The kind of support SRK has drummed up in the last few days is not exactly to his credit. What his supporters have failed to appreciate is that what he said was absolutely inadvertent and at the spur of the moment. After having said this when Shiv Sena picked up those lines there was no way he could've retracted his statement without losing a lot of face not just in the country but abroad as well. And losing face means losing money as his movie My name is Khan is due for release shortly, which is anathema to a businessman like him. Pertinent to mention that Shahrukh's Red Chillies Entertainment is also involved in this movie. Secondly, if he really wanted Pakistani players to play in IPL he would've bid for them in the auction but he didn't.

The question here is not just Dr Pachauri or even his ill gotten wealth. The question is of correctness of data. The question is - Whether Copenhagen was a waste of time and money by govts all around the world? The question is - Is the rate at which we are currently emitting and polluting our environment still increase the global temperatures by three degrees by 2050? The question is - Does Maldives and other such small island nations which were considered as being doomed because of melting of glaciers still vulnerable? The question is- How will this 'error' affect the market of climate change especially the rates of carbon credits? Well, those are the question which IPCC needs to answer. Surely, if the planet is not as vulnerable as was being made out rates for carbon credits will nose dive though Indian companies which were making a lot of money through this will suffer. But still we do need answers for these questions.

The kind of punishment Afridi has got which is just a ban for two matches I feel ICC has let him off pretty lightly. And I'm not alone who feels that way. Even Inzamam ul Haq has also said the same thing. If ICC really wants to curb this practice they should've been more strict. At the moment this punishment is like ICC is telling Afridi that he was stupid to do it so openly and get caught. Probably they mean that he should be careful when he does this next time. By the way, does this light sentence have anything to do with the match referee being a Sri Lankan, namely Ranjan Madugalle? After all it's case of a non white player.

We all love expressing 'concerns'. Our Congress govt too loves to express 'concern'. The Australian High Commissioner to India has also expressed his 'concern'. The Aussie PM Kevin Rudd has also done the same. Tell you what, I give a rat's ass to these concerns. It doesn't mean a damn thing. Do you know why? It's because the Aussies do not agree that they were racist attacks. They call it 'opportunistic' attacks. My bloody foot! When you have petrol bombs thrown at your home you got to be an absolute moron to call it 'opportunistic attack'. And what about more than 500 attacks which have taken place in Australia in the last few years out of which more than 100 have been in the last one year alone? Were they all 'opportunistic attacks'? Bullshit. May be a few could have been routine robberies or muggings but most of them were plain racist. The pattern is there for all to see. And by the way, a recent survey by BBC says that Aussies have been rated as the most sinful country in the developed world. They have been ranked first overall in a study of the seven deadly sins - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. They are in top ten in six and first in, you got it, envy. These attacks are a reflection of this very sin which these guys are very good at.

Like the last year this year too Padma awards have once again stirred a hornet's nest when the name of Sant Chatwal was included in the list of awardees for Padma Bhushan. Be that as it may group of people who have not been included in this list are the scientists of ISRO who helped discover water on the moon and were part of the Chandrayaan team. But do you know why? Because there is some directive from the govt which says that anyone associated with the govt itself cannot be given this award. And ISRO is govt for sure. Can you guys believe it? A hotelier charged with fraud and tax evasion can be given this award but not our scientists. Pertinent to mention that two govt officials Anil Kakodkar and G Madhavan Nair were indeed given this award while in service but for that special sanction was accorded for this purpose. No such luck for the Chandrayaan team though. Another teeny weeny information on this issue is that the doctor who operated on the PM has been given one of these awards and so has been Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for science, after he has won the Nobel Prize though. As you can see those Nobel guys are better at judging our people than our own govt.

The Sri Lankan election results don’t really change anything for the Tamils 300,000 of whom are still languishing in camps. Rajapakse has been non committal on the specifics of future course on this issue though he does keep making politically correct statements like rehabilitation of Tamils is being done on priority and that he will continue to do so. But will anything really change for the these people now that he has won the elections? Quite unlikely. If he didn’t do it in the run upto the elections based on which he could’ve sought their votes it would be rather stupid for anyone to expect him to do so now when he doesn’t really need their support. Well, to be candid, he didn’t really need their support before the elections either as the results have proved beyond doubt whose support is actually required to come to office. And it’s not Tamils.

