On the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, since our dear PM was away attending a “very important” and “significant” conference in the US of A (or where ever else it was), our secular media channels were fully focused on the Home Minister. In one such interview, Mr PC was asked what he thought about the Kasab trial and the fact that it was taking so long in spite of obvious evidence about his involvement. Mr PC gave a gem of an answer

“I am proud of the fact that we are a country where there is a rule of law and we don’t try Kasab in a kangaroo court and hang him overnight as they do in some other countries. A murder trial will take time and in Kasab’s case believe me it has been fast tracked as all the prosecution witnesses I believe have been examined. That is a remarkable achievement and I compliment that. I think Kasab’s trial showsIndia into great light that it is a country, which, regardless of the great pain it suffers, puts a terrorist into an open fair trial”

Not sure if Mr PC agrees, but Kasab has indeed turned our courts into a Kangaroo court today.

He says he is a Kasab look-alike and that he was going around trying to watch a movie in Mumbai that night (at least, he accepts he is interested in shooting)

The main accused is apparently Abu Ali and he supposedly looks exactly like him.

He further claims he met Headley, and that he was interrogated by Headley!

He was apparently detained 20 days before the attacks!

Mr PC, what do you think of this remarkable achievement of Kasab to turn our legal system into a Kangaroo system?

Mr PC, In what light does it show our country when an obvious criminal like Kasab is allowed to throw such garbage at the judge and the lawyers?

NDTV has made available the soft copy of the Lieberhan report on the Babri Masjid demolition. The voluminous 1000 odd page report contains a dedicated chapter on “Secularism”. I have not yet read the chapter completely (nor the report, of course) but at first glance, it looks more like the author’s personal rant against BJP, RSS and Hindus in general. Here are some quotes from the particular chapter. The numbers at the beginning are section numbers from the report.

• 146.6 “Killing of many muslims in cities is a well known act of extremist Hindu groups”
• 147.1 “BJP managed to channel the frustration of illiterate or semiliterate persons into a destructive direction and tried to increase its political impact for which it stoked mass hysteria”
• 147.2 “BJP is the successor of Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha. Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha had failed in their nationalist movements”
• 147.2 “There is no doubt that during the elections three quarters of Hindus in India have not voted in favor of BJP rather for secular parties”
• 147.5 “Most of the Muslim emperors with passage of time were Hinduised…”
• 147.7 “In recruiting candidates for the Ayodhya movement widespread illiteracy had been exploited by skilful political leaders”
• 148.4 “The recluse or the Sadhus and Sants come to the belief that nothing matters beyond political desirable results however achieved. Politicians had not turned Sants, but Sants turned politicians”

Based on reading this chapter, I am wondering if the report is about the Babri Masjid incident or a “secular analysis” of the BJP & RSS!

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been recently hit with possibly the worst flood in many decades. Crores of people have been displaced and lakhs of homes have been destroyed.

In the midst of all this, our Government had a survival crisis. Some of our ministers thought that it was right time to replace the Chief Minister. So they ganged up and threatened to drown the government and flooded the Chief Minister with several demands. To ensure that the Chief Minister or his men do not come up with any alternate “relief measure”, the “rebels” went away to Hyderabad and locked themselves in a resort. Of course, it is only a co-incidence that many of the MLAs were from North Karnataka!

After a compromise formula was worked out that ensured the Chief Minister will still keep floating, the “rebel stars” are back to Karnataka. Now they are trying to come up with ingenious answers to explain their absence from relief work in their constituencies. The best among these answers was from Renukacharya. The full article is available here.

I can’t stop laughing since I read that article. The following was his explanation -

“We had gone to Hyderabad not to enjoy ourselves but to study rural development and the problems in some of the villages in Andhra Pradesh”

Entire villages in Karnataka are flooded and our folks are on a visit to Andhra to “study rural development”?

His own colleagues are supposed to have laughed at this explanation of his. And then of course, he couldn’t come up with the names of the non-existent villages he visited.

Shame on our leaders for not even having the guilt that they betrayed their own people when needed the most!

The combination of rains and flyover constructions all over my journey from home to office means that my commute time is closing in on 2 hours (one way) this week. While I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the bunch of flyovers/underpasses will actually help ease traffic congestion and reduce commute time, I still have my own doubts.

I feel there are many simpler, obvious steps that can be taken which will significantly reduce congestion in Bangalore. Somehow, the authorities seem unwilling to implement these. One such step would be to eliminate bus stops close to traffic signals and junctions. It is a no-brainer that a bus standing right after a signal forces the traffic into a smaller section of the road, significantly impeding traffic clearance. Just as important it is to ensure traffic is regulated at a junction (by introducing traffic signals), it is equally important to ensure that the side which is allowed to move (due to a green signal) is provided a clear road ahead. Naturally, junctions would be the worst place to have bus stops!

