As the Indian Problem league – Oops! Indian Premier League is set to commence the much awaited edition 3, problems and controversies seem to be hitting them in plenty!

Action seems to have begun even before the auction began. With a planned move that owners called “strategy” and the media describes as “balderdash”, ignoring players from our “friendly” neighboring nation stoked a fire. “Dildo” fuelled that fire with a masterstroke to promote his new movie angering the Shiv Sena and setting tongues waging. I’m not here to pass a judgement on the right thing to do – As most passionate Indians, I don’t think that the current political climate would aid Pakistani players to come in and play, not to forget, earn some top dollar and take that back to Pakistan. That said, I also believe that sports shouldn’t be mixed with other issues. Sadly though, our structures don’t permit the co-existence of both ideologies. Someone said, there’s got to be only one dagger in a sheath!

If the auction bit was wave 1, our friends in the rash state of Maharashtra seem to have a new sense of hatred for the Aussies! They threatened to stop the Aussies from playing in Mumbai and had the big bosses calling them. It’s not an unknown fact that their muscle is with the hooligans. From a commercial perspective, the cricket bosses were worried and rightly so. As much as we hate the Aussies for their erstwhile dominance of cricket, we can’t live without them either.

A Shane Warne is a top draw wherever he goes as are the Gilly’s, Hayden’s and the McGrath’s! Cricketers like them are no longer produced and looking at one of the initial tenants of the IPL, the young Indians can learn a ton from some legends like these! The magic unfortunately didn’t work and the Sena seems to have snubbed the cricket bosses. The Government can put up a brave face and promise the support, but it’s a question of time before ruthless elements like these rear their head and cause trouble. If a Government that can’t protect our borders and act on intelligence save innocent citizens, what hopes do these so called security measures have on an unruly crowd?

If this was not enough, the Deccan Chargers have issued a notice to the IPL for moving out matches from Hyderabad. Telangana or otherwise, someone at least believes matches should be played in Hyderabad – there’s a sense of government support (please as need for money) as this battle unfolds! I don’t know if this was big news or not as I didn’t see this breaking. Poor young Jadeja has been banned and he seeks to appeal against it!  Being a recent feature on the international circuit, he’d hate it to be left out – forget the experience and all that blah blah!

With Mumbai being a potential issue and Hyderabad joining, what’s Lalit Modi going to do? Unfortunately for him, he has very little time on his hands to pull off a South African safari. There’s too much skin in the game to even consider moving the IPL beyond our shores and I watch with baited breath. Being that South Indian Tam Bram, isn’t it time we renamed the IPL??

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Shiv Sena with an entourage of some 40 so called party workers (or goons?) ransacked the house and office of a lawyer, Mukesh Deshmukh.

Mukesh who? Supposedly a lesser known lawyer in criminal law with some 10-12 years experience.

Why was his house and office ransacked? Because Mukesh agreed to fight the case for Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist.

Agreed, Kasab is a criminal. There is enough and more proof that he has committed the crime and he might be languishing the rest of his life in Indian jails or be hanged to death. No one is denying that.

But then – Don’t criminals in India get a lawyer to defend? How unconstitutional is that? Is it not a fundamental right of everyone to get a lawyer?

And by the way, who is Shiv Sena to take the law into its hands? What do they think of themselves – Above the law??? That everything they do, every action of theirs is legitimate and godly?

Absolutely ridiculous. This has to stop.

No political party should be allowed to resort to violence. If they are resorting to violence, then they are no better than terrorists who created havoc in Mumbai. At the end of the day, both of them have committed crime that led to destruction of lives, property etc. So why differ?

Where is the Home Minister? Why doesn’t he make statements which condemn these kinds of attacks on the law-abiding citizens of the country? And why are there no laws to punish these demons of mass destructions?

The leaders of Shiv Sena still think that it has done the right thing by ransacking the lawyer, his house and his office. How audacious is that?

Must I ask where they were when Mumbai was burning ?

Image Credit: Gabriel Agu

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Image Credit: Toasty Ken

Rahul Raj’s life was snuffed out in a Mumbai BEST bus. He was carrying a gun and was trying to take the bus with its passengers, hostage.

On Monday, Patil, Maharashtra Home Minister said, “The police did the right thing. Those who take the law in their hands, will be dealt with in the same way.”

“That boy could have been overpowered. They could have just targeted his hand to remove the revolver, there was no reason to shoot him,” said Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Bihar.

Lalu Prasad Yadav demanded the arrest of Raj Thackeray. “It’s a brutal murder; we haven’t seen the man shoot at anyone,” he said, adding “people like Bal Thackeray, Raj Thackeray should be tried for treason.”

