Of all the depressing news going around from the shamelessly smirking DGP S.S. Rathore (a disgrace to humanity and to his uniform) to Shibu Soren auctioning himself to the highest bidder to the Telangana agitation to a governor allegedly caught in a sex scandal, let me initiate – hopefully - a discussion on issues at our doorstep and in our own backyard. I am referring to the BMC.
We read in the papers a few days ago that the Bombay High Court ordered the razing of 17 floors – illegally constructed - of Gagan Gaurav building in the suburb of Kandivli. It was built by Ravi Real Estate Developers [Incidentally, it’s ironical how these guys call themselves ‘developers’]. I read this news with mixed emotions.
Firstly, THREE CHEERS to the Bombay High Court for sending a clear message that illegal constructions will neither be tolerated nor regularised, and for recognising that indiscriminate regularization can have disastrous consequences. Not a moment too soon, I’d say.
Next, SYMPATHY & TEARS for those who had bought the flats in this building. The life savings of many have come to naught, not to speak of the huge burden on those who had availed of housing loans to buy these flats.
Finally, JEERS, BRICKBATS & BOOES for the Municipal Corporation that turned a blind eye to the illegal additions to the sanctioned floor area. The newspapers tell us that the BMC had sanctioned stilt plus seven floors in January 1992. However, during a “routine inspection” in 1997 (a good 5 years later, mind you – these guys are ever soooo busy!) the BMC officers “discovered” that the builders had constructed 24 floors!
Now what I’d like to know is, don’t these BMC officers take rounds to see what is happening? Were these 17 illegal floors so utterly cloaked in invisibility that the officers could not notice this? If you were to so much as put an awning on your balcony you will have these leeches at your doorstep. But 17 illegal floors was something that these fellows did not see, until 5 years later! And why did they wake up 5 years later? Yes, your first guess is probably the right answer.
Gagan Gaurav is not an isolated case. In March 2009, according to the DNA of this December 22, an entire illegal 7-floor wing of Bharat Nagar GHS at Chembur was demolished. Way back in 1996, 8 illegal floors of Pratibha building on Breach Candy were demolished. But this is just a miniature sample of what plagues Bombay. Scratch the surface and you will find that perhaps half the buildings of Bombay are illegal. But are these demolished? Oh no, they are regularized. And why are these not demolished? Again, your first guess is probably the right answer.
Yes, I do agree that as a buyer I should verify the title deeds and all the permissions obtained from the municipal authorities. But then . . . Call me naïve, but I have EXPECTATIONS from the government. I do EXPECT that a corporation functioning under the Government will be vigilant enough to ensure that a builder delivers according to the letter of the law, and in conformity with the permissions granted. And if he does not so deliver, I EXPECT the government or its bodies to come down heavily on the builder – immediately, NOT 10 YEARS LATER! I have never heard or read of such utter fraud and treachery perpetrated upon a buyer in Dubai or London, that too in direct connivance with the local government! I mean, if a passport or a driving license is issued to me I would naturally assume that it was legally issued by a person duly authorized to do so. Call me naïve, BUT I DO HAVE EXPECTATIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT and government agencies. So, in my view, the responsibility for this open mis-governance lies squarely at the doorstep of the BMC. Multiply this news item a thousand-fold, and you have the true colours of the BMC, and a scam of epic proportions.
So what’s my take on this? Quite simply, it is this:
• File a case against the builder in the civil and criminal courts by the affected parties
• Demand compensation with interest from this rogue
• Run a systematic FB and Twitter campaign highlighting this builder
• Find out through the RTI Act why 17 illegal floors were allowed to come up
• Ask why the Corporator did not act
• Find out which Department of the BMC was responsible
• Identify the officers of the BMC responsible for this fraud
• Initiate a departmental enquiry under the relevant Conduct Rules against them
• File cases against these BMC officers in the civil and criminal courts
• Pressurise the Income Tax Deptt to scrutinize their cases
In short, MAKE THESE GUYS IN THE BMC ACCOUNTABLE. Set the ball rolling. Ask questions. And, above all, demand answers.
Cheers and Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
GAFOOR’S GAFFES
The knives are out for Hasan Gafoor, former Police Commissioner of Bombay. The ostensible reason is his off-the-record interview where he castigated 4 senior IPS Officers for shirking their responsibility during the 26/11 attack on Bombay.
Mr Gafoor had it coming, and I shall tell you why.
But first, a brief mention about how secure we feel in Bombay. I don’t know about you, but frankly, I feel safe. However, that feeling of security is borne more out of faith in God than an inherent confidence in our police. My confidence is further eroded when I read the strong accusations of incompetence, inefficiency and even conspiracy levelled against the Bombay Police by Mrs. Hemant Karkare and Mrs Ashok Kamte, wives of the killed IPS Officers. I mean, if IPS wives do not have faith in the police force, what about we ordinary folks? Hardly ever has the morale of the Bombay Police, once rated as the best in the country, been so low. Bombay has seen many Police Commissioners – a few were brilliant, some were average, some less than that, a few were the Page 3 butterfly-types, and one or two outright crooks. But never have the Bombay Police been made so much of a laughing stock as now. Mr Julio Ribeiro was the last of the icons – straight-talking, no-nonsense, leading from the front with an I-give-a-bloody-damn-to-the-politicians attitude. Nobody has come anywhere near him, so far. A shame and a pity, for it reflects poorly on the political leadership.
In a face-saving exercise CM Ashok Chavan joined by former DG of Punjab Police Mr KPS Gill grandiosely said the other day that the police are a disciplined force. Pardon me, gentlemen, but this is a view held only by you two! Nobody else, least of all any policeman, anywhere in the country has said so. In the present context it is as laughable as saying that the IT Department will bring Koda and his crores to book! Incidentally, Mr Gill is immortalized not only for his role in tackling extremism in the Punjab but also for supposedly having pinched the bottom of a senior lady IAS officer. He bit off more than he could chew, for the “pinchee” took the pincher right upto the Supreme Court which substantially said that he was guilty of focussing his attention and fingers on the posterior of the lady.
But to come back to Gafoor’s Gaffe. After the stink hit the ceiling Mr Gafoor first denied having said anything bad about the 4 officers, only to admit a few days later that he did say it but that it was in a private conversation off the record. Now, now, wait a minute, Gafoor sa’ab. After 35 years in the IPS, surely you should know that there is no such thing as “off the record”! Politicians can say anything, and get away with it because nobody takes them seriously in any case. But NOT you! And if what you say is true, Mr Gafoor, why did you wait for a whole year to say it? And again, if what you say is true, Mr Gafoor, why have you not taken any action against the 4 Officers for dereliction of duty?
Surely you know that Rule 3(1) of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules says that every Government servant shall at all times maintain absolute integrity, devotion to duty and do nothing which is unbecoming of a Government servant! And if you failed or forgot to take action against them then for violating Rule 3(1), why don’t you do so now?
The aggrieved officers have threatened to take their erstwhile boss to court for defamation, the CM and the Home Minister have certified that the wounded 4 are actually good lads, and one senior officer with a reputation for uprightness threatened to resign if the Government did not back him. What a joke! It is this demoralization and division in the ranks that makes us feel downright insecure. In fact CM Ashok Chavan must ask Mr Gafoor to explain why he treated the alleged dereliction of duty by the 4 officers so casually. Rule 3(2) of the above Rules says that every Government servant shall take all possible steps to ensure the integrity and devotion to duty of all Government servants under his control and authority. Clearly Mr Gafoor has failed in this task.
Now, I grant that most senior Government officers have abysmally failed in this task and have habitually violated Rule 3(2). But when one desists from taking action under the Conduct Rules while at the same time despairing and bemoaning the lack of devotion to duty, it is a different thing altogether. That’s why I say that Mr Gafoor had it coming. Gafoor failed to crack the whip when he should have.
Actually, I feel sorry for Mr Gafoor and his Hamlet-esque inaction, so let me say something in his defence. The CM and the HM have threatened Mr Gafoor with a major penalty, not for not taking action against his subordinates for alleged dereliction of duty but for giving an interview. This is another joke! Demotion and dismissal from service are some of the major penalties, neither of which can be invoked for shooting off the mouth. The foot-in-mouth disease does not call for a major penalty, unless confidential documents or state secrets have been leaked. At worst, Mr Gafoor can be censured - a minor penalty - for giving an interview without prior approval.
I have a suggestion to offer Mr Gafoor. He should start penning his memoirs before 26/11 fades into the misty haze of history. As for the dispensers of jokes in Mantralaya, they should seriously prepare a succession line of Ribeiro-like Commissioners who will turn us ordinary folks into Believers – not only in the Almighty but also in the Bombay Police.
Cheers, and have a safe New Year!
The knives are out for Hasan Gafoor, former Police Commissioner of Bombay. The ostensible reason is his off-the-record interview where he castigated 4 senior IPS Officers for shirking their responsibility during the 26/11 attack on Bombay.
Mr Gafoor had it coming, and I shall tell you why.
But first, a brief mention about how secure we feel in Bombay. I don’t know about you, but frankly, I feel safe. However, that feeling of security is borne more out of faith in God than an inherent confidence in our police. My confidence is further eroded when I read the strong accusations of incompetence, inefficiency and even conspiracy levelled against the Bombay Police by Mrs. Hemant Karkare and Mrs Ashok Kamte, wives of the killed IPS Officers. I mean, if IPS wives do not have faith in the police force, what about we ordinary folks? Hardly ever has the morale of the Bombay Police, once rated as the best in the country, been so low. Bombay has seen many Police Commissioners – a few were brilliant, some were average, some less than that, a few were the Page 3 butterfly-types, and one or two outright crooks. But never have the Bombay Police been made so much of a laughing stock as now. Mr Julio Ribeiro was the last of the icons – straight-talking, no-nonsense, leading from the front with an I-give-a-bloody-damn-to-the-politicians attitude. Nobody has come anywhere near him, so far. A shame and a pity, for it reflects poorly on the political leadership.
In a face-saving exercise CM Ashok Chavan joined by former DG of Punjab Police Mr KPS Gill grandiosely said the other day that the police are a disciplined force. Pardon me, gentlemen, but this is a view held only by you two! Nobody else, least of all any policeman, anywhere in the country has said so. In the present context it is as laughable as saying that the IT Department will bring Koda and his crores to book! Incidentally, Mr Gill is immortalized not only for his role in tackling extremism in the Punjab but also for supposedly having pinched the bottom of a senior lady IAS officer. He bit off more than he could chew, for the “pinchee” took the pincher right upto the Supreme Court which substantially said that he was guilty of focussing his attention and fingers on the posterior of the lady.
But to come back to Gafoor’s Gaffe. After the stink hit the ceiling Mr Gafoor first denied having said anything bad about the 4 officers, only to admit a few days later that he did say it but that it was in a private conversation off the record. Now, now, wait a minute, Gafoor sa’ab. After 35 years in the IPS, surely you should know that there is no such thing as “off the record”! Politicians can say anything, and get away with it because nobody takes them seriously in any case. But NOT you! And if what you say is true, Mr Gafoor, why did you wait for a whole year to say it? And again, if what you say is true, Mr Gafoor, why have you not taken any action against the 4 Officers for dereliction of duty?
Surely you know that Rule 3(1) of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules says that every Government servant shall at all times maintain absolute integrity, devotion to duty and do nothing which is unbecoming of a Government servant! And if you failed or forgot to take action against them then for violating Rule 3(1), why don’t you do so now?
The aggrieved officers have threatened to take their erstwhile boss to court for defamation, the CM and the Home Minister have certified that the wounded 4 are actually good lads, and one senior officer with a reputation for uprightness threatened to resign if the Government did not back him. What a joke! It is this demoralization and division in the ranks that makes us feel downright insecure. In fact CM Ashok Chavan must ask Mr Gafoor to explain why he treated the alleged dereliction of duty by the 4 officers so casually. Rule 3(2) of the above Rules says that every Government servant shall take all possible steps to ensure the integrity and devotion to duty of all Government servants under his control and authority. Clearly Mr Gafoor has failed in this task.
Now, I grant that most senior Government officers have abysmally failed in this task and have habitually violated Rule 3(2). But when one desists from taking action under the Conduct Rules while at the same time despairing and bemoaning the lack of devotion to duty, it is a different thing altogether. That’s why I say that Mr Gafoor had it coming. Gafoor failed to crack the whip when he should have.
