Although this shouldn’t come as a surprise, here are some January 26 news items that highlight the ways of working in our part of the world.

1. Narcotics top cop runs a drug ring
Saji Mohan, a member of Indian Police Service (IPS) - the elitest ones of the Indian police, a former director of India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), and currently an officer with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai, has been nabbed for running a heroine racket. At the time of his arrest, Saji had on him about 12 Kilos of heroine, worth about Rs 12 Crores (about $2.5 million).

While working with NCB in his capacity as one of its top officers, Saji Mohan is known to have seized 52 Kilos of heroine. But he reported only 5 Kilos of the seized drugs, using the rest for his own drug enterprise.

2. PWC auditors pocket Crores per month to falsify company audits
Srinivas Talluri and S. Gopalakrishnan, two auditors with the PricewaterhouseCoopers India(PWC), have been arrested for conspiracy and co-participation. They have been accused of helping the pretty-soon-almost-defunct IT giant Satyam to falsify 33 billion non-existent Rupees and almost 13000 non-existent employees in its accounts. The corrupt auditors are reported to have been making between Rupees 1-2 Crore per month to do the dirty deeds.

3. CBI officers rape wife of the accused
A 38-year old woman has told the Chandigarh court that CBI (Criminal Bureau of Investgation) officials investigating a case against her husband, had repeatedly raped and abused her in a government rest house.

4. Custodians of Indian culture grope women
In Mangalore the other day, members of a group called the Rama Sena; attacked, abused and groped women in a Mangalore pub. The group members told the press that the women were drinking alcohol and dancing in the pub.

5. Security Force constables kill superiors
On January 26, two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constables, members of India’s elite paramilitary force which protects airports, atomic installations and power plants, shot and killed their senior officers in two separate incidents.

Jan

26

Allies and friends

January 26, 2009 posted by indiatime | 1 Comment

America’s new president has greeted India on the occasion of today’s republic day commenting that India has no better friend or a partner than United States. It is a pity that Obama and his nation’s foreign policy makers don’t seem to have a similar reciprocal feeling about India. “…It is our shared values that form the bedrock of a robust relationship ..”, said Obama in his republic day message to India. But Americans and Indians share more than just values and ideals. For last many years, the world’s two greatest democracies have come to share a common enemy that has tried to undermine those democratic values and ideals. And to this day, that common enemy has still managed to sell itself as an ally and Americans have bought that ridiculous argument once again.

It all started in October of 1947 when Pakistan first asked the US for arms. The US state department turned that request down. In fact, the first post-independence supply of US arms came to India and not Pakistan. In 1949, the Pakistani premier managed to get the nod for US arms under the guise of fighting the communists. George Mcghee, the then American asst secretary of state for south asian affairs, and his successor Byroade themselves strongly lobbied for supplying arms to Pakistan, a part of their plan to strengthen the middle eastern defense organization (MEDO). But still, during the early 1950s, the balance of friendship hadn’t tilted much. It did so after the Korean war escalated, and when Indian PM Nehru chose a neutral stance for India, angering American policymakers who chose to ignore all the shared democratic values and ideals in the times of cold war alignments.

In 1954, US ambassador George Allen informed India about the US decision to arm Pakistan. Almost 50 years later, senator George Allen, no relation to ambassador Allen, lost his reelection bid when he addressed 20-year old Indian-American Siddartha as ‘macaca’, meaning a monkey.

Jan

25

26/1 alarms sound off

January 25, 2009 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

As Indian capital prepares for the republic day celebrations tomorrow, the capital police along with the anti-terrorism cell, were busy in a gun battle that took place early Sunday morning a few miles outside the capital. Two terrorists were gunned down with the police recovering AK-47s, grenades, local school ID cards and Pakistani passports. Initial reports indicate that the terrorists killed this morning may be related the terrorist group that executed the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

There have been speculations about a few terrorists from that 26/11 group absconding and getting away. The fact that the capital police found only 2 AK-47s and just 5 hand grenades this morning, is suggestive of additional cells lurking out there, since it is unlikely that two people on a terrorist mission would be carrying only 5 grenades. Assuming the terrorists have been traveling in groups of two, it is not unlikely that additional vehicles have already gotten through the ATS gauntlet.