Sometime back when I met a Chinese immigrant settled in Austria I asked him if he supported one party rule in his country. He replied that he sure did. "How else do you control 1.3 billion people?", he added. Good point for sure. But he had no answer when I asked him if he indeed supported his country's system of governance why did he have to migrate. To some of us the two issues may not be related to each other. One is about the country as such and the second is about personal growth. And this implies that for some of us the country as such may be okay but it does not really provide ample opportunities for personal growth and satisfaction, however ridiculous it may sound.

Though they keep saying that politics should not be mixed with sports but we all know better than that. On most occasions politics dictates sports in our country. And it is politics of 26/11 terror attacks that has forced the govt to direct the bosses of IPL not to pick Pakistani players. Had that not been the case and there was indeed an issue of security of Pakistani players, as brought out by franchisees, IPL should not have included their names in the list of players to be auctioned. In any case security of players was the problem of security forces and not the franchisees. By saying that there were problems on this score are these people implying that our security apparatus was not good enough for these players? Also, may I remind them that attack on international cricketers took place in Pakistan not in India. As you can see the reasons given by them can only be termed as flimsy at best.

I wish to categorically state that lack of response from Indian govt has shown our country in a very poor light, to put it very mildly. In my view it shows what kind of people we are. While we expect the world to listen to us on issues ranging from terrorism to climate change to what have you we are incapable of doing our bit for the poorest people on this planet and are therefore unqualified for any kind of recognition. In light of this lackadaisical and disturbing behavior of the Indian govt quite rightfully the world in general does not support our demands for a permanent seat in the UN. Permanent seat in the UN? My left bloody foot!!!!!!!!!!!

The basic difference between India and Pakistan is not religion alone. The basic difference is the perception of identities of it's citizens of these two countires by these very people. When Indians talk of Pakistanis they are actually referring to Pakistanis only and not Muslims whereas when Pakis talk of Indians they imply Hindus. That's the basic difference between the people of the two countries. More often than not during debates on TV channels we see the Paki speakers invariably switch from talking about Indo-Pak relations to Hindu-Muslim relationship or lack thereof. By extension since Islam is so deeply ingrained in their psyche they see the problem as being a Hindus versus Pakistan issue whereas this is not the case. As a result there is no meeting ground for the two of us.

Shah Rukh Khan may be very sympathetic towards our hockey team but this is not a movie running here. This is real life. And in real life SRK's own team of Kolkata Knight Riders is down in the dumps. In fact they themselves could do with some sympathies. So don't really expect him or his sympathies to achieve much except some headlines. As for the world cup, be thankful if our team manages to win just a few matches. Anything more is a bonus. The cup itself will be nothing less than a miracle.

The second flavor of this season after 3 Idiots is for sure Shashi Tharoor. The man is in a class of his own. And it is not cattle class but a classwhich is much above the national class where you and me alongwith our media live and thrive. The man has got it all. He's wealthy. He's well educated and he has a mind of his own. As is obvious his credentials are absolutely impeccable but the factor which really sets him apart is his command over English language. It's actually a treat to listen to a minister in the Indian govt speaking in such fluent English. Unfortunately, it is this command over English language which has put him in a thick soup time and again.

Unlike the main protagonist of the movie Rancho and Hari (in the book) you cannot really succeed in life without being cunning. You have to have a bit of everything. Calibre as well as cunningness. In a way you have to be like the character of Chatur in the movie who was shown as a meritorious and hardworking student who could not see someone else succeed at his cost. Chetan Bhagat is exactly like him. Like in the movie Chatur does everything possible to succeed and be recognized at the same time Chetan too has ensured that his name will always be associated with 3 Idiots for good or bad for all times to come courtesy this smart controversy created by him. Rest assured that his next book will be sold at a much higher price than the stupid ten lakhs that he got for this one.