Actually, I feel sorry for Mr Gafoor and his Hamlet-esque inaction, so let me say something in his defence. The CM and the HM have threatened Mr Gafoor with a major penalty, not for not taking action against his subordinates for alleged dereliction of duty but for giving an interview. This is another joke! Demotion and dismissal from service are some of the major penalties, neither of which can be invoked for shooting off the mouth. The foot-in-mouth disease does not call for a major penalty, unless confidential documents or state secrets have been leaked. At worst, Mr Gafoor can be censured - a minor penalty - for giving an interview without prior approval.
I have a suggestion to offer Mr Gafoor. He should start penning his memoirs before 26/11 fades into the misty haze of history. As for the dispensers of jokes in Mantralaya, they should seriously prepare a succession line of Ribeiro-like Commissioners who will turn us ordinary folks into Believers – not only in the Almighty but also in the Bombay Police.
Cheers, and have a safe New Year!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Nathuram Godse - Hero or Hamlet
A friend mailed me the extract from Godse’s defence speech, which is available on Google. I have read it with great interest because I tried to fathom from Godse’s address whether there was any rational basis for his hatred for Gandhi. I must confess I got nowhere.
What was the freedom and the “just interests” of some thirty crore Hindus that Godse was trying to safeguard that were not already there? From the little that I have read of India’s economic history the Hindus were clearly more prosperous and better educated than the Muslims. Where (meaning in what journal or speech) did Gandhi dub Ram, Krishna and Arjun as “guilty” of violence? Similarly, where did Gandhi condemn Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots?
I really would like to know this from an academic perspective because we need to get our history right - not just a biased view trotted out for decades, but a detached vision of what happened.
I seriously doubt if Gandhi considered himself “infallible”. Time and again he swayed from one point of view to another depending upon the circumstances and the reasons put forward by the protagonists. In fact, Gandhi himself was quick to admit that he was wrong when another better point of view was put across. One could at times call Gandhi wishy-washy, but infallible? I seriously doubt that. On the contrary, Godse established his own twisted sense of “infallibility” by doing the ultimate act of a person who thinks he can never be wrong – he simply shot the person he disagreed with.
By grudgingly admitting that “Either Congress had tosurrender its will to his and had to be content with playing secondfiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics andprimitive vision, or it had to carry on without him”, Godse acknowledges Gandhi’s towering leadership. Need one say more? And what kind of a leader is one who does not show the way? Gandhi did, and millions followed. Not many takers for Godse’s thoughts, I must add.
Godse’s diatribe against Hindustani is again as irrational as his dislike for Gandhi. It is said that Sanskrit and Latin are amongst the very few core languages. All other languages are mere derivatives. Indeed, the way a language is spoken undergoes a change every few kilometres. The Arabic spoken in Morocco is different from that spoken in Dubai. The Marathi spoken is Poona is different from what is spoken in Nagpur and Bombay. And English is not the same in England, the US, Canada and Australia. So one really does not know what Godse’s problem with Hindustani was, which is a mix of Urdu and Hindi. Urdu is a mish-mash of Persian-Arabic and Hindi. Hindi itself is far removed from its ancestor Sanskrit. So what really is Godse’s objection? That Gandhi was a communicator par excellence? Besides, do we ourselves talk any pure language today? And what would he have said to the fact that we are communicating today in English! A big question-mark on Godse’s beliefs.
Just about the only thing that I can agree with Godse is when he says that Gandhi “was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it”. Now, I cannot make out from his defence speech what Godse had against the civil disobedience movement. Did Godse and Co. have any means to wrench independence by violent means? Did he even try to secure independence, like Bhagat Singh, Rana Pratap and the others did? Hollow beliefs, I must say. But he had the courage to rain bullets on the one person he knew would ‘turn the other cheek’ and not retaliate. Bravo, Mr. Godse!
The civil disobedience movement was unique in history. It attained its objective with the minimum loss of lives and property. It was successfully implemented by Mandela and to a great extent by Martin Luther King.
Now let us look at the flip side. Other colonies attained independence too, through violence – Algeria and Viet Nam from the French, Congo from Belgium, Angola from Portugal, etc. The cost? Enormous, both in terms of lives and material. Can one give any example of any freedom fighter from these countries being accorded a welcome by cheering crowds in the colonial country PRIOR to independence? Gandhi was welcomed so in England, particularly in Liverpool – not by the few Indians residing there but by hordes of Englishmen. Was Godse envious of Gandhi’s steamrolling popularity? Maybe, maybe not. England, I believe, is India’s biggest trading partner. Wonder what Godse would have had to say about that!
It has become fashionable to run down Gandhi. Not surprising, for as an icon he towered far above the rest despite his five-foot nothing frame; and to bring down an icon gives us great satisfaction. Mr. Khosla’s observations that an open trial would have fetched the judgment of “Not Guilty” is neither here nor there. I simply cannot understand how Mr. Khosla says so. Godse shot Gandhi in broad daylight in a public prayer meeting, and the assassination was witnessed by the scores of people present. Above all and most important, Godse – like Pravin Mahajan now - made no attempt to shirk off his act. Godse was not a common criminal, but a highly motivated individual who did what he did for his beliefs, parochial and skewed as they may have been. In fact, it brings the judge Mr. Khosla to disrepute for not having had the moral courage to hold Godse “Not Guilty”, if he thought so.
As for Godse, he will enjoy the same status as John Wilkes Booth – the assassin of Abraham Lincoln – did: as a footnote in history.
Deepak Tralshawala
" "Gandhiji Assassin Nathuram Godse's Final Address to the Court
Nathuram Godse was arrested immediately after he assassinatedGandhiji, based on a F. I. R. filed by Nandlal Mehta at the TughlakRoad Police staton at Delhi . The trial, which was held in camera,began on 27th May 1948 and concluded on 10th February 1949. He wassentenced to death. An appeal to the Punjab High Court, then insession at Simla, did not find favour and the sentence was upheld. The statement that you are about to read is the last made by Godsebefore the Court on the 5th of May 1949. Such was the power andeloquence of this statement that one of the judges, G. D. Khosla,later wrote, "I have, however, no doubt that had the audience of thatday been constituted into a jury and entrusted with the task ofdeciding Godse's appeal, they would have brought a verdict of 'notGuilty' by an overwhelming majority".
WHY I KILLED GANDHI
Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revereHindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore,been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developeda tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegianceto any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively forthe eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birthalone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that allHindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious andshould be considered high or low on merit alone and not through theaccident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publiclyto take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands ofHindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangisparticipated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company ofeach other. I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Naoroji,Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modernhistory of India and some prominent countries like England , France ,America and Russia . Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism andMarxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkarand Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these twoideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought andaction of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, thanany other single factor has done.
All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first dutyto serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen.To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of somethirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitutethe freedom and the well-being of all India , one fifth of human race.This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the HinduSanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe,could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan , myMotherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well. Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak,Gandhiji's influence in the Congress first increased and then becamesupreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in theirintensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violencewhich he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible orenlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there isnothing new or original in them. They are implicit in everyconstitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream ifyou imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capableof scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal lifefrom day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one's own kith and kin and countrymight often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. Icould never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression isunjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and,if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In theRamayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita..[In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; andArjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends andrelations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on theside of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama,Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a totalignorance of the springs of human action. In more recent history, itwas the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checkedand eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It wasabsolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressiveAfzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. Incondemning history's towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap andGuru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposedhis self-conceit. He was, paradoxical as it may appear, a violentpacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name oftruth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru willremain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen for ever for thefreedom they brought to them.
The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in hislast pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that theexistence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhihad done very good in South Africa to uphold the rights and well-beingof the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to Indiahe developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be thefinal judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted hisleadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, hewould stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Againstsuch an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had tosurrender its will to his and had to be content with playing secondfiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics andprimitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was theJudge of everyone and every thing; he was the master brain guiding thecivil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of thatmovement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. Themovement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster andpolitical reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma'sinfallibility. 'A Satyagrahi can never fail' was his formula fordeclaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what aSatyagrahi is. Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his owncause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a mostsevere austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character madeGandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that hispolitics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from theCongress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with as heliked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi wasguilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster afterdisaster.
Gandhi's pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverseattitude on the question of the national language of India. It isquite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted asthe premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhigave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did notlike it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybodyin India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has nogrammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, butnot written. It is a bastard tongue and cross-breed between Hindi andUrdu, and not even the Mahatma's sophistry could make it popular. Butin his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani aloneshould be the national language of India. His blind followers, ofcourse, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to beused. The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted toplease the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of theHindus. From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the MuslimLeague began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell,though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powersunder the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murderand arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi withsome retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed inSeptember was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from itsinception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to thegovernment of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi'sinfatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bringabout a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Logwas followed by King Stork. The Congress which had boasted of itsnationalism and socialism secretly accepted Pakistan literally at thepoint of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India wasvivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign landto us from August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as thegreatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. Theofficial date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, butMountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisectedIndia ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved afterthirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congressparty calls 'freedom' and 'peaceful transfer of power'. TheHindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state wasestablished with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they havecalled 'freedom won by them with sacrifice' - whose sacrifice? Whentop leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and torethe country - which we consider a deity of worship - my mind wasfilled with direful anger. One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fastunto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindurefugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violentattacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest andcensure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi wasshrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had heimposed for its break some condition on the Muslims in Pakistan ,there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shownsome grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reasonthat he purposely avoided imposing any condition on the Muslims. Hewas fully aware of from the experience that Jinnah was not at allperturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardlyattached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi. Gandhi is beingreferred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he hadfailed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherouslyto the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it.
I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be theFather of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power and hisdoctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbledbefore Jinnah's iron will and proved to be powerless. Brieflyspeaking, I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined,and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing buthatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuablethan my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I feltthat the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely beproved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armedforces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but thenation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan . People may evencall me and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nationwould be free to follow the course founded on the reason which Iconsider to be necessary for sound nation-building. After having fullyconsidered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, butI did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in bothmy hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, onthe prayer-grounds of Birla House. I do say that my shots were firedat the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin anddestruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery bywhich such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason Ifired those fatal shots. I bear no ill will towards anyone individually but I do say that I had no respect for the presentgovernment owing to their policy which was unfairly favourable towardsthe Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policywas entirely due to the presence of Gandhi.
sammy parekh " "
What was the freedom and the “just interests” of some thirty crore Hindus that Godse was trying to safeguard that were not already there? From the little that I have read of India’s economic history the Hindus were clearly more prosperous and better educated than the Muslims. Where (meaning in what journal or speech) did Gandhi dub Ram, Krishna and Arjun as “guilty” of violence? Similarly, where did Gandhi condemn Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots?
I really would like to know this from an academic perspective because we need to get our history right - not just a biased view trotted out for decades, but a detached vision of what happened.
I seriously doubt if Gandhi considered himself “infallible”. Time and again he swayed from one point of view to another depending upon the circumstances and the reasons put forward by the protagonists. In fact, Gandhi himself was quick to admit that he was wrong when another better point of view was put across. One could at times call Gandhi wishy-washy, but infallible? I seriously doubt that. On the contrary, Godse established his own twisted sense of “infallibility” by doing the ultimate act of a person who thinks he can never be wrong – he simply shot the person he disagreed with.
By grudgingly admitting that “Either Congress had tosurrender its will to his and had to be content with playing secondfiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics andprimitive vision, or it had to carry on without him”, Godse acknowledges Gandhi’s towering leadership. Need one say more? And what kind of a leader is one who does not show the way? Gandhi did, and millions followed. Not many takers for Godse’s thoughts, I must add.
Godse’s diatribe against Hindustani is again as irrational as his dislike for Gandhi. It is said that Sanskrit and Latin are amongst the very few core languages. All other languages are mere derivatives. Indeed, the way a language is spoken undergoes a change every few kilometres. The Arabic spoken in Morocco is different from that spoken in Dubai. The Marathi spoken is Poona is different from what is spoken in Nagpur and Bombay. And English is not the same in England, the US, Canada and Australia. So one really does not know what Godse’s problem with Hindustani was, which is a mix of Urdu and Hindi. Urdu is a mish-mash of Persian-Arabic and Hindi. Hindi itself is far removed from its ancestor Sanskrit. So what really is Godse’s objection? That Gandhi was a communicator par excellence? Besides, do we ourselves talk any pure language today? And what would he have said to the fact that we are communicating today in English! A big question-mark on Godse’s beliefs.
