Yesterday, a 41 year old journalist from Dainik Jagran made the headlines. He probably would have been the most searched name or word in Google, yesterday. The media was abuzz with his photos and interviews flashing on all channels.

The reason – Jarnail Singh, a senior journalist threw one of his shoes at the Home Minister of India, P Chidambaram. It seemed too good to be true.

But then it reminded me of the  Zaidi, a journalist who became a national icon in Iraq and neighboring countries for having thrown a shoe at George Bush. If that’s not all, there are people who offered incredible rewards to this pseudo hero included huge sums of cash, daughter for marriage, land, citizenship etc.

Similarly the so called representation of the Sikh community, the Youth Wing of The Shiromani Akali Dal, offered Jarnail singh Rs.2 lakhs and several others offering their support in some form or the other. This, in retaliation to the injustice meted to the Sikh community for having acquitted the likes of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were supposedly involved in the massacre of the Sikhs after the Indira Gandhi assassination in 1984.

Now coming to my point of view on this whole episode of the Sikhs protesting and the government in a mode of silence over the entire issue.

This is definitely a blotch in an otherwise illustrious administration. Whether it is for the court to decide or not or if CBI has completely exonerated Mr. Jagdish Tytler, the Congress should have taken a stance that Tytler is in the center of all this harakiri and hence should not be an electoral candidate for them in the forthcoming elections. There is no denying the fact that the courts look at hard evidence and in this case they seem to have ruled out despite an NRI, Jasbir Singh, coming forward as an eye witness.

Whether justice has prevailed or not is a matter of contention and time will be a witness to that – as there are several faces to this coin, what has really shocked me is the level at which the journalistic standards have been stooping down, in recent times.

That Jarnail Singh apologised unconditionally, speaks high of him and his ethical standards but on the same coin, the incident should have never happened and this country should never have witnessed something like that. It is unforgettable and unforgivable by any standards.

Take the instance of Zaidi – The very next day he was taken into custody and put behind bars for 3 years (Now I hear his punishment has been reduced to a year) speaks high of the standards that even a wounded country like Iraq follows. And here we are, letting him off just because there is an emotional crowd backing him.

I am surprised that Jarnail Singh has not been booked under any charges. I definitely understand the sentiments of the Sikhs and I respect that. Having said that, Jarnail Singh, to me is an Indian first and a journalist next…nothing beyond that. This whole episode has been so much politicized that bad behavior went unnoticed which indirectly is a sign of encouragement. I will not be surprised if very soon you would see others too resorting to such cheap tactics without the fear of being punished

If Indian media and those who manage the law and order in the country do not resort to punishing the guilty when there is ample evidence, it will only further wreck the already weakened judiciary system of our country.

Understood he was emotional, his adrenalin was pumping and that he cares for his community. But then who doesn’t ? Ask the friends and relatives of the scores of Hindus or Muslims who died in communal riots or the Godhra incidents, weren’t they emotional too.

A majority of the criminals are also a victim of high level of adrenalin rush…If they can be punished, why should Jarnail Singh be spared?

Whatever said and done, the bottom line is that in India the standards of journalism has decreased significantly in recent times. We have seen in the case of the 26/11 coverage, some failed and pseudo sting operations and now this. Not sure if it was ever like this or is it coming to limelight only now.

True journalism seems to have paved way for neo journalism or better still call it Jarnailism, for the lack of a better word. They are definitely condemnable and sometimes punishable, too. What say you ?

Image Credit: Dubswede

Popularity: 28%

After the historic reforms that came up in the 1990s, India has been growing in leaps and bounds with its GDP at 8% consistently. Many Indian service providers especially the ones in the fields of IT, Pharma have emerged as global players.

According to one stat in the year 2007 a total of 676 M&A deals worth around $57 billion were signed. There have been predictions by many eminent Economists about India having a potential of becoming a super power by 2020. India Inc. has been growing and shining, but is our society also been growing the same way?

According to Compact Oxford Dictionary one of the synonyms for Society is

A particular community of people living in a country or region, and having shared customs, laws, and organizations.

One of the major benefits of Civilized Society is to co-exist with people from different cultures peacefully. But are we fully acknowledging the meaning of society or are we failing to address any of the above?

Let us look at a few facts:

• Over the past one and half decades there have been hundreds of cases in Kashmir where people have been disappearing. According to Human Rights Watch, most of the Kashmiris who have been picked for questioning by the Police or the Army have either been tortured brutally or have never returned.

• After the Demolition of Babri Masjid on 6^th Dec 1992, India got into a grip of communal violence. No part of the country was spared and around 1500 people were killed in violence that lasted for over a week

• In 2002, post Godhra, India was again on the brink where in Gujarat was a victim of communal riots, where two communities resolved to lawlessness. According to an official estimate, 1044 people were killed and 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed and 606 children orphaned.

