Tuesday, December 02, 2008 

It's Hip to be Hypocritical

Travelling around the country gives you a window into disparate viewpoints. Train journeys were the best: they afforded the opportunity to get into the viewpoints over an extended period.  While flights are inherently much more snobbish, random snatches of conversation between fellow travelers are still very interesting, since the babudom mostly pretty much insulates me from overtly political viewpoints.

And here, lads and lasses, intellectuals and pack-asses, is mine own struck-by- the-blindingly-obvious conclusion : there ain’t nothing like a good disaster for us to come slavering to the carrion. So this post merely details what was left unsaid by this good babu to the people of Bharat that is India, over the past week or so.

#1 These bastid terrorists! Killing innocents! Targeting foreigners!

 “… eight tracksuit-clad Black September members carrying duffel bags loaded with AK-47 assault rifles, Tokarev pistols, and grenades scaled a two-meter chain-link fence”.

26 years ago.

No, we called them freedom fighters then, they were not targeting us. What was that about sowing a wind ?

#2 Everything about the Pakis rings false. Even their denials are so wishy-washy.

“… when he first heard of these events, the official spokesman of the Ministry for External Affairs said: "The act resulting in this tragedy was senseless and condemnable. It remains so, whatever the disappointments and frustration leading to it. There is no justification for dragging terrorism into the arena of sports. India's support for the Arab cause is well known, as we believe that justice is on their side.”

#3 I bet “they” bloody enjoy it inwardly, regardless of what you hear about them criticizing it in public.

“"Bajrangi: It was a huge pit… You could enter it from one side but you couldn't climb out at the other end… They were all there together…They started clinging to each other… Even while they were dying, they told each other, you die too, … so the number of deaths increased.… There were bodies everywhere… it was a sight to be seen, but it wasn't something to be filmed, in case it got into someone's hands… There was a video-wala there, some mediawala, we set him on fire too…"

Q:How do you feel after you have killed …
Bajrangi: Maza aata hai na, saheb [I enjoy it]… I came back after I killed them then, called up the home minister and went to sleep… I felt like Rana Pratap, that I had done something like Maharana Pratap…I'd heard stories about him, but that day I did what he did myself."

Before you go to town about virgin-dreaming brainwashed terrorists ...here is our home-grown article.

 #4 Having the BJP in power/something draconian like POTA will automatically reduce the terrorism.

 Like having a rabid dog loose might help in combating stray dog menace. Till he bites you, that is. Akshardham. Parliament House. Yawn. IC 814. In fact, to stretch things back, guess who was part of the ruling coalition when somebody exchanged terrorists for darling daughter Rubiya ? Right. As far as POTA goes, its like saying the death penalty reduces crime. It is actually worse, since the death penalty occasionally is used for criminals. POTA has the record of having only ever being misused. BTW, seen Modi’s record in preventing blasts in his state ?

 #5 Goddam the media ! Politicos, insensitive bloody vultures! Empty bombast!

 Err…Everybody has an agenda. Some like Modi were obvious. Some like the Bharti/Indian ad was underplayed, just right.  Whereas this lady, with her howls of “ We won’t stand by. We will fight. Politicians get lost” etc merely made a lot of noise. What do you intend to do, ma’am ? I have so many snide remarks to make, I feel positively Gandhian at not making them. For the record, sir, I support you.

BTW, all those howls about the Taj … a driver in Mumbai summed it up best. “saala koi bhi CST mein marne waalon ko nahiin poocha. Local party thi toh kya ?  unka khoon khoon, hamara khoon coca-cola ?”

#6 Hell. If only this was phoren, it wouldn’t have happened.

Be clear. Your reactions will get better. Your intelligence will need to get a lot, lot, better. There ain’t any way this could have been prevented by policing, however. Read what every security expert the world over says.

#7 This is a national shame. It’s the single biggest thing to have ever hit India.

Uhuh. It is the most publicized, maybe. Single biggest shame ? Check these out, as easily googled.

#  “My appeals to the policemen who were standing nearby and watching only resulted in further beating. At one point the nun slipped away to plead with the police for help but she was dragged back by the mob and her blouse torn,” he said. The nun was gang raped in a nearby building, and he was doused with kerosene by the mob, which threatened to set him on fire.”

#   “With cans of petrol they went round the localities and systematically set fire to Sikh houses, shops and gurudwaras. We were told by the local eye witnesses in all the area we visited, that well know Congress (I) leaders and workers (their names are to be found in Annexure-I) led and directed the arsonists and that local cadres of the Congress (I) identified the Sikh houses and shops. “

#  The taxi drivers say they are being targeted for being northerners.

“We have to ply taxis and get the beatings to fill our stomachs,” says taxi driver Ashok Kumar. Another taxi driver, Anil Kumar, adds, “We haven't come 1500 km to fight with anyone.”

Apart from 100 other such instances.

Seller V, people. The good thing is, that though IPL and such like will get cancelled, there is always Bigg Bossss 2 or something to divert us. Scusez while I head for the remote.