Just about the only thing that I can agree with Godse is when he says that Gandhi “was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it”. Now, I cannot make out from his defence speech what Godse had against the civil disobedience movement. Did Godse and Co. have any means to wrench independence by violent means? Did he even try to secure independence, like Bhagat Singh, Rana Pratap and the others did? Hollow beliefs, I must say. But he had the courage to rain bullets on the one person he knew would ‘turn the other cheek’ and not retaliate. Bravo, Mr. Godse!
The civil disobedience movement was unique in history. It attained its objective with the minimum loss of lives and property. It was successfully implemented by Mandela and to a great extent by Martin Luther King.
Now let us look at the flip side. Other colonies attained independence too, through violence – Algeria and Viet Nam from the French, Congo from Belgium, Angola from Portugal, etc. The cost? Enormous, both in terms of lives and material. Can one give any example of any freedom fighter from these countries being accorded a welcome by cheering crowds in the colonial country PRIOR to independence? Gandhi was welcomed so in England, particularly in Liverpool – not by the few Indians residing there but by hordes of Englishmen. Was Godse envious of Gandhi’s steamrolling popularity? Maybe, maybe not. England, I believe, is India’s biggest trading partner. Wonder what Godse would have had to say about that!
It has become fashionable to run down Gandhi. Not surprising, for as an icon he towered far above the rest despite his five-foot nothing frame; and to bring down an icon gives us great satisfaction. Mr. Khosla’s observations that an open trial would have fetched the judgment of “Not Guilty” is neither here nor there. I simply cannot understand how Mr. Khosla says so. Godse shot Gandhi in broad daylight in a public prayer meeting, and the assassination was witnessed by the scores of people present. Above all and most important, Godse – like Pravin Mahajan now - made no attempt to shirk off his act. Godse was not a common criminal, but a highly motivated individual who did what he did for his beliefs, parochial and skewed as they may have been. In fact, it brings the judge Mr. Khosla to disrepute for not having had the moral courage to hold Godse “Not Guilty”, if he thought so.
As for Godse, he will enjoy the same status as John Wilkes Booth – the assassin of Abraham Lincoln – did: as a footnote in history.
Deepak Tralshawala
" "Gandhiji Assassin Nathuram Godse's Final Address to the Court
Nathuram Godse was arrested immediately after he assassinatedGandhiji, based on a F. I. R. filed by Nandlal Mehta at the TughlakRoad Police staton at Delhi . The trial, which was held in camera,began on 27th May 1948 and concluded on 10th February 1949. He wassentenced to death. An appeal to the Punjab High Court, then insession at Simla, did not find favour and the sentence was upheld. The statement that you are about to read is the last made by Godsebefore the Court on the 5th of May 1949. Such was the power andeloquence of this statement that one of the judges, G. D. Khosla,later wrote, "I have, however, no doubt that had the audience of thatday been constituted into a jury and entrusted with the task ofdeciding Godse's appeal, they would have brought a verdict of 'notGuilty' by an overwhelming majority".
WHY I KILLED GANDHI
Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revereHindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore,been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developeda tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegianceto any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively forthe eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birthalone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that allHindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious andshould be considered high or low on merit alone and not through theaccident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publiclyto take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands ofHindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangisparticipated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company ofeach other. I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Naoroji,Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modernhistory of India and some prominent countries like England , France ,America and Russia . Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism andMarxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkarand Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these twoideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought andaction of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, thanany other single factor has done.
All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first dutyto serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen.To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of somethirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitutethe freedom and the well-being of all India , one fifth of human race.This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the HinduSanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe,could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan , myMotherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well. Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak,Gandhiji's influence in the Congress first increased and then becamesupreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in theirintensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violencewhich he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible orenlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there isnothing new or original in them. They are implicit in everyconstitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream ifyou imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capableof scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal lifefrom day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one's own kith and kin and countrymight often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. Icould never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression isunjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and,if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In theRamayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita..[In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; andArjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends andrelations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on theside of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama,Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a totalignorance of the springs of human action. In more recent history, itwas the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checkedand eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It wasabsolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressiveAfzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. Incondemning history's towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap andGuru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposedhis self-conceit. He was, paradoxical as it may appear, a violentpacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name oftruth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru willremain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen for ever for thefreedom they brought to them.
The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in hislast pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that theexistence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhihad done very good in South Africa to uphold the rights and well-beingof the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to Indiahe developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be thefinal judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted hisleadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, hewould stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Againstsuch an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had tosurrender its will to his and had to be content with playing secondfiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics andprimitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was theJudge of everyone and every thing; he was the master brain guiding thecivil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of thatmovement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. Themovement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster andpolitical reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma'sinfallibility. 'A Satyagrahi can never fail' was his formula fordeclaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what aSatyagrahi is. Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his owncause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a mostsevere austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character madeGandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that hispolitics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from theCongress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with as heliked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi wasguilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster afterdisaster.
Gandhi's pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverseattitude on the question of the national language of India. It isquite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted asthe premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhigave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did notlike it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybodyin India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has nogrammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, butnot written. It is a bastard tongue and cross-breed between Hindi andUrdu, and not even the Mahatma's sophistry could make it popular. Butin his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani aloneshould be the national language of India. His blind followers, ofcourse, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to beused. The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted toplease the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of theHindus. From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the MuslimLeague began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell,though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powersunder the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murderand arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi withsome retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed inSeptember was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from itsinception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to thegovernment of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi'sinfatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bringabout a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Logwas followed by King Stork. The Congress which had boasted of itsnationalism and socialism secretly accepted Pakistan literally at thepoint of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India wasvivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign landto us from August 15, 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as thegreatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. Theofficial date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, butMountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisectedIndia ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved afterthirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congressparty calls 'freedom' and 'peaceful transfer of power'. TheHindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state wasestablished with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they havecalled 'freedom won by them with sacrifice' - whose sacrifice? Whentop leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and torethe country - which we consider a deity of worship - my mind wasfilled with direful anger. One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fastunto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindurefugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violentattacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest andcensure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi wasshrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had heimposed for its break some condition on the Muslims in Pakistan ,there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shownsome grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reasonthat he purposely avoided imposing any condition on the Muslims. Hewas fully aware of from the experience that Jinnah was not at allperturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardlyattached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi. Gandhi is beingreferred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he hadfailed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherouslyto the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it.
I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be theFather of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power and hisdoctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbledbefore Jinnah's iron will and proved to be powerless. Brieflyspeaking, I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined,and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing buthatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuablethan my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I feltthat the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely beproved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armedforces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but thenation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan . People may evencall me and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nationwould be free to follow the course founded on the reason which Iconsider to be necessary for sound nation-building. After having fullyconsidered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, butI did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in bothmy hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, onthe prayer-grounds of Birla House. I do say that my shots were firedat the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin anddestruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery bywhich such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason Ifired those fatal shots. I bear no ill will towards anyone individually but I do say that I had no respect for the presentgovernment owing to their policy which was unfairly favourable towardsthe Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policywas entirely due to the presence of Gandhi.
sammy parekh " "
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
ELECTIONS? WHO CARES?
13th October, 2009
Hi Friends,
As I am having a late dinner I am watching the news channels. Times Now says that the voting in Gadchiroli was better than that in Mumbai. Look of abject resignation on Arnav Goswami’s face as he slips this on to us. I thought he would burst into tears.
Now, I really beg to present another point of view. For one, you just can’t compare Gadchiroli and Bombay, can you? It’s like comparing San Francisco and Jhumri Talaya – Gadchiroli being San Francisco.
For another, I just KNOW that EVERYBODY has expressed his view on the state of the country. Those who love the ruling party have voted for Continuity; others have voted for Change.
But an overwhelming majority have expressed their desire for Nirvana by just not wanting to stain their fingers with some dirty purple ink that refuses to wash. They stayed away.
And it is this overwhelming majority that I truly admire. Like the param yogis who seek salvation and inner peace through a rigorous masochistic exercise of inflicting unspeakable forms of torture on oneself – like sleeping on a bed of nails or standing on one leg like a stork for days on end - the Overwhelming Majority too seek solace and eternal bliss in the status quo.
Difficult though it may be, try to imagine the look of sheer ecstasy on their face as they breathe in the soothing fumes of overheated BEST buses, and the intoxicating aroma from the mounds of human and animal waste, the rotting garbage and the bio-waste from public hospitals – and you will understand why they don’t want change. Indeed, the Overwhelming Majority have solved the riddle of Life – it is just Maya.
So who cares if a score of farmers or two commit suicide in Vidarbha? Or if the Marathi manoos finally gets his due and a hundred fly-overs? Or if the Lord gives us our daily vada-pao? It is just Maya.
And this is what I truly admire about the Overwhelming Majority. With a packaged philosophy of thousands of years being rammed down our throats we have learnt to accept His presence in everything – even in the mountains of human waste and overflowing gutters. Look at our temples if you don’t believe me! Indeed, a few of the enlightened Overwhelming Majority told me with the utmost passion and sincerity that in the ordinary cockroach they see a superior form of Life, for only the cockroach can flourish in the slime and slush of drain pipes.
And so, if anyone asks me whether I voted, I will shrug my shoulders and, like Alfred Neuman of MAD magazine, will say: “What? Me worry?”
So Mr Goswami, please do not say that the Bombay-wallahs have not voted. They may not have gone to the polling booth, but they have almost unanimously expressed their collective wish - to be like the indestructible cockroach.
Cheers,
Deepak Tralshawala
Hi Friends,
As I am having a late dinner I am watching the news channels. Times Now says that the voting in Gadchiroli was better than that in Mumbai. Look of abject resignation on Arnav Goswami’s face as he slips this on to us. I thought he would burst into tears.
Now, I really beg to present another point of view. For one, you just can’t compare Gadchiroli and Bombay, can you? It’s like comparing San Francisco and Jhumri Talaya – Gadchiroli being San Francisco.
For another, I just KNOW that EVERYBODY has expressed his view on the state of the country. Those who love the ruling party have voted for Continuity; others have voted for Change.
But an overwhelming majority have expressed their desire for Nirvana by just not wanting to stain their fingers with some dirty purple ink that refuses to wash. They stayed away.
And it is this overwhelming majority that I truly admire. Like the param yogis who seek salvation and inner peace through a rigorous masochistic exercise of inflicting unspeakable forms of torture on oneself – like sleeping on a bed of nails or standing on one leg like a stork for days on end - the Overwhelming Majority too seek solace and eternal bliss in the status quo.
Difficult though it may be, try to imagine the look of sheer ecstasy on their face as they breathe in the soothing fumes of overheated BEST buses, and the intoxicating aroma from the mounds of human and animal waste, the rotting garbage and the bio-waste from public hospitals – and you will understand why they don’t want change. Indeed, the Overwhelming Majority have solved the riddle of Life – it is just Maya.
So who cares if a score of farmers or two commit suicide in Vidarbha? Or if the Marathi manoos finally gets his due and a hundred fly-overs? Or if the Lord gives us our daily vada-pao? It is just Maya.
And this is what I truly admire about the Overwhelming Majority. With a packaged philosophy of thousands of years being rammed down our throats we have learnt to accept His presence in everything – even in the mountains of human waste and overflowing gutters. Look at our temples if you don’t believe me! Indeed, a few of the enlightened Overwhelming Majority told me with the utmost passion and sincerity that in the ordinary cockroach they see a superior form of Life, for only the cockroach can flourish in the slime and slush of drain pipes.
And so, if anyone asks me whether I voted, I will shrug my shoulders and, like Alfred Neuman of MAD magazine, will say: “What? Me worry?”
So Mr Goswami, please do not say that the Bombay-wallahs have not voted. They may not have gone to the polling booth, but they have almost unanimously expressed their collective wish - to be like the indestructible cockroach.
Cheers,
Deepak Tralshawala
THE POLITICS OF STATUES
28th August 2009.