It has been reported that the ATS and the police had been trailing these militants for about 6 weeks. If that is true, then it is hard to understand why the police got themselves into an encounter situation where the suspects were killed and not captured alive. Better tactical preparation and smarter strategies would have handed India two more terrorists with knowledge about potential 26/1 plans. Although two dead terrorists are better than two active ones, two captured ones would have been far more valuable.

Less than a week ago, Delhi police lost part of a group of suspected robbers in spite of laying a trap. Although two of those who ran away, were later apprehended, the police got purely lucky when they found a passport of one of the absconding suspects in the vehicle they had managed to stop. So no matter whether they have 20000 additional troops or 40000, the capital police are up against an uphill battle unless they shed their customary sluggishness.

Jan

24

Mahmood on Saturday morning

January 24, 2009 posted by indiatime | 1 Comment

With the news about tough times all around, I’ve lately had a lot more negative posts than positive ones. Many readers have asked for something that puts a smile on their faces rather than having to read the depressing stuff. Here’s a clip featuring my alltime favorite Bollywood funnyman Mahmood. The top one’s from Sadhu Aur Shaitan, when the cabbie finds a dead man in his backseat. Just to be clear, prime minister Manmohan Singh is doing well after his open heart bypass surgery, and this clip bears no relation to his medical news today.

And here’s another one from the same inimitable Mahmood in the Bollywood slapstick Pyar Kiye Ja, this time a wannabe film producer selling his movie story to his rich dad.

Jan

23

Domestic terrorism

January 23, 2009 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

Yesterday in New Delhi, a domestic violence case turned into an attempted murder scene right before the eyes of the magistrate. Geeta Jain had filed a domestic battery complaint against husband Vikas, he had been threatening her to take her complaint back, and there, right before the lawyers and the judge, the husband pulled out a dagger from under his shirt and cut his wife’s throat, almost killing her. Geeta Jain didn’t die, but was critically wounded.

Also yesterday, I watched a TV court drama where Kiran Bedi, India’s most famous woman police officer-turned-India’s Judge Judy, ruled on a domestic case where the frightened wife pleaded her case against her abusive husband. With all due respect to Ms. Bedi, (who I personally do admire and respect much), her judgement in the case played right into the hands of the abusive husband as Ms. Bedi, from her judge’s bench, ended up convincing the abused wife to go back to her husband since the husband had publicly apologized and supposedly repented for his behavior.

I remember the times from In my elementary school days, when night after night, I overheard sounds of our neighbor beating up on his wife, and her crying for help asking him to stop beating her. The first time I heard those sounds, I made a mention of it to my family who told me to shut up and never mention it to anyone in school or outside. In the evenings, I used to see the same neighboring couple walk hand in hand to the nearby park and was astonished to see the dramatic reversal from the midnight madness. As I grew up, I noticed a lot more blue and black faces of women in nearby and distant families, women beaten up by husbands, women afraid to speak up and women afraid to take a stand and walk away.

Domestic abuse and domestic battery, of either physical or emotional nature, is definitely not a uniquely Indian phenomenon. But historically, Indian women have shown a higher tolerance and sustained stamina to take a lot of such abuse from their husband or the husband’s family. And although the laws and the court systems and the environment has been changing for better, the community and neighborhoods aren’t what they used to be. And it is still a huge deal for a woman to stand up and actually go through the process of filing battery charges and following it up in the court system. And India, to a great extent, is still a very hypocritical country when it comes to respecting women - where with the treatment of female fetuses, casual attitude towards eve-teasing, domestic beatings or even dowry deaths.

Oh, I do very much regret my family’s not standing up for the neighboring lady. The elders didn’t think much of this domestic abuse thing until years later, when my own aunt went in coma after her doctor husband tried to kill her by overdosing her with insulin. From those times when a woman was India’s prime minister, to these present times when another woman is India’s president, not much may have changed for the average Indian woman who has been patiently waiting for a change in India’s social fabric.

Jan

22

Our loyal heritage

January 22, 2009 posted by indiatime | 2 Comments

Yesterday, BJP, India’s right wing political party, stood in support to coalition colleague Sukhbir Singh Badal, the son of the Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, to act as the deputy Chief Minister of that same state. Punjab’s newly sworn-in Deputy CM will have an office next to his father’s office, and he will control several portfolios including home, water supply, non-conventional energy, youth and sports, NRI affairs and information.