No decision taken is a decision in itself. As you would be aware, those words are associated with our former PM PV Narasimha Rao. And these words ring so true for the demolition of Babri Masjid. He decided not to do anything to prevent the demolition not because he was unaware or he was too weak to do anything but because he actually wanted the structure to come down for the sake of Congress more than anything else. He knew that once the structure is gone BJP may seem to be victorious in the short term but eventually they would loose, as we have seen since then. It is for this reason that I say that BJP should not have demolished Babri Masjid. Not because it was incorrect to do so, which it was, but because once the masjid came down they lost a major rallying point on which they could swing public opinion in their favor. With the masjid now gone they do not really have anything which they can use for this purpose. Narasimha Rao saw this while he was 'daydreaming' as correctly put by the Liberhan Commission, but in the wrong context.

Twenty ten sounds so much better than two thousand and nine. Thank god for small mercies. But while all the newspapers and television channels gloss over the year gone by very few have spoken about the challenges that lie ahead of us. Apart from recapitulating the happenings of 2009 I feel it would be in order to take stock of things as they are today and prepare ourselves for the challenges that face the world. Let's check out the three major issues one by one.

At an ideological level, in recent times Christians don't kill Christians, Hindus don't kill Hindus, Sikhs don't kill Sikhs and Jews don't kill Jews. They may have many ideological differences amongst themselves but they generally do not launch a kind of war on others from their own faiths. Sadly, this is not the case with Islam wherein scores of Muslims are murdered by other Muslims on a daily basis. At the second level you find the Muslims also to be on a warpath with Christians, Jews and Hindus too. Both these struggles have rendered the religion not only weak but also evolutionary bankrupt. There was a time when Islamic civilizations of the Middle East were far ahead of the Western empires of the time. That was the time when the very best in scientific and philosophical works were produced by Muslim thinkers. More tolerance for different religious beliefs could be found in Muslim lands than just about anywhere else on this planet. Just look around now and you'll see that exactly the opposite is true. No creative inventions, works or research can be found forthcoming from Muslim lands. Creativity is being stifled if not being killed.

If you really see both these recommendations are contrary to each other. On one hand you say that we should grant them autonomy and on the other you say that a referendum should be held in J&K to decide if and when Article 370 should be removed. I mean whom are you kidding? Autonomy is nothing but an extension of Article 370 itself. By giving autonomy, the resolution of NC clearly implies that, Kashmir would be "affiliated" to India for only defense, currency, foreign affairs and communication. In other words they would have all other powers like stipulating laws, having a separate flag, their own anthem, citizenship and property rights etc etc. Please note that they already have most of these powers by way of Article 370. Autonomy will only make the state govt more powerful on this score, something like 'state within a state'. If you grant them autonomy Article 370 would as it is become redundant in the state. They would enact their own more stringent laws wherein they may deny even Kashmiri pundits their right to own property in the valley. And the govt at the center would not be able to do anything in the matter. So what referendum are we talking about?

The appointment of Nitin Gadkari as president of BJP shows that if we were all looking for a change in the party the appointment of Gadkari does not seem to be that change. For those of us who were indeed looking for a change in BJP ideology with another RSS man at the helm of it's affairs I really wonder how different can he be from the rest. What BJP required was to associate themselves with the middle class of India who is more secular and for whom RSS does not mean a thing. Frankly with another RSS man as president I don't really see that happening. Also, for those who say RSS interference in internal affairs of BJP should be minimum it is again very difficult for me to visualize Gadkari doing anything which RSS does not approve of. Another related and a very important issue is the discrimination of members of the party based on their association with RSS or rather lack of it, as we saw during the Jaswant Singh episode when he was sacked but Arun Shourie who openly challenged the BJP leadership on numerous occasions, was not. Quite possibly because Jaswant Singh had nothing to do with RSS whereas Shourie has everything to do with it. And to expect an RSS man who is new to the chair to correct this wrong would be rather naive on our part.

What stupid laws we have in our country! Laws which are broken by the very people who are supposed to protect it. And the stupid law keeps watching helplessly. Actually, it doesn't even watch because it's bloody blind. And deaf, mute and crippled as well. If you have such a crippled law to deliver justice, what else can you expect? No wonder the darn thing took nineteen years to deliver, a warped sentence, I might add. Fact is that the law itself is warped as far as molestation of kids is concerned. Under the present laws a person can be sentenced to a maximum of two years for molestation. It does not specify anything about molestation of a child. Or probably, magistrate Sidhu thought that two years is meant for molestation of a full grown woman and therefore by an extension for a child six months of sentence is enough.