Hi Friends,
The Government of Maharashtra has once again been caught napping. The petite mademoiselle Mayavati has cleverly stolen a march over them by having not just a statue or two, but a whole statue park. The Government of Maharashtra will therefore have to move quickly to complete the Shivaji-statue-in-the-Arabian-Sea project.
According to estimates, the project - to be constructed about a kilometer from the shore - is likely to cost Rs. 350 crores. According to the DNA of Aug 26, this will include the cost of reclaiming 800 acres from the seabed, having a 10,000 sq.ft. revolving restaurant, a 300 seat auditorium, art galleries, food courts and green areas (whatever that means), a helipad, etc. In short, the works. The statue itself will be of 159 ft. – a clear 4 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty - on a pedestal 150 ft high. Looking at the pace at which the Government of Maharashtra complete their projects, notably the Bandra-Worli sealink, this project could take anything over seven years with a final tag of about Rs. 1,500 crores.
But so what, I say.
There are many critics of this project. Pranoy Roy spoke about this on NDTV 24 X 7 channel with such a somber face that I thought some minister or the other had copped it. But no such luck; he was only heralding in this news with a reminder to us simpletons that “Maharashtra is officially reeling under a drought, and several farmers have committed suicide”.
In my opinion, critics like Pranoy Roy are singularly ill-informed and are complete kill-joys. Party poopers, if you like. So what if there is a 40% drop in the farm yield and a consequent loss of Rs. 4500 crores to the state? So what if farmers are committing suicide in droves in Vidharbha due to drought-caused indebtedness? So what if a single bore well which could provide them with water costs just Rs. 15,000/-? Don’t these rural fellows know that statues are more important than water, and that PRIDE a lot more valuable than LIFE? Mademoiselle Mayavati knows it well, as did Kim Il Sung of North Korea. If the Vidharbha farmers are in such dire straits, it is due to their karma alone. I mean, if their past lives had been more virtuous, they would have been Ministers in Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh’s and Mr. Ashok Chavan’s cabinet!
And talking about pride, let me tell you what Pride can do. Earlier I used to amble with a stoop when going past V.T and the Prince of Wales museum. Now, after these heritage buildings have been re-named, I have a positive bounce in my step. My shoulders are flung back. My chest swells with Pride and I do not walk - I march to the tune of the Colonel Boogey Band. Now, JUST IMAGINE! If this is what a simple re-naming could do, what would the effect of THE statue, 4 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty, have on us . . .
These professional critics have failed to appreciate the tremendous economic boost that this 159 ft. statue, 4 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, will usher in. Apart from the revenues generated by the estimated 10,000 visitors daily, the critics have failed to realize the other ancillary benefits.
· This will generate huge employment opportunities. The Vidharbha farmers can straightaway be employed on site for reclaiming the 800 acres from the sea and completing the majestic monument there-on. Almost like the Tower of Babel, I’d say, except that this one will never falter. The spin-off? No farmer will touch a drop of poison to commit suicide!
· This will have a tremendous demonstration effect. Other states will vie with each other in erecting statues of their heroes everywhere - in the sea, in the rivers and in the lakes. Sant Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu, Kandukoori Veeresalingam in Andhra Pradesh, Vayalar Ravi Varma in Kerala, and so on . . .
· This will inspire other countries also to erect similar statues in the sea. Pakistan will undoubtedly erect the statue of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (hand in hand with Mr. Jaswant Singh, if the present camaraderie continues), Australia of Sir Donald Bradman, the US of George Bush in a cowboy hat, six-guns blazing away at Saddam and the rest of the world. The only problem is countries like West Indies that have far too many icons. I can only think of a Frank Worell, but they would surely like to honour Charlie Griffith, Gary Sobers and Viv Richards too. The problem: do they have enough sea in which to put up these statues?
· The passion for statues will create an enormous demand abroad for Indian sculptors, who will be a very important source of our foreign exchange reserves.
· Mr Kapil Sibal will be forced to introduce “Sculpture” as a compulsory subject at the school level.
Now, I am of the view, and mind you this is a strictly personal view, that other leaders in our state have got a raw deal. To correct this imbalance I suggest that a statue be erected off the Dadar Chowpatty of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Not that Mademoiselle Mayavati has not done enough; I just feel that the Maharashtra cabinet should pitch in too. I also feel that Mr. Prabodhankar Thakaray deserves a full statue befitting his status, not just a pot-holed poorly-constructed flyover bearing his name. So do Savarkar and Yeshwantrao Chavan . . .
What about Field Marshal Manekshaw and ‘Timmy’ Thimayya? Hey, hang on. Come again, please? Never heard of these chaps!!
And if some ignoramus were to ask, What of national leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, I would somberly say like Pranoy Roy, Let the central government be. After all somebody has to do the mundane work of running the government - the Railways, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Defence, etc.
If at all the national leaders have to be remembered I suggest we request Mr. Jaswant Singh to write their biographies and fill them with some really sensational stuff. Stuff so un-put-down-able that Mr. Jaswant Singh’s Kandahar jaunt with the 3 terrorists would look like a stroll on Marine Drive. And some truly “human interest story” on our first PM could make the Kennedy-Monroe tryst look like a Sunday school picnic for 5-year olds. Mr. Narendra Modi would immediately ban the biographies, which will then sell like freshly baked dhoklas, and Mr. Jaswant Singh would be doubling up with laughter all the way to the bank.
To go back to the starting point, maybe we can then ask Mr. Singh to spare a thought and a few lakhs for the poor Vidharbha farmer. Don’t forget, the Government of Maharashtra is bankrupt, but will soon have plenty of magnificent statues.
Cheers!
Deepak Tralshawala
Hi Friends,
The Government of Maharashtra has once again been caught napping. The petite mademoiselle Mayavati has cleverly stolen a march over them by having not just a statue or two, but a whole statue park. The Government of Maharashtra will therefore have to move quickly to complete the Shivaji-statue-in-the-Arabian-Sea project.
According to estimates, the project - to be constructed about a kilometer from the shore - is likely to cost Rs. 350 crores. According to the DNA of Aug 26, this will include the cost of reclaiming 800 acres from the seabed, having a 10,000 sq.ft. revolving restaurant, a 300 seat auditorium, art galleries, food courts and green areas (whatever that means), a helipad, etc. In short, the works. The statue itself will be of 159 ft. – a clear 4 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty - on a pedestal 150 ft high. Looking at the pace at which the Government of Maharashtra complete their projects, notably the Bandra-Worli sealink, this project could take anything over seven years with a final tag of about Rs. 1,500 crores.
But so what, I say.
There are many critics of this project. Pranoy Roy spoke about this on NDTV 24 X 7 channel with such a somber face that I thought some minister or the other had copped it. But no such luck; he was only heralding in this news with a reminder to us simpletons that “Maharashtra is officially reeling under a drought, and several farmers have committed suicide”.
In my opinion, critics like Pranoy Roy are singularly ill-informed and are complete kill-joys. Party poopers, if you like. So what if there is a 40% drop in the farm yield and a consequent loss of Rs. 4500 crores to the state? So what if farmers are committing suicide in droves in Vidharbha due to drought-caused indebtedness? So what if a single bore well which could provide them with water costs just Rs. 15,000/-? Don’t these rural fellows know that statues are more important than water, and that PRIDE a lot more valuable than LIFE? Mademoiselle Mayavati knows it well, as did Kim Il Sung of North Korea. If the Vidharbha farmers are in such dire straits, it is due to their karma alone. I mean, if their past lives had been more virtuous, they would have been Ministers in Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh’s and Mr. Ashok Chavan’s cabinet!
And talking about pride, let me tell you what Pride can do. Earlier I used to amble with a stoop when going past V.T and the Prince of Wales museum. Now, after these heritage buildings have been re-named, I have a positive bounce in my step. My shoulders are flung back. My chest swells with Pride and I do not walk - I march to the tune of the Colonel Boogey Band. Now, JUST IMAGINE! If this is what a simple re-naming could do, what would the effect of THE statue, 4 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty, have on us . . .
These professional critics have failed to appreciate the tremendous economic boost that this 159 ft. statue, 4 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, will usher in. Apart from the revenues generated by the estimated 10,000 visitors daily, the critics have failed to realize the other ancillary benefits.
· This will generate huge employment opportunities. The Vidharbha farmers can straightaway be employed on site for reclaiming the 800 acres from the sea and completing the majestic monument there-on. Almost like the Tower of Babel, I’d say, except that this one will never falter. The spin-off? No farmer will touch a drop of poison to commit suicide!
· This will have a tremendous demonstration effect. Other states will vie with each other in erecting statues of their heroes everywhere - in the sea, in the rivers and in the lakes. Sant Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu, Kandukoori Veeresalingam in Andhra Pradesh, Vayalar Ravi Varma in Kerala, and so on . . .
· This will inspire other countries also to erect similar statues in the sea. Pakistan will undoubtedly erect the statue of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (hand in hand with Mr. Jaswant Singh, if the present camaraderie continues), Australia of Sir Donald Bradman, the US of George Bush in a cowboy hat, six-guns blazing away at Saddam and the rest of the world. The only problem is countries like West Indies that have far too many icons. I can only think of a Frank Worell, but they would surely like to honour Charlie Griffith, Gary Sobers and Viv Richards too. The problem: do they have enough sea in which to put up these statues?
· The passion for statues will create an enormous demand abroad for Indian sculptors, who will be a very important source of our foreign exchange reserves.
· Mr Kapil Sibal will be forced to introduce “Sculpture” as a compulsory subject at the school level.
Now, I am of the view, and mind you this is a strictly personal view, that other leaders in our state have got a raw deal. To correct this imbalance I suggest that a statue be erected off the Dadar Chowpatty of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Not that Mademoiselle Mayavati has not done enough; I just feel that the Maharashtra cabinet should pitch in too. I also feel that Mr. Prabodhankar Thakaray deserves a full statue befitting his status, not just a pot-holed poorly-constructed flyover bearing his name. So do Savarkar and Yeshwantrao Chavan . . .
What about Field Marshal Manekshaw and ‘Timmy’ Thimayya? Hey, hang on. Come again, please? Never heard of these chaps!!
And if some ignoramus were to ask, What of national leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, I would somberly say like Pranoy Roy, Let the central government be. After all somebody has to do the mundane work of running the government - the Railways, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Defence, etc.
If at all the national leaders have to be remembered I suggest we request Mr. Jaswant Singh to write their biographies and fill them with some really sensational stuff. Stuff so un-put-down-able that Mr. Jaswant Singh’s Kandahar jaunt with the 3 terrorists would look like a stroll on Marine Drive. And some truly “human interest story” on our first PM could make the Kennedy-Monroe tryst look like a Sunday school picnic for 5-year olds. Mr. Narendra Modi would immediately ban the biographies, which will then sell like freshly baked dhoklas, and Mr. Jaswant Singh would be doubling up with laughter all the way to the bank.
To go back to the starting point, maybe we can then ask Mr. Singh to spare a thought and a few lakhs for the poor Vidharbha farmer. Don’t forget, the Government of Maharashtra is bankrupt, but will soon have plenty of magnificent statues.
Cheers!
Deepak Tralshawala
THE POLITICS OF INTOLERANCE
Hi Friends,
Once again, it’s time to inflict upon you this little write-up.
The BJP have done the only thing that a party on a suicidal roller-coaster ride downhill could do – expel Mr. Jaswant Singh apparently for his book “Jinnah – India, Partition, Independence”. Mr. Narendra Modi chipped in as only he could – he banned the book in Gujarat, apparently for the hurt the book caused to Gujaratis by the so-called insult to Sardar Patel. Never mind that the Sardar had banned the RSS making him enemy no. 1 of the saffron party. Never mind that the Sardar himself had hardly ever thought of himself as a Gujarati except in the linguistic sense. Never mind if Mr Jaswant Singh’s book is selling faster than you can count till ten.
Nobody knows how many of these worthies have actually read the book, but the political ethos of the lumpen elements is clearly this: If you don’t like it, ban it. The list is miles long.
In the recent category of the damned and the banned are Tasleema Nasreen, Lakshmana Kailash and actor Aamir Khan.