My guess is that at least 90% of junctions in Bangalore with reasonable traffic have bus stops. Buses not only stop suddenly and haphazardly at these junctions, the lack of a “first-in-first-out” system at these stops means that many a times, the bus behind suddenly swirls to the right and attempts to overtake the one in front, only to realize there is not enough space. And murphy’s laws ensures that the bus in front has several passengers to pick up. Meanwhile the green signal turns to red and you are right where you were…

I was observing my route from home to office and there is a bus stop at almost every single junction! Here is a partial list..

1. Hulimavu junction – this one is special, the bus stop is right in the middle of the T junction, not at the end.
2. Arakere junction – bus stop just before the signal, ensuring only a 10ft wide road to the right for traffic to move once signal turns green
3. IIMB junction – bus stop right after junction
4. BG Road – Outer Ring Road junction – bus stop immediately after the junction
5. Ring Road – bus stop right after Jayadeva flyover ends. This one is special too as it completely blocks the road one takes if approaching from Dairy circle and turning left at Jayadeva flyover
6. Ring Road – Advaith Petrol Bunk junction – bus stop at junction, before signal
7. Priya Bakery junction – bus stop at junction, immediately after signal
8. Silk Board – bus stop immediately after junction. Though there is a bus bay here, at least half the buses park on the main road itself
9. Agara junction – bus stop right in the middle of the junction, in spite of the flyover construction
10. Outer ring road junction – bus stop as soon as you turn left at the junction
11. Bellandur junction – bus stop at junction, immediately after signal
12. Devarabisanahalli junction – stop after signal
13. PTP junction – bus stop right after signal

When our BBMP folks want to build flyovers, they seem to acquire land without any trouble. But can’t they do the same in order to build bus bays at these junctions. I guess bus bay construction is not very profitable when compared with flyover projects.

Yesterday, we watched a Hindi movie – “Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani”. While the overall movie was really nice and enjoyable, there were some parts of the movie which I found very uncomfortable.

The hero of the movie is a pure vegetarian. His friends convince him that he should take to non-vegetarian food since the Christian girl he is after is “strictly non-vegetarian” (whatever that means). In the next scene, they show an elaborate initiation ceremony where our Hero struggles but somehow manages to eat chicken, mutton, etc. The next scene is where the Hero, after one week, is gorging on a variety of animals! His parents spot him and feel very upset. He then goes to a Church and offers his confession there. He says that since he has broken his “Dharma” by eating non-veg,  Bhole Naath (Lord Shiva) is now very upset with him. He says if Bhole Nath opens his third eye, then he will become “bus bus” (burnt). He requests Jesus to protect him and get him the girl!

In the final scene of the movie, the Hero is leaving the city as he thinks he will never get the girl. The girl meanwhile has a change of heart and, failing to find the hero, goes to a church and starts praying. Our hero is stopped on a lonely road by a truck driver, dressed like Jesus. The driver tells him that he is a stage actor dressed as Jesus and forces him to get into the truck. The driver brings him to the same Church where the lady is praying and lo and behold, vanishes suddenly. The Hero realizes that Jesus himself has brought him to his lady!

Somehow, I couldn’t help but appreciate the skill with which propaganda and comedy were intermixed in this movie.

Emraan Hashmi is taking a free class on the art of staying in news, albeit using dubious methods.

First, he said he was discriminated against by a housing society, just because he was a muslim.

A few days later, after having been booed by his own fraternity, when he found that the channels had stopped beaming his “story”, he “clarified” that the whole issue was due to a miscommunication.

Now, after the issue seems to be dropping off the media once again, he has done a U-turn again!

We all know hez lost it. But this badly?

On the issue of Pakistan’s action on the issue of terrorism against India being perpetrated from Pakistani soil, three members of the Union Cabinet have this to say, all within 24 hours.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, in the Parliament of India, said.

“This is the first time that Pakistan has ever formally briefed us on the results of an investigation into a terrorist attack in India. It has never happened before and I repeat this is the first time. It is also the first time that they have admitted that their nationals and a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan carried out a ghastly terrorist act in India.”

Home Minister P Chidambaram had this to say.

“They should stop asking questions and get on with the job. There is enough evidence provided in the dossier given to Pakistan,” he told newspersons outside Parliament. “It has been a little tiresome,” he said in response to Islamabad’s dalliance over action against the 26/11 perpetrators citing lack of “concrete evidence.”

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna says this,

“Krishna said whatever evidence and dossier is given, Pakistan’s refrain is that it is not enough and cannot be proven in court of law“

While the Prime Minister is goading over the fact that his government has been able to get Pakistan to do something that the NDA government has never been able to achieve, his own ministers are openly crying over the fact that Pakistan does not do anything in spite of whatever proof is given to them!!!