In Hyderabad, the Satyam saga is said to have gotten murkier, with most of the Raju family members controlling SRSR holdings assets, with thousands of acres of land across India bought in the name of this or that Raju family member. But Saytam employees are reported to be conducting yajnas (sacrificial rituals) for the benefit of Satyam’s first family.

Just a few days before, Sanjay Dut, a Bollywood actor born to Bollywood parents, chose to enter politics the same way his father and mother had done a few decades ago (One of his sisters is already a politician, having taken over her late father’s seat).

These amazing families are keeping India’s faith in dynasties and its royal & loyal heritage alive, whether in and out of the political arena. Whether it is the Abdullah family in Kashmir, the Dutts or Thackerays or Chavans or Deoras or Pawars in Maharashtra, Badals in Punjab, and in Kerala, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan and Gujarat and all over. These families are the modern day kings and queens, the monarchist remnants of India’s idolatric psyche, and perhaps an eternal curse to India’s great civilization.

I think there are about 100 or so families that will go on ruling India in politics, movies, sports, and in a few other fields. The rest of the families can either forget about making it, or keep performing sacrificial rituals for these royal families.

Jan

21

Back to business school? naahh…

January 21, 2009 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

The Times reports today that the job market slowdown is prompting executives to go back to school and get some value additions to their resumes and portfolios, readying them for a hopefully better job market in another few years. Executive management programs all over the country are reporting a 15-20% rise in number of applications, a significant portion of the workforce that is either laid off or just taking a break to make the most of the current downturn.

Here are some alternate ways to kill that downturn time without spending all your life savings so far:

1. Finding opportunities with social or non-profit work:
I know of several instances where laid off executives began working with non-profits just to keep busy and eventually found opportunities that benefited not just the non-profits they were working for, but also their own career paths. One of my former colleagues who was laid off a few years ago, turned her technical skills to help build a fundraising platform for a non-profit. While doing this work, she came in contact with the philanthropic arm of a industrial empire where she’s now been an advisor for several months. Another laid off colleague who helped recycle network equipment for a non-profit, hit upon a disposal idea for some of that recycled junk and created a business opportunity for himself.

2. Rekindling your entrepreneurial urge
One of the good things with the downturns is that they allow people who are otherwise busy to fill up their free time with entrepreneurial and creative thoughts. A group of my friends who had made and later lost some money in the internet bubble a few years ago, built a microbrewery business that is successful and moneymaking enough for them not to have worked ever since.

A couple I know used their sabbatical leaves to build a novel kindergarten school in their neighborhood. They were unhappy with the kindergarten schools nearby and thought they wanted to put their ideas into action. In a matter of 4 months, they had more than enough enrollment to begin a full-fledged kindergarten and neither of them returned to their workplaces.

Another executive friend, fed up with his mundane job and recently back from a trip abroad, put his money into starting a hip hair cutting salon and turned it into a moneymaking machine.

3. Building your health
Although this sounds like old advice, this is exactly what a close friend did after getting laid off. He had many health issues while he worked and many of us feared those health issues would exacerbate when he was fired. It was another 7 months before he found a new job, but during that time he reinvented himself healthwise. 7 months of consistent exercise, good sleep, home-cooked food, and quality time with his kids, worked like magic and I honestly believe that my friend has added at least 3-4 healthy years to his life.

4. Spending quality time with family
You can never go wrong with spending quality time with your parents, spouses, kids or friends (When people die, they do not remember moments from their workplace. But they do remember best times with their close ones). Two years ago, a friend and his wife decided to extend their family when the wife lost her job. Today, they are blessed with a beautiful one-year old daughter, and are the happiest they’ve ever been in their lives.

So why not play your cards right and build something worthwhile so you can employ some of those executive MBAs once they get out of those business schools?

Jan

20

Midnight train to Faizabad

January 20, 2009 posted by indiatime | 4 Comments

Monday night, as the Allahabad-Faizabad Saryu Express left the Allahabad station, hundreds of young army hopefuls sat on top of that train. They were all looking forward to the Army recruitment drive about to be held in Faizabad on Tuesday. Unable to get on board and unable to convince the passengers in the reserved cars to open up doors, the mob of students literally climbed atop the night train. In the dark of the night and amidst the thick winter fog, nobody noticed tree branches hanging low near the Chilbilah station. Almost everyone atop the train, almost every one of the several hundreds, was swept off the train. Initial reports suggest that two died and dozens were injured.