Mr. Narendra Modi did not like Aamir Khan’s views on the Narmada Project. Never mind that all Aamir Khan did was making a fervent plea to adequately re-locate and rehabilitate those displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Never mind that millions across the country saw nothing wrong in Aamir pitching in for a human cause. But Mr. Modi saw differently. So what did he do? Simple. He banned Aamir’s movie “Fanaa” which had nothing to do with the SSD. Never mind that the movie raked in crores. Never mind if the displaced are yet to be rehabilitated. Banning and damning is the order of the day.
And who is Lakshamana Kailash? He is a techie who is supposed to have posted on Orkut something blasphemous about a historical warrior-king. Unlike Mr. Jaswant Singh’s book which is in the public domain what the techie supposedly wrote is known only to those idle few who surf the net for sites like Orkut. So what did the police do? Acting swiftly on a complaint reportedly filed by a BJP worker they arrested him from Bangalore, jailed him for 50 days, and allegedly thrashed him silly – only to realise that they had got the wrong man! Please see the DNA of this August 20 for a full report.
India is not alone in this politics of intolerance. In neighbouring Bangladesh following the publication of Lajja, author Taslima Nasreen suffered a number of physical and other attacks. In October 1993, an Islamic fundamentalist group called the Council of Islamic Soldiers offered a bounty for her death. [See Wikipaedia for details] Why? She wrote about a Hindu family facing persecution from their Muslim neighbours. Ms Tasleema is still in exile, periodically begging for asylum in India. Begging, because some Islamic outfit here does not want Tasleema around. Ban her permanently, is their take on the author.
Today, to prove your patriotism all that you need to do is either deify or demonise someone according to your beliefs. Better still, burn some public property or break a few bones a la Mangalore Muthalik! Rational analysis of events is the first casualty. At this rate India’s national heroes will be found only in the archives of a British public library. What we will have instead will be caricatures like those in the brightly coloured posters sold at railway stations.
When the film “Gandhi” was still in the planning stage – as the story goes - Sir Richard Attenborough met Pandit Nehru. Panditji reportedly told him in no uncertain terms “Portray Bapu as the man he was. Do not deify him. Paint him, warts and all”. But that was in a different age and era – millions of mental years ago.
India has travelled a long way indeed from those heady days of the freedom movement when the freedom of expression won us independence. We need another freedom movement – freedom from prejudice and jingoism, where the human mind can soar to greater heights, shorn of barriers to thinking and expression. As Mr. Jaswant Singh said philosophically and with obvious anguish, “Banning a book is like banning thinking”.
Do write in. Would appreciate your observations. And forward this if you feel it worth your while.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Once again, it’s time to inflict upon you this little write-up.
The BJP have done the only thing that a party on a suicidal roller-coaster ride downhill could do – expel Mr. Jaswant Singh apparently for his book “Jinnah – India, Partition, Independence”. Mr. Narendra Modi chipped in as only he could – he banned the book in Gujarat, apparently for the hurt the book caused to Gujaratis by the so-called insult to Sardar Patel. Never mind that the Sardar had banned the RSS making him enemy no. 1 of the saffron party. Never mind that the Sardar himself had hardly ever thought of himself as a Gujarati except in the linguistic sense. Never mind if Mr Jaswant Singh’s book is selling faster than you can count till ten.
Nobody knows how many of these worthies have actually read the book, but the political ethos of the lumpen elements is clearly this: If you don’t like it, ban it. The list is miles long.
In the recent category of the damned and the banned are Tasleema Nasreen, Lakshmana Kailash and actor Aamir Khan.
Mr. Narendra Modi did not like Aamir Khan’s views on the Narmada Project. Never mind that all Aamir Khan did was making a fervent plea to adequately re-locate and rehabilitate those displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Never mind that millions across the country saw nothing wrong in Aamir pitching in for a human cause. But Mr. Modi saw differently. So what did he do? Simple. He banned Aamir’s movie “Fanaa” which had nothing to do with the SSD. Never mind that the movie raked in crores. Never mind if the displaced are yet to be rehabilitated. Banning and damning is the order of the day.
And who is Lakshamana Kailash? He is a techie who is supposed to have posted on Orkut something blasphemous about a historical warrior-king. Unlike Mr. Jaswant Singh’s book which is in the public domain what the techie supposedly wrote is known only to those idle few who surf the net for sites like Orkut. So what did the police do? Acting swiftly on a complaint reportedly filed by a BJP worker they arrested him from Bangalore, jailed him for 50 days, and allegedly thrashed him silly – only to realise that they had got the wrong man! Please see the DNA of this August 20 for a full report.
India is not alone in this politics of intolerance. In neighbouring Bangladesh following the publication of Lajja, author Taslima Nasreen suffered a number of physical and other attacks. In October 1993, an Islamic fundamentalist group called the Council of Islamic Soldiers offered a bounty for her death. [See Wikipaedia for details] Why? She wrote about a Hindu family facing persecution from their Muslim neighbours. Ms Tasleema is still in exile, periodically begging for asylum in India. Begging, because some Islamic outfit here does not want Tasleema around. Ban her permanently, is their take on the author.
Today, to prove your patriotism all that you need to do is either deify or demonise someone according to your beliefs. Better still, burn some public property or break a few bones a la Mangalore Muthalik! Rational analysis of events is the first casualty. At this rate India’s national heroes will be found only in the archives of a British public library. What we will have instead will be caricatures like those in the brightly coloured posters sold at railway stations.
When the film “Gandhi” was still in the planning stage – as the story goes - Sir Richard Attenborough met Pandit Nehru. Panditji reportedly told him in no uncertain terms “Portray Bapu as the man he was. Do not deify him. Paint him, warts and all”. But that was in a different age and era – millions of mental years ago.
India has travelled a long way indeed from those heady days of the freedom movement when the freedom of expression won us independence. We need another freedom movement – freedom from prejudice and jingoism, where the human mind can soar to greater heights, shorn of barriers to thinking and expression. As Mr. Jaswant Singh said philosophically and with obvious anguish, “Banning a book is like banning thinking”.
Do write in. Would appreciate your observations. And forward this if you feel it worth your while.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE - 6
28th April 2009.
Dear Fellow-Travellers,
By the time you read this it will be E-Day minus one. Whereas many will have already decided whom to vote for, an equal number must be having some difficulty in making up their minds. I wouldn’t blame the latter group. Both the major parties in the fray – the Congress and the BJP – have identical manifestoes, both promise development going hand in hand with lower tax rates and grain at throwaway prices (pure magic!), neither has covered itself with glory and both have skeletons in the cupboard - in the case of one of them it is not a question of how many skeletons but of how many cupboards. . .
So, the choice before us essentially boils down to the right candidate. And how does one decide upon the ‘right’ candidate?
I would like to adopt a simple yardstick – choose the one you would not feel embarrassed or ashamed to have as a guest in your home. Personally, I would feel somewhat uncomfortable to share a meal with someone with a criminal record a mile long. So, criminals are definitely out. Fortunately, we have mumbaivotes.com to tell us who the criminals in the fray are.
When both the major parties are in a race to outrun each other in notoriety, it’s time to take a look at The Independent. I do not know what it is about them that is a thorn in the side of Madame Soniaji (on Sunday she exhorted the Mumbai-ites not to vote for them) or of Manmohan Singhji (he called them “spoilers”, remember?). Please note that they have never said these things about the Pappu Yadavs of Indian politics!
Now, I would give my vote to “Spoiler” Meera Sanyal in the South Mumbai constituency
Not only because she is young (so are Bal Nandgaonkar and Milind Deora)
Not only because she has excellent educational qualifications (so does Milind D)
Not only because she has tremendous work experience as a leader in an organisation (none in the S. Mumbai constituency can match that!)
Not only because she has had a terrific international exposure (she won’t say silly things like turning Mumbai into Shanghai),
Not only because of her proven leadership qualities, but
because she exudes SINCERITY of purpose, INTEGRITY – financial, professional and intellectual, all vital requirements in a legislator-leader and, above all, HOPE – something that successive governments have crushed in the common man. I would say the same for Rishi Agarwal. Hardly surprising that Madame Soniaji had to warn us against these threats!
So, let the die be cast, and may the best candidate win. Please remember to cast your vote on the 30th for the one you think is best for your family. India demands just one hour of your time. But no matter who wins, we must be determined to make them ACCOUNTABLE. More on this in the next few days.
As I bring this series of small write-ups to an end I thank each one of you for forwarding these mails to your friends. What started off as an expression of disgust against the use of unparliamentary language in the election campaign has turned into a cry for Decency in our lives. For that, I have only to thank you. Let us vote for Decency in Public Life, let us vote for ourselves.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Dear Fellow-Travellers,
By the time you read this it will be E-Day minus one. Whereas many will have already decided whom to vote for, an equal number must be having some difficulty in making up their minds. I wouldn’t blame the latter group. Both the major parties in the fray – the Congress and the BJP – have identical manifestoes, both promise development going hand in hand with lower tax rates and grain at throwaway prices (pure magic!), neither has covered itself with glory and both have skeletons in the cupboard - in the case of one of them it is not a question of how many skeletons but of how many cupboards. . .
So, the choice before us essentially boils down to the right candidate. And how does one decide upon the ‘right’ candidate?
I would like to adopt a simple yardstick – choose the one you would not feel embarrassed or ashamed to have as a guest in your home. Personally, I would feel somewhat uncomfortable to share a meal with someone with a criminal record a mile long. So, criminals are definitely out. Fortunately, we have mumbaivotes.com to tell us who the criminals in the fray are.
When both the major parties are in a race to outrun each other in notoriety, it’s time to take a look at The Independent. I do not know what it is about them that is a thorn in the side of Madame Soniaji (on Sunday she exhorted the Mumbai-ites not to vote for them) or of Manmohan Singhji (he called them “spoilers”, remember?). Please note that they have never said these things about the Pappu Yadavs of Indian politics!
Now, I would give my vote to “Spoiler” Meera Sanyal in the South Mumbai constituency
Not only because she is young (so are Bal Nandgaonkar and Milind Deora)
Not only because she has excellent educational qualifications (so does Milind D)
Not only because she has tremendous work experience as a leader in an organisation (none in the S. Mumbai constituency can match that!)
Not only because she has had a terrific international exposure (she won’t say silly things like turning Mumbai into Shanghai),
Not only because of her proven leadership qualities, but
because she exudes SINCERITY of purpose, INTEGRITY – financial, professional and intellectual, all vital requirements in a legislator-leader and, above all, HOPE – something that successive governments have crushed in the common man. I would say the same for Rishi Agarwal. Hardly surprising that Madame Soniaji had to warn us against these threats!
So, let the die be cast, and may the best candidate win. Please remember to cast your vote on the 30th for the one you think is best for your family. India demands just one hour of your time. But no matter who wins, we must be determined to make them ACCOUNTABLE. More on this in the next few days.
As I bring this series of small write-ups to an end I thank each one of you for forwarding these mails to your friends. What started off as an expression of disgust against the use of unparliamentary language in the election campaign has turned into a cry for Decency in our lives. For that, I have only to thank you. Let us vote for Decency in Public Life, let us vote for ourselves.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE - 5
21st April 2009.
Dear Fellow-Campionites,
It’s an amazing paradox, I thought to myself today. When we go shopping for clothes we look at the brand, see the colours in the natural light, examine the texture and ask the cost. And yet we are perfectly willing to place our fate for five years in the hands of those we barely know, no questions asked. Last Sunday I went to “Meet the Candidate” meeting at Sewa Sadan (I wrote to you about that) and came back convinced whom NOT to vote for.
Today, on Sunday evening, I decided to see for myself the kind of person who wants to decide our fate for the next five years. She showed me the way – literally. Meera Sanyal was doing a padyatra in the Ambedkar and Geeta Nagar slums behind the World Trade Centre. I decided to walk alongside and judge for myself whether she truly deserved my keemti vote. Although I had seen my fair share of poverty and famine-stricken villages during my career in the civil service this was the first time I had ventured into a slum, the size of a small township, right in my backyard. Small, narrow alleys where three people could barely walk together passed of as a ‘main road’ in Ambedkar Nagar. It was suffocatingly hot and humid. Dotted with typically small shrines of Sai Baba the aroma of incense hung heavy in the air. Was it to disguise the stench from the toilets outside, I wondered?
