More on IPLgate

I really appreciate the definition of IT dept in India as published in Economic Times on date..." the Indian govrnment's instrument of choice to intimidate businessmen who have fallen out of favour ". So are CBI and vigilance departments put to use more often than not. Coming back to the subject, IPLgate is turning out to be more comical by the day. The Sharad Pawars, Shashank Manohars, Arun Jaitleys and the whole lot are posing as if they were not aware of the affairs of Lalit Modi and IPL for last 3 years though they had been part and parcel of the IPL Governing Council. May be true! But if so, they won't deserve even to be watchmen even in mohalla committees! And stranger enough, the intelligentsia in the media appears to be digesting it in same manner as they digest utter nonsense around them day in and day out. The muck is so widespread and deeprooted that only God or Nature can cleanse it.

IPLgate

The various aspects of IPLgate are all very simple. It is another matter that we don't see or don't want to see simple things.
1. The Indian Govt action/reaction now is similar to a person coolly allowing a tiny growth to develop into a full-blown cancer under his/her very nose and then deciding one fine day that major surgery was to be done.
2. If media or Govt think it's all one Lalit Modi's game and removing him will cleanse everything, then I feel like laughing loud. Outcome of a match can't be fixed if all connected are not involved or are not first rate fools. The list of those connected will include everyone belonging to the cricketing establishment and will be very long for fixing of IPL matches. It is quite visible to me as a man of limited intelligence, but probably those in media or Govt possess better I.Q.
3. Could things be so bad as being thought to be without involvement of franchise owners and big players? Aren't all of them very prestigious citizens, 'gods' or 'bharat ratnas'?

Yes, hypocrisy is a charcteristic among humans that ( maybe second only to 'ego') determines their course the most and is limitless.

A country of farces

Of late I have been wondering how India will rank as a most farcical nation. Farces do happen and will happen but what is extraordinary with India is how nonchalantly the nation accepts these farces day in and day out. One such farce started with Indian Idol and has multiplied exponentially since then. Selections are supposed to be through viewers' votes in numerous reality shows, there being no limit on number of votes being cast by a single viewer through SMS. More recently a great farce has been perpetrated by the intellectual cream of the country affecting the cream among the young generation. CAT was conducted for admissions to premier management institutes under lot of media attention. Boys and girls slogged to do well in the exam and results also got declared. But then suddenly it was decided that performance in this common objective exam wouldn't count much and marks obtained by the candidates years ago during schooling would count more. Though there have been murmurs among disgruntled candidates, as a nation we are just not bothered.
I do feel that we must be among top ten most farcical societies in the world.

Laws- to implement or to harass?

Wishing the readers ( though none exist) a very Happy Deepawali and prosperous new year ahead. I live in Kolkata (India). There is a law in force banning noise producing crackers(various bombs). So people were arrested round the evening on Deewali day and serious charges framed against them. Many of them very respectable and honourable citizens. While this was happening, there was deafening sound of crackers and bombs all around me. Banning of smoking is another such law that readily comes to mind. We make laws probably with good intentions, forgetting that these simply can't be implemented. In due course, these serve just one purpose- harassment of normal citizens at the hand of law enforcing agencies.

PM Manmohan Singh and Pakistan

Watching PM defend his joint statement with Pakistan in Egypt few days back and then just after a few days listening him to say that there was serious terror threat from Pakistan confused me as it must have cnfused thousands of countrymen/women. Same day as he was talking of terror threat, the Home Minister was saying that PM's policy of 'trust and verify' for Pakistan had been a wise one. This confused further. The clarification was that what PM meant was that terror threat from Pak had nothing to do with Pak Govt. But unfortunately Pak hasn't (as it couldn't) taken kindly to PM's latest comments. So there will be lot of comments, counter comments such that we are kept busy with only statements and counterstatements. No one will have time to bother for actions, results and real issues. This is Governance. Let us also learn.

Shah Rukh Khan

A few days back I read a quote ascribed to SRK " I am tired of hearing success stories. Success just happens." or something to that effect. I have never been a big fan of SRK (though I have always been of Amitabha Bacchan) but I liked and appreciated this quote. This quote gains more authencity and value as it came from one of the most successful persons. We have no control over our birth, no control over our death- the two most defining events of what we call life, yet we lose no time or opportunity for crediting ourselves for whatever good happens to us in between. How paradoxical!
Coming back to SRK, it did occur to me also that the Newyork (USA) episode of his detention could have something to do with his forthcoming film ' My name is Khan'. Timing and emphasis on word Khan, if coincidental, was a good coincidence for the upcoming film. Watching reactions of SRK on TV on Amar Singh voicing what many had felt, I wondered what had hit SRK to lose his decency while reacting. He has been at too high a pedestal to react the way he did.

Injustices

It is heartening to see Sh. Amartya Sen talking of injustices in no uncertain manner. A well known person and not unknown entities like Sh. O.P. Mital or Atul Kumar has raised the most pertinent issue. But will anyone be interested? You know as well as I know. Our media and most of us will be more interested and busy in knowing what Katrina Kaif eats or what Shah Rukh wears or what is the latest hair style adopted by Dhoni. The list is endless. The print pages, the electronic viewing slots and men-hours spent on such trivialities and non-issues will be mind boggling. Who has got time and will to bother about justice and injustice. We shall continue with our follies unmindful that not in distant future we shall be engulfed by those. Let us hope I am proved wrong.