“Bihari leaders should ask themselves why people from their state have to migrate to Mumbai to make a living,” Uddhav said.

Rahul Raj had gone to Mumbai looking for a job like many others from his state. He had recently completed a diploma in radiology and wanted to pursue a decent career. He was the eldest of three children.

In the cacophony of ugly sound bytes from various quarters, it is lost on the world that the life of a 23 year old has been snatched away. The media and the public at large do not consider this as anything more than getting rid of a menacing mosquito. 

One is reminded of an old Nasruddin Shah movie, “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aatha Hai?” This question leads to another similar question – what made a 23 year old decent looking Rahul Raj so angry that he would threaten to take the bus with its passengers hostage with a country made pistol?

Was it because he had to leave his loved ones in his home town and to go to the city of opportunities more out of dire need than desire? What else does a young man do when the state’s politicians and its mafia give him no other option but to leave his home looking for a future?

Or, was it because he was haunted by the images replayed on TV – over and over again – of  Biharis beaten up and chased by the goons and supporters of Raj Thackeray on the streets of Mumbai? Would he have felt threatened, and imagined his dreams crumble just because he happened to be from Bihar?

One does not know who is more right and more wrong- the Maharashtrian or the Bihari politicians. However, I get the nagging feeling that people like Raj Thackeray will thrive and succeed on the pile of lifeless bodies of people like Rahul. The leader may even become the king maker or the king himself one day.

Sadly, the general public has grown so used to seeing hapless people killed and their homes torched because they belong to a particular community or state. They watch with indifference when people’s lives are extinguished in full public view and hardly anyone raises a finger or an eyelid. They do not realize the bells – now tolling for Rahul Raj, could toll for them next.

An eminent historian – (Edmund Burke?) said, “Society prepares the crime and a criminal commits it.”

In the case of Rahul, the society prepared the crime and the police pulled the trigger killing a potential hero.

And you still ask why Albert Pinto and Rahul Raj got angry, very, very angry?

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Image Credit: Maya Mem

Name is “Nav Nirman” but they don’t do anything constructive and only indulge in destructive activities. MNS activists’ dadagiri on RRB applicants from Bihar is highly condemnable. Raj Thakerays followers in the past have targeted poor migrant labor and hit their stomach and now they targeted innocent unemployed youth. Whole nation condemned these attacks and in parliament too there were hot discussions.

Maharashtra government finally took action on Raj and his followers. Raj dared Desmukh to take action against him and Mr. Chief Minister showed that he has guts. Regionalism should he condemned in all its forms. Not showing resentment to Lalu’s favor to Biharis in Railway recruitment is also equally condemnable.

Raj’s parent party Shiv Sena was born with “Bhumiputra” slogan and graduated to a party which is against minorities and from there became an extreme national party. Old habits die hard – Raj is repeating Bal Thakeray’s early days tactics. To progress politically you don’t have to shed basic human values and become a beast in society. How do you explain an innocent student from Bihar chased and beaten to death? Just for the reason of coming to Mumbai to give an exam?

Right from 2003 Raj Thakeray is acting according to a plan. After being denied the president ship of Shivsena and the chance to become successor of Bal Thakery, he started Nav nirman sena, took Shiv Senas principles and even sharpened them before implementing. If Uddhav raised the slogan of ‘Mumbaikar’, Raj went ahead and started targeting all non Mumbaiates. Targeting Taxi Drivers, controversies on Chat Puja, enforcing all shops to write name boards in Marathi, harassing Bacchans etc..

This is the agenda of Nav Nirman Sena.

Though High court has admonished the Congress-NCP government for not containing Raj Thakeray, the government till couple of days back was happy being a spectator to the Raj Show.

Vilas Rao has his own Agenda.

With the elections not so far and a possibility of a hung assembly, he needs support of Nav Nirman Sena. Even UPA govt which reacted seriously on Karnataka and Orissa Govt’s for attacks on Christians kept quiet all these months and finally had to give in to the pressure of the nation.

When narrow-minded politics are preventing people from enjoying the basic rights of right to live, work and travel in a sovereign country, what are these courts and Governments for?

I believe that Raj should not be let off so easily and should be taken from court to court where he has cases pending on him and damages done to the public property should be collected from MNS activists. What crime have the city buses and Autos in Mumbai committed? Have they not transported the kith and kin of the demonstrators to their destinations? I really don’t understand the stupidity of MNS activists and at times feel pity for them.

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