That Indians sit on top of the trains and travel to their destinations is no news at all. Most everybody who has taken a suburban train in an Indian metro, knows how to travel standing almost outside the train hanging to its sides or sitting on top of the train, ducking high-voltage electric wires and electric poles. Of course there are those who travel standing or sitting between two railway cars. And those who stand or sit in the doors, hundreds of them at each door.

What is news is that this is the first time people sitting on top of the trains seem to have come face to face with tree branches that have swept them off the train. No, it’s not that there are less Indians sitting on top of the trains. It’s just that there aren’t as many trees in India anymore for such mishaps to happen that often.

Initial media reports have blamed the railway administration for the response (rather the lack of it) to the mishap. I think it should be clear to everybody that no unit of Indian government, central, state or city, is capable of responding to any mishap, in a coordinated and capable manner. This isn’t criticism, it’s a fact. Back in 1956, Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then railways minister had set an example by offering his resignation for a train mishap (But Lal Bahadur Shastri was an exception in Indian politics, a gem of a leader the likes of whom are rarely made). In this day and age, no self-loathing (I don’t believe we have any self-respecting politicians anymore) railway official or minister is going to take responsibility and offer his resignation for such mishaps.

This country is just getting to be a worrisome place where humans, animals and trees have been battling hard with one another for space. I’m sorry to have to say this but the main reason for my worry is that humans seem to be winning that battle.

Jan

19

Analysts dissect India’s failed 26/11 response

January 19, 2009 posted by indiatime | 3 Comments

Rand corporation, an American global policy think tank, has published its study of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and summarizes the following failures or weaknesses in India’s counterterrorism and threat-mitigation structure.

1. Intelligence failures:
- confusion about prior warnings, lack of specific knowledge about time window

- little coordination between central security agencies (RAW & IB)

- problem of rapid dissemination of covert intelligence for actionable purposes

2. Gaps in coastal surveillance:
- shortage of equipment

- shortage of maintenance funds

- ineffective monitoring of shores

3. Inadequate ‘Target Hardening’:
- antiquated police equipment

- inability of law enforcement to defend against concerted attacks

4. Incomplete execution of response protocols:
- inability of the police to contain or cordon off the attack sites

5. Problems with response timing:
- local army force arrived 5 hours after the attacks began

- elite commando forces arrived 8 and a half hours after the attack started and took another 30 minutes to begin operation

- those 9 hours included waking up the sleeping pilot of the plane that flew the elite commandos to Mumbai

6. Inadequate counterterrorism training:
- ill-prepared first responders using old antiquated equipment

- police bulletproof vests came from the lot that had failed before

- police helmets were world war II issues and useless for modern combat

- police rifles were similar to those used by British army in 1950s.

7. Limitations of municipal fire and emergency services:
- firemen were ill-prepared, slow, untrained and uncoordinated

8. Flawed hostage-rescue plan:
- no command center was established

- commandos went in blindly without detailed maps of buildings

- absence of night-vision goggles and thermal-imaging equipment

9. Poor strategic communication & Information management:
- central government and security forces failed to gain control

- India’s stupid home minister alerted the terrorists by blurting how many elite commando units were being deployed and when they were being deployed.

Jan

18

Is Sanjay Dutt India’s Obama?

January 18, 2009 posted by indiatime | 11 Comments

The same week that Barak Obama, the son of a white mother and a black father is about to make history as the free world’s leader, India’s Samajwadi party is fielding Bollywood hunk Sanjay Dutt, the son of a Hindu father and a Hindu-Muslim mother, as a candidate for the Lucknow constituency. On the surface, there is hardly anything common between Obama and Dutt. Deep down however, there are a lot more similarities that seem to make them the dream candidates.

Age:
Both Obama and Dutt are about the same in age, with Dutt only 2 years and 5 days older, both of them born under the leo sign.

Mixed heritage:
Obama is the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas. Obama’s father was born in the then British territory of Kenya, which today is the independent Kenya. Sanjay Dutt’s father Sunit Dutt was a Hindu born in the then British Indian territory of Jhelum in Punjab, which today is Pakistani territory. Dutt’s mother, famed Bollywood actress Nargis was herself of mixed heritage - a daughter of a Hindu father from Rawalpindi and a Muslim mother from Allahabad.