• On an average, two Dalits are assaulted every hour, three Dalit women and children are raped, two Dalits are murdered, and at least two Dalits are tortured or burned every day

• According to a report a total of 7,913 complaints on Domestic Violence against women were filed in India. But there are many cases that have gone unreported resulting in dowry deaths.

• According to the National Commission of Human rights of India, more than 62,000 human rights violations are recorded annually.

Looking at all these facts one begins to wonder where are we heading as a society?

Popularity: 15%

In the late 80s and early 90s Narendra Modi  was virtually unknown. He fought very hard to accomplish the tasks given to him by the Senior Leaders of BJP. Towards the later part of the decade, we saw a belligerent Modi moving closer to his political ambition of becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

In 2001, Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, got promoted to the office at a time his predecessor Kesubhai Patel lost the by-elections. In July 2007, he became the longest serving Chief Minister.  Later the same year, he was re-elected for the third consecutive term as the CM.

In 2001, just when he took office Modi was given the task of rebuilding Gujarat. This was in the wake of the biggest natural calamity India had seen – The Gujarat Earthquake which killed nearly 20000 people and another 170000 injured.  Modi was a man on a mission

In 2002, he faced the biggest test of his life – There was a communal riot in which Hindus and Muslims killed each other following a Godhra train incident. The riot killed nearly 2000 people and about 150000 were displaced.  The entire nation was pitted against him and some even went to the extent of terming the Godhra incident as an attempted genocide, a largescale massacre.

Modi did not sit quiet. What followed was a successful stint – one after the other. In his first term as the Gujarat Chief Minister, the economic growth touched 10%. In 2007, the growth touched a stunning 11.5% reducing the fiscal deficit of the state economy by a stunning 50%.

Other noticeable achievements included infrastructural developments, electrifying rural Gujarat, the Narmada success story etc.

Narendra Modi’s leadership and his extraordinary capabilities made him the darling of media. And soon a brand called Moditva emerged. Modi translated excessive criticisms and a burgeoning popularity into mass votes which made gave him a landslide victory in his third time.

Advani once said about Modi

A leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time.

The year 2008 saw Modi take a complete u-turn with industrialists and politicians alike yearning for a piece of the pie in the Gujarat success story. Budha’s pain was Modi’s gain. Under the leadership of Modi, Gujarat opened the doors for Tata and Sanand became the Nanoland.

Modi did not stop there. He continues to woo Bangalore based IT and BPO companies to set up their units in Modiland. 

If this was not enough, Modi surprised all his critics as late as last week. He embarked on a demolition drive of “illegally built temples” in Gujarat including that of a Sai Baba and a Hanuman shrine. Facing the axe are another 161 illegally constructed temples.

Modi invited widespread criticisms for his actions especially from VHP – the erstwhile ideological partner of the BJP. In fact Ashok Singhal, of the VHP compared his government to that of Aurangazeb’s. Modi loyalists however argued that he was painting a picture of a Nationally acceptable, Secular Leader

Read the words once again – “Nationally Acceptable, Secular Leader.” Wow !!!

That made me think a dozen times before I wrote this article.

Is Narendra Modi really trying to lead by example ? Your comments please…

Popularity: 22%

The second book, One Night @ The Call Center, happened when I was in a train one night, going from Chennai to Bombay. I was already depressed – my first ever visa application to the UK had got rejected. I don’t know why but I always wanted go around and see the whole of Europe right from my childhood. Well, this 2^nd book gave me good company all the way through Bombay, switching off lights only when the co-passengers got irritated with them.

A few weeks ago, I met a few of my old pals at a bookstore. One of them suggested the 3^rd mistake!!! Oops!! The 3 mistakes of my life, the third book by Chetan Bhagat. I had loved reading the first two books.  I finished this one too pretty fast. Considering the lousy reading speed I have, this one indeed was quick, say a week J. This book throws light on various aspects, some real and some imaginary (the typical Bollywood masala type), some of them being the India-Australia test series of 2002, or is it 2001?

The amazing victory over the Aussies, the Godhra Incident, a love story, protocols (one of the greatest or most sensitive protocols that no Indian guy should break – that of not eyeing on your friend’s sister – never attract or get attracted your friend’s sister, especially if its your best friend and all the more if he is stronger and more muscular and more moody and more powerful (and more…well the list goes on), etc. Well some protocols we Indians have to maintain. I completely agree to this protocol, although I personally believe in ‘No Rules’. Even then it’s safer to stay out of such obvious troubles. And yes, the book also talks about the different mistakes the friends make which cost them dearly, circumstantial prices they had to pay at various points in life.

The best part I liked about this book is the way the author describes different passions people have, in fact completely different ones among the best of friends. One of the three friends is passionate about business; the second one is passionate about religion and third one about cricket.

The author also depicts to what extent people stretch themselves in order to achieve/realise their dreams. I say hopes arise from dreams and realization happens only if one is passionate about the whole deal.

On the whole I loved this book and would recommend anyone/everyone to read it. For at least the beginners like me, it’s definitely a great book to get started with.

Popularity: 28%