Yesterday, we all witnessed a total solar eclipse. For devout Hindus, eclipses are a great time to pursue spiritual progress. Many of our scriptures and Puranas talk about the virtues of meditation, prayer, river-bath and Japa during this “Parva Kala” (auspicious time). People over thousands of years have also experienced the benefits of spiritual activity during eclipses.

Our rituals insist that during spiritual activities, one should not be bothered with distractions, including attending to nature’s calls. On the other hand, total duration of solar eclipses could last several hours. If one has to ensure that meditation or prayer could continue undisturbed for several hours without discomfort, it becomes essential to eliminate the possibility of having to address nature’s call. This is the *main* reason why fasting is suggested during eclipse times. For solar eclipses, one is advised to fast starting from at least 9 hours prior to the eclipse. Of course, there do exist religious and ritualistic reasons also behind the fasting.

Over time, people have started to blindly follow this ritual, even though they don’t care to perform any spiritual activity. Wrong connotations have come into people’s minds. Therefore, this custom of fasting during eclipses has become the target of our secular, rational leaders. During yesterday’s eclipse, a team of scientists put in a lot of hard work to discourage people from fasting during eclipses. They went around distributing sweets in the middle of the eclipse! The team also had Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, who also had, and distributed sweets.

- Fasting during eclipses is sanctioned by our scriptures. Saying that it is a superstition is a direct attack on our religious beliefs.
- Fasting during eclipses cannot cause any serious damage that it warrants the attention of the government and political class. They are almost treating it as a national disaster, that has to be gotten rid of.
- Just like they claim that eating during eclipses causes no harm, eating during eclipses doesn’t really indicate one’s scientific temper towards life.

What irritates me the most is the double standards adopted by these “secular forces”. Muslims fast during the day time for an entire month every year. That custom has an equivalent scriptural sanction (in their scriptures) as does the Hindu custom of fasting during eclipses (and Ekadashis). Even on the measure of scientific temper, it stands no better. But guess what the outlook of our secular leaders is towards that “superstition” – they actively participate and encourage it!! Nitish Kumar himself hosts Iftar parties during the fasting month (held to break the day long fast).

How is it that fasting by one community is superstition while that by another becomes a sacred ritual?

According to this claim by the Congress party, Kasab confessed because of the “diplomatic offensive” the Government put on Pakistan. The government’s “offensive” forces Pakistan to contact Kasab, lodged in a high security Indian jail, and get him to confess. What absurdity!

First of all, the learned spokesman seems to be suggesting that Pakistan has access to Kasab. Secondly, he is openly suggesting that the confession has come as a result of pressure, which means that the confession won’t stand in court. Thirdly, he says “This was not a small achievement”.

The desperation our government finds itself in, as a result of the Sharm-el-Sheikh disaster, is forcing it to claim that the confession of a terrorist was ITS achievement!!!

Yesterday, Samata and I were at a coffee shop near the Raghavendra Matha in Jayanagar 5th block. While waiting for our drink to arrive, my attention went towards the nearby traffic signal. As usual, I got into the mode of observing the violations that were occuring at the signal. Almost every signal turning from green to red led to a couple of “jumps”. On a sunday with hardly any traffic, people still couldn’t resist the temptation of disregarding the signal and jumping ahead.

At one corner of the signal, I spotted a beggar. His red shirt made him very evident on that junction. The guy was crawling on the road. Every time, the signal turned red and vehicles started to accumulate, he would crawl on the road using his hands and beg from the motorists. It was indeed a very pitiable sight. People were getting very disturbed seeing his plight and were offering “Bhiksha” generously. I captured a photo of this beggar. Take a look.

The beggar used to cover about 15-20 vehicles in one attempt. After a while, I started noticing that every time the signal turned red, the guy used to start from the same location – the beginning of the zebra crossing. I started to wonder how he made it back to the same location every time, and so quickly at that.  I kept my eyes on the same guy and the result – take a look at the below photo!

He was coolly walking back to his “crease”. The guy had a minor issue with his right leg. He was able to stand upright. He covered a distance of about 50m in less than 10 seconds.

Every time a vehicle came early to the junction and stopped before he took his position, he would avoid begging in that instance, lest the people questioned him. He would begin his job during the next iteration.

I wonder how the people around – the shopkeepers and others are turning a blind eye to this blatant con job. The guy is in a pretty good condition and can definitely do other jobs for a living. Perhaps the income from this business is just too good for him to switch to a real job. I observed him for about 15 mins and easily walked at least a kilometer in that time. Surely, he cannot be physically weak if he could walk that much, and at that pace.

This incident just reinforced my strong belief that most of the beggars in Bangalore are crooks and cons. Beware of them! Show them no mercy! Discouraging them is a small way of helping our city get rid of this menace.