Obama’s mixed heritage is a perfect godsend for America, for he’s perceived to be a half-white and a half-black individual. Dutt’s mixed heritage may be a perfect godsend for India, for he may be perceived as the right person for the times, a symbol of Hindu-Muslim bridge.

Mother’s influence:
Both Obama and Dutt were strongly influenced by their mothers. Obama’s mother Ann Dunham and Dutt’s mother Nargis were both active social workers - Ann Dunham was a USAID and Ford Foundation consultant and Nargis was a Spastics Society patron and activist Both Obama and Dutt lost their mothers to cancer. Obama lost his to uterine cancer when she was 52 years of age. Dutt lost his to pancreatic cancer when she was 51 years old.

Bad company:
Obama’s associations with Reverend Wright and 1960s bomber activist William Ayers, almost cost him his presidency. Dutt’s associations with Kadawala and Hingora did cost him his freedom for 18 months in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail.

Illegal drugs in early life:
Obama has admitted using illegal drugs in his youth. Dutt, too, has been known to have used illegal drugs in his youth and was rescued from that addiction after months of treatment in the United States.

Location:
Obama’s home state of Illinois puts him in a unique position along with another former president who was also a uniter who worked hard to bridge the racial and regional divides - President Lincoln. Sanjay Dutt’s hometown is Mumbai, the place of 26/11 carnage and the place where terrorism has been rearing it head up for many years.

Charisma and popularity:
Much of Obama’s appeal is his personal charisma and his unique appeal across the board. Sanjay Dutt is an actor with charisma, appeal and name recognition across the board. Where Obama shot to fame with a message of hope and change, Dutt shot to a newfound fame a few years ago with his film’s message of Gandhigiri and nonviolence and bridging divides.

During the first week of February, the newly sworn-in President Obama will be shaking hands with Sanjay Dutt, the newly chosen United Nations goodwill ambassador against malnutrition. That evening, there’s a good chance Obama will be passing of some his good luck to Sanjay Dutt.

Jan

17

The dowry gazette - January 17, 2009

January 17, 2009 posted by indiatime | 6 Comments

Here’s what’s happening in the dowry world. Every time you think India is turning a page on this practice, there’s another story that jumps out of the newspaper and grabs you by your throat.

Arul Selvi, a 30-year old Chennai RJ (Radio Jockey) for All India Radio’s Rainbow FM, killed herself by hanging. Selvi, who was married just 2 months ago and was pregnant, was spending time at her parent’s house when the incident happened. Selvi’s family had reportedly paid gold and other gifts during and after her marriage, but squabbles over marriage and pongal gifts had reportedly created a rift between the two families. For now, a criminal case (IPC 174(3)) for death due to dowry harassment has been registered.

Gunjan, a Lucknow man shaved his wife’s Asha Devi’s head and paraded her through his village. He wanted to demean and insult her because Asha Devi had failed to bring adequate dowry. The in-laws have been arrested but husband Gunjan is absconding. So far the police are not ready to declare Gunjan as a barbarian, but have only characterized him as a barber.

Barely kilometers from India, a woman reporter who reported onmatters of dowry, was hacked to death in southern Nepal. Uma Singh was a fearles journalist who often campaigned against the practice of dowry and ended up paying a very high price for her courage. A couple of hours away from Kathmandu, Uma’s apartment was invaded by 15 armed men, who stabbed the 24-year old journalist to death.

And thousands of miles away from India, 22-year old Amandeep Dhillon of Toronto, Canada, was recently stabbed to death by her own father-in-law. Amandeep’s parents had paid close to $120,000 for her dowry, but she still found herself in an unhappy marriage where the husband’s family never stopped demanding more gifts.

But India is doing something about the (is it really?) gender bias. India’s government has decided to declare January 24th as the ‘National Girl Child Day’. Selective abortions of female fetuses have supposedly killed close to 10 million female babies in India over last 2 decades. But Indian government’s revolutionary declaration of the Girl Child Day will now certainly put an end to all these ghastly things. India’s law interprets dowry as a ‘customary payment’ and we will now have a new custom on January 24th.

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The looting of Chandigarh’s treasures
Bharat, Pakistan and Hindustan, Indiana
Welcome to India, Steve!
Top 5 explanations for the president’s gesture
An IIT on every street, an IIM on every block
Pakistan, Jinnah, Wadias and the American anthem
An IAS officer’s nightmare of lustful, lascivious stares comes true