Americans, on their part have been very cagey about Headley from the very beginning when in August this year reports first started coming in of his arrest. They initially linked him only to a plot to kill a Danish cartoonist. Later on there were reports of Headley's links to LeT. Later still, they said that he was an agent of DEA (US agency which fights the drug menace) but now it has become amply clear that not only was he involved in planning and execution of 26/11 attacks he was also on the payroll of CIA. Another very important reason why I'm getting increasingly convinced about US knowing much more about 26/11 than what they told us is the fact that our team which went to US to meet Headley in connection with his involvement in 26/11 attacks was not allowed to do so even as he was being charged for the same offence which was committed here in India. If this is not bizarre I really wonder what is?

Make no mistake, India is the one who could have shown the way to the developed and developing world but we failed, miserably. On the face of it some of you may say that I'm exaggerating but take a closer look and you'll see that I'm not. Had India not joined hands with China this deal would've been a legally binding one for the all countries of this world. Had we done so, South Africa and Brazil, the other two countries because of whom this deal became non binding, would've reconsidered their decision leaving China absolutely alone in this world. Had it reached that stage who knows China would have agreed, albeit reluctantly. But we did not do so. What's worse is that our own media is gloating over the fact that we made good friends with Chinese on this issue. While there is nothing wrong in having good relations with China, if our aim was to do just that we should have gone to Beijing not Copenhagen. In Copenhagen our first priority was to save this planet which we did not fulfill when we joined hands with China to make this deal non binding. Good friends with China on this issue? My left foot. Its more like partners in crime.

The disease of trying to malign the victims in cases of rape is actually nothing new. We have seen this crap in so many Bollywood potboilers like Damini etc. And politicians from Goa are pretty good at it. Even in the case of Scarlett Keeling who was murdered in the city politicians tried to paint her mother as a characterless woman who did not take care of her child as a result of which she was raped and murdered. Whether the rapes are part of a plan by a section of Goans to limit the influence of foreigners in Goa or not may not be very clear as of now but I sure have very serious doubts that it is. Well if it is, I must say that this is a very poor plan. Not only is this criminal but it can also backfire. Imagine if Russians strike back at Indian women in Goa themselves or pay other criminals to do this dirty job for them. Like I said, it's a very poor plan. As it is the Goan govt itself feels that Goa is fast becoming the rape capital of the country.

As you can see things in the valley are still pretty bad. The violence levels may have come down but the people of Kashmir still have very little faith in the establishment. It is this lack of faith which is used by Hurriyat and parties like PDP to exploit any given situation to their advantage using innocent civilians as the rallying point. Omar would do well to ensure that his govt undertakes this as their main agenda for governance. He needs to transcend his sincerity into action for the people to see for themselves. Sincerity alone does not really count for much.

The climate may indeed be changing pretty fast but the environment is not. It's still the white man's world like it has been for the past so many centuries gone by, notwithstanding the fact that Barrack Obama has become the president of US. With regard to climate change they might say that they do want to contribute to the world but neither do they want it to be at their expense nor do they want to compensate others for the damage they have done so far and continue to do so. In fact, they want us to develop at a slower rate than we are doing right now. Karl Falkenberg, director general of environment of European Union has said in Copenhagen, "It is important for developing countries to keep on growing but the future growth should not be the same as had happened so far". He goes on to add, "They should use technology to leap frog to a sustainable and non carbon growth".

The entire problem has to be considered holistically. There is no denying the fact that there may be a case of genuine requirement of creating a few more smaller states. You cannot just brush away every other demand with one stroke while you accede to one. Or is it just first come first served basis? I know it sounds crazy but the way Pranab Mukherjee has dismissed the other demands sounds like it is. By saying that this was a very old demand also does not justify this action. I mean, are we deciding this issue based on it's past history or whether it is being done based on the present situation in those regions? It's something like a class teacher openly displaying favoritism towards one student while telling the others to shut up. You can see for yourself how ridiculous the whole things sounds.