Meera’s padyatra on Sunday evening covered the areas of Colaba and Cuffe Parade, and culminated in the Ambedkar Nagar slums. She walked in as though she knew the alleys and the by-lanes of the slum like the back of her hand. Dressed in plain green salwar-kameez Meera confidently greeted the residents with none of the diffidence of a new-comer. Going into their ‘houses’ she namaste-ed the seniors and reached out playfully to the children. Your main problem is water, I can see that, she said. You have voted for different parties in the past. They have done nothing. I do not belong to any party. We all deserve to live with dignity. Give me a chance. All I need is your good wishes to succeed, she said. Remember my symbol, the ballebaaz, the batsman hitting a six.
Soon there was a large group of children following us chanting the usual election slogans as we went deeper into Ambedkar Nagar. I trailed behind and stopped at intervals to talk to a few people.
Has any party campaigned here? I asked.
No.
Not at all?
No.
Not even the candidates in the fray?
No.
Strange, I thought. And just a few days ago I wrote in my mail of 15th April, “True, the slums have proliferated as has the vote bank. But has anyone even interacted with, let alone cultivated, this vote bank?” Meera has. She spent more than an hour and a half in a place you and I would not venture into. I have witnessed it. It was clear to me that Meera was running this campaign as a well-planned exercise. The film Lagaan was discussed as a subject at the IIM-A. Meera’s campaign should find a place there too. For one, it is overwhelmingly cost-effective. She has a few highly motivated people in her team who have planned out the padyatras – a hugely cost-effective way to have direct contact with potential voters, and yet keep within the legally permissible limits of spending. The routes are also well thought out – kaizen at work. And most important of all – her band of helpers. Campaigning hard they persuasively remind the slum residents that Meera Sanyal is the daughter of a fauji. Do not let the parties divide us in the name of language, caste and religion. . .
Last Sunday I went to “Meet the Candidate” meeting at Sewa Sadan and came back convinced whom NOT to vote for. Today, I know who is getting my vote.
30th April is not far away. Cast your vote for the one YOU think is best for you and your family. But do vote.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Dear Fellow-Campionites,
It’s an amazing paradox, I thought to myself today. When we go shopping for clothes we look at the brand, see the colours in the natural light, examine the texture and ask the cost. And yet we are perfectly willing to place our fate for five years in the hands of those we barely know, no questions asked. Last Sunday I went to “Meet the Candidate” meeting at Sewa Sadan (I wrote to you about that) and came back convinced whom NOT to vote for.
Today, on Sunday evening, I decided to see for myself the kind of person who wants to decide our fate for the next five years. She showed me the way – literally. Meera Sanyal was doing a padyatra in the Ambedkar and Geeta Nagar slums behind the World Trade Centre. I decided to walk alongside and judge for myself whether she truly deserved my keemti vote. Although I had seen my fair share of poverty and famine-stricken villages during my career in the civil service this was the first time I had ventured into a slum, the size of a small township, right in my backyard. Small, narrow alleys where three people could barely walk together passed of as a ‘main road’ in Ambedkar Nagar. It was suffocatingly hot and humid. Dotted with typically small shrines of Sai Baba the aroma of incense hung heavy in the air. Was it to disguise the stench from the toilets outside, I wondered?
Meera’s padyatra on Sunday evening covered the areas of Colaba and Cuffe Parade, and culminated in the Ambedkar Nagar slums. She walked in as though she knew the alleys and the by-lanes of the slum like the back of her hand. Dressed in plain green salwar-kameez Meera confidently greeted the residents with none of the diffidence of a new-comer. Going into their ‘houses’ she namaste-ed the seniors and reached out playfully to the children. Your main problem is water, I can see that, she said. You have voted for different parties in the past. They have done nothing. I do not belong to any party. We all deserve to live with dignity. Give me a chance. All I need is your good wishes to succeed, she said. Remember my symbol, the ballebaaz, the batsman hitting a six.
Soon there was a large group of children following us chanting the usual election slogans as we went deeper into Ambedkar Nagar. I trailed behind and stopped at intervals to talk to a few people.
Has any party campaigned here? I asked.
No.
Not at all?
No.
Not even the candidates in the fray?
No.
Strange, I thought. And just a few days ago I wrote in my mail of 15th April, “True, the slums have proliferated as has the vote bank. But has anyone even interacted with, let alone cultivated, this vote bank?” Meera has. She spent more than an hour and a half in a place you and I would not venture into. I have witnessed it. It was clear to me that Meera was running this campaign as a well-planned exercise. The film Lagaan was discussed as a subject at the IIM-A. Meera’s campaign should find a place there too. For one, it is overwhelmingly cost-effective. She has a few highly motivated people in her team who have planned out the padyatras – a hugely cost-effective way to have direct contact with potential voters, and yet keep within the legally permissible limits of spending. The routes are also well thought out – kaizen at work. And most important of all – her band of helpers. Campaigning hard they persuasively remind the slum residents that Meera Sanyal is the daughter of a fauji. Do not let the parties divide us in the name of language, caste and religion. . .
Last Sunday I went to “Meet the Candidate” meeting at Sewa Sadan and came back convinced whom NOT to vote for. Today, I know who is getting my vote.
30th April is not far away. Cast your vote for the one YOU think is best for you and your family. But do vote.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE - 4
12th April 2009.
Dear Fellow-Travellers,
This morning I went to the “Meet Your Candidate” programme at Seva Sadan near Gamdevi Police Station. I had made a mention about it yesterday in my mail. Let me give you a brief feedback of what transpired.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 10.30 AM. Hats off to Meera Sanyal (Independent), Dr. Mona Shah (Professionals’ Party of India) and Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS) for being there on time.
A complete Thumbs Down for unpunctuality to Mohan Rawle (SS-BJP) and particularly to Milind Deora (Congress) for taking the electorate for granted and coming at their fancy.
Now the gory details:
The Moderator explained that each candidate is being given 3 minutes to introduce himself/herself, followed by a question or two from the Moderator, after which the audience would be allowed sufficient time to question the candidate.
Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS), with 42 pending court cases according to mumbaivotes.com, requested that he be allowed to talk first as he had another meeting to attend. This was a clear and a blatant deception. He remained upto 1.15 PM. Clearly, he wanted the maximum time and succeeded in hoodwinking the organisers into giving him that mileage. But let me tell you what he said. He said he stood for COMMUNAL HARMONY!!! And his motto was THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY! Wow, I thought, did I hear something about the leopard and his spots? And he wanted to devote his time for Mumbai’s security.
So our Moderator asked him what plans he had for improving our security. Mr. Nandgaonkar was silent for a few moments. Obviously, he had no idea about security measures. So he gave us priceless information that Maharashtra had a 720 km coastline, that it was unjust of people to brand the police force as corrupt (they also had families to maintain), that he was elected to the Assembly three times, that he was recognised as Best MLA (??), that he was Dy. Home Minister, and that he had very cordial relations with his constituents else, he asked, would they have elected him? So much for his answer. The Moderator next asked him whether he had read this morning’s papers that the police had not been paid for months. Yes, indeed he had! And it was terrible that the police were not paid on time because they too had families to support.
The audience was now invited to ask questions. Somebody said that he had not answered the questions put to him by the Moderator. Our candidate was flummoxed. Someone then posed a question in Marathi to which Mr BN replied in Marathi, which invited a comment from someone (I suspect, from the same group) that the reply should have been in Hindi, to which Mr BN retorted that he had demonstrated his knowledge of Hindi and that the questioner being in Maharashtra should know Marathi. Now the pandemonium began: Marathi vs Hindi vs English! Inconvenient questions were completely sidetracked, Mr BN forgot that he was standing for Parliament and not for the State Assembly, and the police had to be called to rein in his supporters, fans and hangers-on.
The Moderator soon realised that an hour was lost, and so he invited Meera Sanyal and Mona Shah to introduce themselves and field the questions. This they did with aplomb, with dignity, with decency and in a few short minutes gave us the benefit of their individual agendas and manifestos. Both ladies come with an impeccable track record of education, work experience and service, and both were highly impressive. What came through was their sincerity – no beating about the bush, only their vision for the city if elected. If Mona Shah had oratorical skills and was equally comfortable with Hindi and English, Meera Sanyal was precisely articulate and completely focussed on her agenda for change. Unfortunately, these two young ladies had their time curtailed because of the excess time taken by Mr BN.
Mohan Rawle (SS-BJP), who had come in the meantime, was next. Again, a long-winded discourse on his popularity which resulted in him being elected as MP five times in a row, how a single discussion with Laloo Prasad Yadav resulted in crores being disbursed for the local railway network and how – and this is something! – he had camped for 3 days in a row at Nariman House when it was captured during the 26/11. Everybody has seen me on TV, he said. Frankly, I hadn’t. I saw him and Mr. Gopinath Munde only on the last day after the final assault was over on Nariman House, creating a traffic jam by insisting on patting the backs of our NSG. Anyway, he showed us a letter of appreciation from the Naval HQ which he insisted on reading out, despite the Moderator’s and our pleas that we believed him. To ensure that we had thoroughly digested every word of this appreciation he distributed photocopies that he had got made to the already restive audience. Somehow he reminded me of the naughty schoolboy who finally got a letter of good conduct from the Principal. Cheers and even more cheers from his supporters, fans, and hangers-on. It was as though he had single-handedly warded off the attack from Pakistan! Not a word about his plans if elected.
By this time at 12.20 PM, Milind Deora (Congress) walked in to resounding booes and hisses. Somebody shouted why he had never shown his face these 5 years when he was a sitting MP, and thought of the electorate only when it was re-election time. The refrain was taken up, and Milind was allowed to speak only after repeated intervention by the Moderator. Stop this uncivilised behaviour, roared Milind. There he blows his chances with this audience, I thought. Milind claimed credit for the BRIMSTOWAD project, deepening and extending the lake catchment area and the RTI Act (which, I thought, was the brainchild of the quiet ex-armyman Anna Hazare, the second Gandhi). He promised to do more for the city, despite occasional cries of “Shame shame, no no”.
My conclusion? The established parties clearly came in for a severe drubbing. What was worse was that apparently at least 2 parties, the MNS and the SS, had brought in their bunch of saboteurs and trouble-mongers to upstage the inconvenient question and the other side. That was the distressing and disgusting part. Yatha praja tatha raja, as I wrote in my e-mail no.3, As the subjects, so the king. . . .
The point of optimism was the confidence the two lady candidates exuded. They were dignified, to-the-point and clear about their intentions to give us a change from the old stuff. They truly characterised Decency In Public Life, the title of these e-mails.
Somebody once asked: Whom do I vote for? Well, I know whom I am NOT going to vote for. My humble suggestion: pay attention to the Independents. They have the sincerity, and they will deliver. My request: please forward this to your friends, and PLEASE VOTE.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Dear Fellow-Travellers,
This morning I went to the “Meet Your Candidate” programme at Seva Sadan near Gamdevi Police Station. I had made a mention about it yesterday in my mail. Let me give you a brief feedback of what transpired.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 10.30 AM. Hats off to Meera Sanyal (Independent), Dr. Mona Shah (Professionals’ Party of India) and Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS) for being there on time.
A complete Thumbs Down for unpunctuality to Mohan Rawle (SS-BJP) and particularly to Milind Deora (Congress) for taking the electorate for granted and coming at their fancy.
Now the gory details:
The Moderator explained that each candidate is being given 3 minutes to introduce himself/herself, followed by a question or two from the Moderator, after which the audience would be allowed sufficient time to question the candidate.
Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS), with 42 pending court cases according to mumbaivotes.com, requested that he be allowed to talk first as he had another meeting to attend. This was a clear and a blatant deception. He remained upto 1.15 PM. Clearly, he wanted the maximum time and succeeded in hoodwinking the organisers into giving him that mileage. But let me tell you what he said. He said he stood for COMMUNAL HARMONY!!! And his motto was THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY! Wow, I thought, did I hear something about the leopard and his spots? And he wanted to devote his time for Mumbai’s security.
So our Moderator asked him what plans he had for improving our security. Mr. Nandgaonkar was silent for a few moments. Obviously, he had no idea about security measures. So he gave us priceless information that Maharashtra had a 720 km coastline, that it was unjust of people to brand the police force as corrupt (they also had families to maintain), that he was elected to the Assembly three times, that he was recognised as Best MLA (??), that he was Dy. Home Minister, and that he had very cordial relations with his constituents else, he asked, would they have elected him? So much for his answer. The Moderator next asked him whether he had read this morning’s papers that the police had not been paid for months. Yes, indeed he had! And it was terrible that the police were not paid on time because they too had families to support.
The audience was now invited to ask questions. Somebody said that he had not answered the questions put to him by the Moderator. Our candidate was flummoxed. Someone then posed a question in Marathi to which Mr BN replied in Marathi, which invited a comment from someone (I suspect, from the same group) that the reply should have been in Hindi, to which Mr BN retorted that he had demonstrated his knowledge of Hindi and that the questioner being in Maharashtra should know Marathi. Now the pandemonium began: Marathi vs Hindi vs English! Inconvenient questions were completely sidetracked, Mr BN forgot that he was standing for Parliament and not for the State Assembly, and the police had to be called to rein in his supporters, fans and hangers-on.
The Moderator soon realised that an hour was lost, and so he invited Meera Sanyal and Mona Shah to introduce themselves and field the questions. This they did with aplomb, with dignity, with decency and in a few short minutes gave us the benefit of their individual agendas and manifestos. Both ladies come with an impeccable track record of education, work experience and service, and both were highly impressive. What came through was their sincerity – no beating about the bush, only their vision for the city if elected. If Mona Shah had oratorical skills and was equally comfortable with Hindi and English, Meera Sanyal was precisely articulate and completely focussed on her agenda for change. Unfortunately, these two young ladies had their time curtailed because of the excess time taken by Mr BN.
Mohan Rawle (SS-BJP), who had come in the meantime, was next. Again, a long-winded discourse on his popularity which resulted in him being elected as MP five times in a row, how a single discussion with Laloo Prasad Yadav resulted in crores being disbursed for the local railway network and how – and this is something! – he had camped for 3 days in a row at Nariman House when it was captured during the 26/11. Everybody has seen me on TV, he said. Frankly, I hadn’t. I saw him and Mr. Gopinath Munde only on the last day after the final assault was over on Nariman House, creating a traffic jam by insisting on patting the backs of our NSG. Anyway, he showed us a letter of appreciation from the Naval HQ which he insisted on reading out, despite the Moderator’s and our pleas that we believed him. To ensure that we had thoroughly digested every word of this appreciation he distributed photocopies that he had got made to the already restive audience. Somehow he reminded me of the naughty schoolboy who finally got a letter of good conduct from the Principal. Cheers and even more cheers from his supporters, fans, and hangers-on. It was as though he had single-handedly warded off the attack from Pakistan! Not a word about his plans if elected.
By this time at 12.20 PM, Milind Deora (Congress) walked in to resounding booes and hisses. Somebody shouted why he had never shown his face these 5 years when he was a sitting MP, and thought of the electorate only when it was re-election time. The refrain was taken up, and Milind was allowed to speak only after repeated intervention by the Moderator. Stop this uncivilised behaviour, roared Milind. There he blows his chances with this audience, I thought. Milind claimed credit for the BRIMSTOWAD project, deepening and extending the lake catchment area and the RTI Act (which, I thought, was the brainchild of the quiet ex-armyman Anna Hazare, the second Gandhi). He promised to do more for the city, despite occasional cries of “Shame shame, no no”.
My conclusion? The established parties clearly came in for a severe drubbing. What was worse was that apparently at least 2 parties, the MNS and the SS, had brought in their bunch of saboteurs and trouble-mongers to upstage the inconvenient question and the other side. That was the distressing and disgusting part. Yatha praja tatha raja, as I wrote in my e-mail no.3, As the subjects, so the king. . . .
The point of optimism was the confidence the two lady candidates exuded. They were dignified, to-the-point and clear about their intentions to give us a change from the old stuff. They truly characterised Decency In Public Life, the title of these e-mails.
Somebody once asked: Whom do I vote for? Well, I know whom I am NOT going to vote for. My humble suggestion: pay attention to the Independents. They have the sincerity, and they will deliver. My request: please forward this to your friends, and PLEASE VOTE.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE - 3
5th April 2009.
Hi Fellow-Campionites,
I can’t thank you enough for forwarding my e-mails to friends. I have had perfect strangers write to me saying how topical the stuff was and, more important, the need to act; to act decisively and to act NOW. I was, thanks to our very own Mukesh Gokal, at a small kick-off campaign function yesterday organised by an independent candidate in the South Mumbai constituency, when a young doctor sauntered up and, on introducing myself to him, said “Aren’t you the one who has been circulating the e-mails on public life?” I pleaded guilty, but only partly. I said that my school friends were my main partners-in-crime.
May our crimes never stop, friends, and thanks a million once again.
Thanks also to Priyadarshan Pradhan who e-mailed us information on “Meet the Candidate” programme at Gamdevi this morning. We were specifically informed that one candidate cannot make it, being in jail.
With D-day just about 3 weeks away we are still faced with the dilemma of choosing between the Tweedledees and the Tweedledums – the only difference being that probably for the first time in decades we have a few very well-educated candidates in the fray.
Now, speaking for myself, what concerns me apart from the hate campaigns is the issue of the scandalous levels of corruption. If the Congress is trying hard to deny the taint of the Rs. 600 crore “business charges” in the Israel missile deal, the BJP has egg all over its face by projecting as their candidate an ex-IAS officer who was given the sobriquet of Queen of Corruption by none other than her IAS colleagues. The other parties are also in the same boat. Perhaps the only party that has managed to keep the skeletons covered so far is the CPM.
So again the question: Whom do we vote for?
In my view there are three ways of looking at this:
1. DO NOT VOTE for a criminal. By this I do not refer to the legal requirement of conviction, but the popular notion of who is a criminal.
2. VOTE FOR the lesser evil, and
3. Take a very, very hard look at the INDEPENDENTS.
Why the independents? Again, for 3 reasons:
i. They are young professionals, have no axe to grind and are propelled by nothing more than a strong motivation to do “something”.
ii. Their conscience is not corrupted by party politics, and
iii. They carry no baggage EXCEPT THE BEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS and THE BEST WORK EXPERIENCE IN THEIR FIELDS.
I am enclosing below Mukesh Gokul’s e-mail. Please go through it. It contains good food for thought. Question him on this, and get INVOLVED. I am.
All through the years the common refrain during election time is that B-category candidates are declared winners by default, simply because the Malabar Hill-Cuffe Parade residents prefer not to vote. The results have been calamitous. This year too, the temptation not to cast your vote is very strong as –
i. 30th April is a Thursday and a holiday for voting,
ii. with a day’s leave from office (Friday) one can easily enjoy a long weekend, and finally
iii. with the children’s exams over one is set for a grand vacation to cooler climes.
This is simply an exhortation to PLEASE VOTE before you go on a holiday. And set an example for your children so that they vote too. For the first time in independent India we have a student voters body of more than 10 crore strong. This makes all the difference between good governance and chaos.
34 years ago as a probationer at the Mussoorie Academy I learnt from Mr. D.C. Tewari, our tutor in Political Science and Indian Constitution, a simple adage for all administrators from Chanakya’s Arthashastra:
Yatha Raja tatha Praja – As the ruler, so the subjects.
34 years later one realises that in a far-from-perfect democratic set-up as ours the adage that is topical is
Yatha Praja tatha Raja – As the subjects, so the ruler.
So friends, the ball is in our court. India demands just one hour of our time on Thursday the 30th April. So PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE, DON’T VOTE FOR CASTE.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Hi Fellow-Campionites,
I can’t thank you enough for forwarding my e-mails to friends. I have had perfect strangers write to me saying how topical the stuff was and, more important, the need to act; to act decisively and to act NOW. I was, thanks to our very own Mukesh Gokal, at a small kick-off campaign function yesterday organised by an independent candidate in the South Mumbai constituency, when a young doctor sauntered up and, on introducing myself to him, said “Aren’t you the one who has been circulating the e-mails on public life?” I pleaded guilty, but only partly. I said that my school friends were my main partners-in-crime.
May our crimes never stop, friends, and thanks a million once again.
Thanks also to Priyadarshan Pradhan who e-mailed us information on “Meet the Candidate” programme at Gamdevi this morning. We were specifically informed that one candidate cannot make it, being in jail.
With D-day just about 3 weeks away we are still faced with the dilemma of choosing between the Tweedledees and the Tweedledums – the only difference being that probably for the first time in decades we have a few very well-educated candidates in the fray.
Now, speaking for myself, what concerns me apart from the hate campaigns is the issue of the scandalous levels of corruption. If the Congress is trying hard to deny the taint of the Rs. 600 crore “business charges” in the Israel missile deal, the BJP has egg all over its face by projecting as their candidate an ex-IAS officer who was given the sobriquet of Queen of Corruption by none other than her IAS colleagues. The other parties are also in the same boat. Perhaps the only party that has managed to keep the skeletons covered so far is the CPM.
So again the question: Whom do we vote for?
In my view there are three ways of looking at this:
1. DO NOT VOTE for a criminal. By this I do not refer to the legal requirement of conviction, but the popular notion of who is a criminal.
2. VOTE FOR the lesser evil, and
3. Take a very, very hard look at the INDEPENDENTS.
Why the independents? Again, for 3 reasons:
i. They are young professionals, have no axe to grind and are propelled by nothing more than a strong motivation to do “something”.
ii. Their conscience is not corrupted by party politics, and
iii. They carry no baggage EXCEPT THE BEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS and THE BEST WORK EXPERIENCE IN THEIR FIELDS.
I am enclosing below Mukesh Gokul’s e-mail. Please go through it. It contains good food for thought. Question him on this, and get INVOLVED. I am.
All through the years the common refrain during election time is that B-category candidates are declared winners by default, simply because the Malabar Hill-Cuffe Parade residents prefer not to vote. The results have been calamitous. This year too, the temptation not to cast your vote is very strong as –
i. 30th April is a Thursday and a holiday for voting,
ii. with a day’s leave from office (Friday) one can easily enjoy a long weekend, and finally
iii. with the children’s exams over one is set for a grand vacation to cooler climes.
This is simply an exhortation to PLEASE VOTE before you go on a holiday. And set an example for your children so that they vote too. For the first time in independent India we have a student voters body of more than 10 crore strong. This makes all the difference between good governance and chaos.
34 years ago as a probationer at the Mussoorie Academy I learnt from Mr. D.C. Tewari, our tutor in Political Science and Indian Constitution, a simple adage for all administrators from Chanakya’s Arthashastra:
Yatha Raja tatha Praja – As the ruler, so the subjects.
34 years later one realises that in a far-from-perfect democratic set-up as ours the adage that is topical is
Yatha Praja tatha Raja – As the subjects, so the ruler.
So friends, the ball is in our court. India demands just one hour of our time on Thursday the 30th April. So PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE, DON’T VOTE FOR CASTE.
Yours sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE - 2
26th March 2009.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your response to my last e-mail. One of the commonest reactions that I have received is: “Whom do I vote for?”
A profound question indeed, and one difficult to answer. They are the same bunch of opportunistic rogues. Old wine – only it is packaged more attractively. And yet, hope springs eternal . . .
Let me narrate a small anecdote. Nothing very revolutionary, but it highlights the concept of a word many of us have forgotten – Responsibility. During my early days in the civil service I was appointed election observer in South Bombay. I think it was the year 1979. I had to make rounds of the various polling booths in the constituency and see that all was well. I began with the one at Cuffe Parade, it being closest to my residence. I reached there at about 7.40 AM and saw that everything was in readiness to receive what I imagined would be the vast multitudes of voters. The voting was to begin at 8AM. A few minutes before voting time I saw an elderly gentleman in a suit with a walking stick approaching the polling booth accompanied by his wife, a very charming lady dressed even more elegantly. Recognising him I went up to them and asked what brought them there so early. His short reply summed up the values he held dear. “Duty, my friend”, he said. “It’s our responsibility to vote.” He was Mr M.C. Chagla, the first Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. It was a shame that the percentage of voters in that booth barely touched double figures.
A few days ago on the evening of the 23rd, I went to a panel discussion on “Your Vote Counts” organised by Citizens Take Charge (CTC) at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber. There were two things about that meeting that I thought I would share with you.