The problem is both ways. There are sections within both Muslims and Christians who openly denounce the other. It is just that that some of these are played up by the media and some are not. Like for example the protests against Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammad were flashed all around the world by the media while Pope Benedict's lecture at Regensburg in Sep 2006 where he deplored Islam was not. Possibly because international media houses are predominantly controlled by Christians and they can choose what to play up and what to play down.

Carving out this state itself may not be that big an issue as that of Hyderabad which is well within the Telangana region and is currently the capital of Andhra Pradesh. There is no way that you can make the state of Telengana with Hyderabad continuing to be a part of 'new' Andhra Pradesh. There may be a few other options also available for this purpose but there are pros and cons with each. For one, Hyderabad may continue to a capital of both Telengana and 'new' Andhra like Chandigarh is for Haryana and Punjab. Unfortunately, like I said, it is well within Telengana region and therefore may not be contiguous to 'new' Andhra.

Our judiciary has a new profession these days. They are now also in the business of giving whole new meanings to English proverbs andimprovising some of them as well. They started off with improvising proverbs like Holier Than Thou to Holiest Than Thou on the issue of assets declaration by judges. The latest from their stables is the new improvised form of proverb Justice Delayed is Justice Denied which now reads something like Chief Justice Delayed is Chief Justice Denied in Chief Justice Dinakaran's case.

There is little doubt about the fact that India's rise to the number one slot in test matches has not gone down well with a lot of people, particularly the British and Australians. While you can understand the anger of some Australians towards our ranking it is completely baffling to see the British going overboard on this issue. Their own team is languishing at number five spot and have no hope in hell to reach the number one position, at least for the next few years. So why this brouhaha over India becoming the number one test playing nation? Probably because they still consider themselves as the sole custodians of international cricket on this planet. Or is there something more to it?

If you really think about it, Mike Tyson may be a better human being than Tiger Woods. At least he doesn't pretend to be good. He is what he is and we all know it unlike Tiger who pretended to be holier than thou but is actually not. Who would have thought that beneath that cool and calm exterior is a psychotic womanizer. Who would have thought that the person whom we all thought was a thorough gentleman was anything but a gentleman. He may be doing all kinds of charities but having a moral character yourself is more important than doing charitable work.

When John McCain questioned Robert Gates and Mike Mullen about the date of troop withdrawal given out by Obama as being Jul 11 he was told that the administration would review the situation in Dec 10 and then take a final call. That's rather understandable but in that case why give out this date of withdrawal at all? And that's the first flaw with his strategy. Once you have given these dates Taliban may play a waiting game thereby giving a false picture to the decision making authorities, NATO. As things stand today, they are nowhere close to winning that war. And then to expect them to turn things around to an extent to enable them to start pulling out in just eighteen months is rather naive. Actually, they don't even have eighteen months to achieve that. It's more like seven or eight months because the entire lot of 30,000 troops which Obama announced will only reach Afghanistan by May 10 and the decision will be taken in Dec 10. To expect things to go from what they are right now wherein they need more troops to thinking of pulling out in this short a period is crazy, even for laypersons like you and me. Even if you go by what Gen McChrystal had said wherein he demanded 40,000 more troops and that too without any time line of eighteen months to begin withdrawal goes to show that either Obama's generals are not exactly in sync with him or worse, Obama himself is not in sync with his generals in Afghanistan.

We all believe in coincidences in our lives. Some more and some less. Sometimes you bump into acquaintances in the markets or sometimes you even come across some distant relative of yours while you are enjoying yourself in the malls. Those are the occasions when you are like- What the hell!! These things happen with everyone and they are rather normal. But sometimes they go beyond the normal. When you have too many coincidences one after the other it is but natural for us to reflect if they were just coincidences or is there a message behind them. This is exactly what happened with me in the last few weeks or so. And they are all related to my blogging experience.

"The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your Country come first, always and every time. The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the Men you command come next. Your Own ease, Comfort and Safety come last, always and every time." This is not just a sentimental quote but the ethos on which the army actually works. These are words which define the moral fabric of our army. And these are words which drive our officers to achieve what they do when facing the enemy. Unfortunately, when some senior lot reach the level of being a General and when they have long been detached from actual soldiering on ground do we see such scams. This is the lot which over the long period of thirty odd years of their service have forgotten what they learnt in their academy.