1. The exuberance and optimism shown by two venerable and well-respected senior citizens, in the face of every reason to feel the contrary: Mr Narayan Varma Chartered Accountant, and Mr Julio Ribeiro, former Commissioner of Bombay Police, and later DG of Punjab Police. They are the moving spirit behind CTC at a time when most in their age group have already hung up their boots and are chanting the Lord’s name.
(Mr Ribeiro tackled the problem of terrorism in Punjab when it was at its peak. His autobiography “Bullet for Bullet” is an amazing account of how one man can make a difference. Read it if you haven’t. What happened to the Shiv Sainiks when he organised an army recruitment drive for them makes for terrific reading).
2. The dynamism shown by Natasha Kevalramani. She is barely out of her teens, a student of St. Xavier’s College who, with her friends, created “ivote”, a forum to help register voters in their respective constituencies and give them the information they seek about the voting process. Her attitude proclaimed “If I want change I have to bring about that change”. Her short address about our duty to vote was an appeal straight from the heart. Young in age but already showing signs of statesmanship.
I came away feeling that there was enough optimism around that could result in change. Not just optimism; there was an energy force waiting to be unleashed. I learnt something more at that meeting – the power of your vote. I learnt that Mr Gehlot became the CM of Rajasthan pipping Mr Joshi to the post by just one vote! That’s the power of one. The one vote that made all the difference.
That one vote could be yours. . .
And, oh yes, I almost forgot. To answer the question “Whom do I vote for?” please go to http://mumbaivotes.com. Vivek Gilani who is the brain behind the site gave us a small but brilliant expose on what prompted him to develop this site. His reason – Let the voter know his candidate. Like a sumptuous buffet in a good restaurant the site gives you the chance to choose from an array of candidates: from the academics and professionals to the scoundrels and scamsters right up to your neighbourhood social worker with a criminal record. Click on the View Profile to see the background of the candidates in your constituency.
Friends, the first step to ushering in change is to ask ourselves whether we really need it. If the answer is Yes, the next step is to discuss it. We constantly make decisions in our lives – from education to a career option to business to marriage. Sometimes our decisions click, sometimes they don’t. But that doesn’t stop us from making our choices. Not voting may be one answer, but it may not be the right solution. So decide on the candidate that you think is best for you. And cast your vote.
Sorry for inflicting this again upon you, but it’s time we did SOMETHING to arrest this slide. We can. We have the power of one. For starters please send this to as many people as you can. And please ask them to forward this in turn to their friends. Please set the ball rolling. Get INVOLVED. And VOTE for the candidate you think will deliver. India asks for nothing more than an hour of your time on 30th April. Please re-act and respond to this appeal. Write to each other, and to me, with your comments and observations.
Let us vote for Decency in Public Life. Let us vote for ourselves.
Sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Commissioner of Income Tax (Retd.)
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your response to my last e-mail. One of the commonest reactions that I have received is: “Whom do I vote for?”
A profound question indeed, and one difficult to answer. They are the same bunch of opportunistic rogues. Old wine – only it is packaged more attractively. And yet, hope springs eternal . . .
Let me narrate a small anecdote. Nothing very revolutionary, but it highlights the concept of a word many of us have forgotten – Responsibility. During my early days in the civil service I was appointed election observer in South Bombay. I think it was the year 1979. I had to make rounds of the various polling booths in the constituency and see that all was well. I began with the one at Cuffe Parade, it being closest to my residence. I reached there at about 7.40 AM and saw that everything was in readiness to receive what I imagined would be the vast multitudes of voters. The voting was to begin at 8AM. A few minutes before voting time I saw an elderly gentleman in a suit with a walking stick approaching the polling booth accompanied by his wife, a very charming lady dressed even more elegantly. Recognising him I went up to them and asked what brought them there so early. His short reply summed up the values he held dear. “Duty, my friend”, he said. “It’s our responsibility to vote.” He was Mr M.C. Chagla, the first Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. It was a shame that the percentage of voters in that booth barely touched double figures.
A few days ago on the evening of the 23rd, I went to a panel discussion on “Your Vote Counts” organised by Citizens Take Charge (CTC) at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber. There were two things about that meeting that I thought I would share with you.
1. The exuberance and optimism shown by two venerable and well-respected senior citizens, in the face of every reason to feel the contrary: Mr Narayan Varma Chartered Accountant, and Mr Julio Ribeiro, former Commissioner of Bombay Police, and later DG of Punjab Police. They are the moving spirit behind CTC at a time when most in their age group have already hung up their boots and are chanting the Lord’s name.
(Mr Ribeiro tackled the problem of terrorism in Punjab when it was at its peak. His autobiography “Bullet for Bullet” is an amazing account of how one man can make a difference. Read it if you haven’t. What happened to the Shiv Sainiks when he organised an army recruitment drive for them makes for terrific reading).
2. The dynamism shown by Natasha Kevalramani. She is barely out of her teens, a student of St. Xavier’s College who, with her friends, created “ivote”, a forum to help register voters in their respective constituencies and give them the information they seek about the voting process. Her attitude proclaimed “If I want change I have to bring about that change”. Her short address about our duty to vote was an appeal straight from the heart. Young in age but already showing signs of statesmanship.
I came away feeling that there was enough optimism around that could result in change. Not just optimism; there was an energy force waiting to be unleashed. I learnt something more at that meeting – the power of your vote. I learnt that Mr Gehlot became the CM of Rajasthan pipping Mr Joshi to the post by just one vote! That’s the power of one. The one vote that made all the difference.
That one vote could be yours. . .
And, oh yes, I almost forgot. To answer the question “Whom do I vote for?” please go to http://mumbaivotes.com. Vivek Gilani who is the brain behind the site gave us a small but brilliant expose on what prompted him to develop this site. His reason – Let the voter know his candidate. Like a sumptuous buffet in a good restaurant the site gives you the chance to choose from an array of candidates: from the academics and professionals to the scoundrels and scamsters right up to your neighbourhood social worker with a criminal record. Click on the View Profile to see the background of the candidates in your constituency.
Friends, the first step to ushering in change is to ask ourselves whether we really need it. If the answer is Yes, the next step is to discuss it. We constantly make decisions in our lives – from education to a career option to business to marriage. Sometimes our decisions click, sometimes they don’t. But that doesn’t stop us from making our choices. Not voting may be one answer, but it may not be the right solution. So decide on the candidate that you think is best for you. And cast your vote.
Sorry for inflicting this again upon you, but it’s time we did SOMETHING to arrest this slide. We can. We have the power of one. For starters please send this to as many people as you can. And please ask them to forward this in turn to their friends. Please set the ball rolling. Get INVOLVED. And VOTE for the candidate you think will deliver. India asks for nothing more than an hour of your time on 30th April. Please re-act and respond to this appeal. Write to each other, and to me, with your comments and observations.
Let us vote for Decency in Public Life. Let us vote for ourselves.
Sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Commissioner of Income Tax (Retd.)
Friday, May 1, 2009
DECENCY IN PUBLIC LIFE
22nd March 2009
Dear Fellow-Campionites,
This is a strong appeal for decency in public life. I am penning this mail to you out of sheer anguish and outrage over what we saw yesterday on the Headlines Today channel.
Let me begin by saying that I am no fan of the Congress Party. Yet, the abuses heaped by Mr. Uddhav Thakeray during his meeting in Poona upon our Prime Minister left me stunned and disturbed enough to write this mail. His expletives were beeped out by the news channel, but we read in this morning’s papers that he called the PM a hijra. Not once but several times during his speech. When asked to clarify his comments later in the day, Mr. Thakeray was unapologetic. What was worse was that a senior leader, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, who was on the same platform, also hurled expletives at the PM which too were appropriately beeped out by the TV channel. Apparently, there was neither constructive suggestions nor constructive criticism. Not a word about the PM’s economic policies, not a peep about foreign relations. Nothing. Just sheer, vulgar criticism.
We do not know the educational background of these two gentlemen, but we are aware of the background of the PM – an eminent economist, educated at Oxford and Cambridge, stints with the IMF, Governor of the RBI, Finance Minister whose economic reforms launched India into the orbit of the fastest developing economies, a man of quiet dignity, poise and of good-breeding and, above all, one who has never contested an election or sought high office. All the more disturbing to hear such language from “leaders”.
But Mr Thakeray is not alone. His speech is symptomatic of a larger malaise of hate afflicting us in recent times. Take the following:
Mr Varun Gandhi lets loose a barrage of vitriolic unguided missiles against Muslims and Sikhs
A certain Mr Muthalik imagines himself to be the custodian of Indian culture and thinks nothing of molesting women. What is worse he assures us of taking his campaign to Goa . No arrests by the police
Some Dal or another opposes the installation of the statue of Charlie Chaplin
Mr Raj Thakaray is back to bashing North Indians.
On the other hand just take a small look at our neighbour Pakistan . I, like many of us, was closely watching the Long March and the speeches of Nawaz Sharif. Despite the charged atmosphere, what poise and elegance he exhibited! Never was an abuse uttered; instead, he refered to Zardari as Mian Zardari Sahab. What a contrast to our guys here.
Now, the elections are just round the corner. This is an assertive appeal to PLEASE VOTE. Forget the IPL, or your little sojourn somewhere. But please try to arrest the downslide in public life. Vote for anybody you think represents DECENCY in public life. But PLEASE VOTE. Let’s get decency back into our lives. Let’s try.
Sorry for inflicting this upon you chaps, but it was something I felt very strongly about.
Would appreciate it if you would forward this to as many friends as possible. Let’s begin a chant for decency in public life.
Sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Dear Fellow-Campionites,
This is a strong appeal for decency in public life. I am penning this mail to you out of sheer anguish and outrage over what we saw yesterday on the Headlines Today channel.
Let me begin by saying that I am no fan of the Congress Party. Yet, the abuses heaped by Mr. Uddhav Thakeray during his meeting in Poona upon our Prime Minister left me stunned and disturbed enough to write this mail. His expletives were beeped out by the news channel, but we read in this morning’s papers that he called the PM a hijra. Not once but several times during his speech. When asked to clarify his comments later in the day, Mr. Thakeray was unapologetic. What was worse was that a senior leader, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, who was on the same platform, also hurled expletives at the PM which too were appropriately beeped out by the TV channel. Apparently, there was neither constructive suggestions nor constructive criticism. Not a word about the PM’s economic policies, not a peep about foreign relations. Nothing. Just sheer, vulgar criticism.
We do not know the educational background of these two gentlemen, but we are aware of the background of the PM – an eminent economist, educated at Oxford and Cambridge, stints with the IMF, Governor of the RBI, Finance Minister whose economic reforms launched India into the orbit of the fastest developing economies, a man of quiet dignity, poise and of good-breeding and, above all, one who has never contested an election or sought high office. All the more disturbing to hear such language from “leaders”.
But Mr Thakeray is not alone. His speech is symptomatic of a larger malaise of hate afflicting us in recent times. Take the following:
Mr Varun Gandhi lets loose a barrage of vitriolic unguided missiles against Muslims and Sikhs
A certain Mr Muthalik imagines himself to be the custodian of Indian culture and thinks nothing of molesting women. What is worse he assures us of taking his campaign to Goa . No arrests by the police
Some Dal or another opposes the installation of the statue of Charlie Chaplin
Mr Raj Thakaray is back to bashing North Indians.
On the other hand just take a small look at our neighbour Pakistan . I, like many of us, was closely watching the Long March and the speeches of Nawaz Sharif. Despite the charged atmosphere, what poise and elegance he exhibited! Never was an abuse uttered; instead, he refered to Zardari as Mian Zardari Sahab. What a contrast to our guys here.
Now, the elections are just round the corner. This is an assertive appeal to PLEASE VOTE. Forget the IPL, or your little sojourn somewhere. But please try to arrest the downslide in public life. Vote for anybody you think represents DECENCY in public life. But PLEASE VOTE. Let’s get decency back into our lives. Let’s try.
Sorry for inflicting this upon you chaps, but it was something I felt very strongly about.
Would appreciate it if you would forward this to as many friends as possible. Let’s begin a chant for decency in public life.
Sincerely,
Deepak Tralshawala
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)