"A section of senior police officers refused to be on the ground and take on the terrorists. By doing so they chose to ignore the need of the hour. Yes there was a dearth of eagerness on the part of a handful of senior officers to be on the ground during those days." These are the words from the horse's mouth, Hassan Gafoor who was the Commissioner of Police during 26/11. Here's some more. "K.L. Prasad refused to come to the Trident and then decided against hitting the roads. Deven Bharti, K. Venkatesham and Parambir Singh did not appear keen on responding to the situation." Here's yet another disclosure. "I attended a meeting with the DGP and home minister. I was told to withdraw the NSG and instead use the Mumbai Police for the ongoing operations."

Gatecrashing is an art or rather a scientific art. Scientific because there are rules for gatecrashing like in science and it's an art because there is definitely a human element to it which one needs to perfect. Oh yes, I would know. I've done it a couple of times. A piece of cake actually if you go by the rules. I know I have this image of a very simple housewife and a blogger but I've had my bit of fun in life. And that's what it was, pure fun.

Smita- Hey Pops! I'm leavin'. Bal Thakeray (BT)- What! You haven't even made my khichdi yet. You can't leave. Smita- I don't care about your khichdi anymore. I'm leavin'. BT- OK OK! Never mind. I'll tell Raj to make it. He's actually very good at making khichdi. See the way he has made a khichdi out of Marathi Manoos. Do you know I taught him that? Smita- I wish you had taught Udhav also the same thing. BT- I thought you were leaving. Smita- I am. BT- While on your way back get 250 gms dahi for my raita.

Fact is that there indeed seems to be a concerted effort from many western quarters to shape people's opinion here in India as far as 26/11 is concerned. And Indian Express and Times of India seem to be working on their agenda. Remember the article by Pierre Lavalle published in Times of India on 22nd Nov 09 which I spoke of in the post titled Pardon 26/11? Is there some kind of a coordinated campaign going on by these people or is it because of a exchange of money and favors? I can't say for now but if we keep seeing these kind of write ups you and I will know for sure.

When 9/11 happened America converted this crisis into an opportunity. They ensured that another 9/11 does not happen again on their territory and they have succeeded. They did not let 9/11 just become history before they dealt with their present. Can we, as Indians let 26/11 just become history without dealing with our present? The question is for all Indians to answer for. And I'm not talking about candle light vigils or some such stuff here.

To my mind there is only one solution to the current traffic chaos of the city: Outsource the darn thing. Yes, that's right. Give traffic monitoring and marshaling to a private firm. Let them install cameras at every crossing which should be manned by at least three to four people. Whatever fines they collect can be their revenue. There will be some arguments between the commuters and these traffic marshals, in which case the camera recordings will come in handy. Let traffic marshals be deployed even at bus stops who can monitor the number of people boarding and traveling in any particular bus. Let these guys also be responsible for marking and putting up traffic signs in the city. Ads on these sign boards can be a means of earnings for these people.

Justice Liberhan is a very wise and a mature man. He knew very well the implications of this report. He knew that this report has the potential to create a chaos in the country which can result in lot of bloodshed. And therefore he has said what he had to say but he did it in a manner that while he brought out what all of us already know he has managed to keep it as vague as possible. Yes, he has named Vajpayee and Advani in this report but if you go beyond the obvious there isn't really much. And there is a very deep thought behind this. Can you imagine the chaos in the country if he were to say that Vajpayee, Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi or even Uma Bharti were involved in planning for this demolition? Can you imagine what would've happened in this country if based on this report criminal cases were to be initiated against these people? Just to point out that Barkha Dutt yesterday said on NDTV that she had gone through this leaked report and there was nothing on which you could file a criminal case. And for a change, I believe her.

If you go by a poll conducted in Pakistan, despite the kind of 'investment' Obama has done in Pakistan, America is still perceived as the number one enemy in that country. Let me tell you for a fact that this will not change for at least the next few generations. If that be the case is there any assurance that the govt in Pakistan will keep overlooking the general public opinion? Remember, how the strong public opinion forced even a president like Musharraf to quit? Actually Obama can thank the fundamentalist parties in Pakistan who have not yet whipped up this very strong emotion prevalent amongst the populace of that country. But things can change very fast in case they actually do.

"Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation." And "The longing for vengeance is like craving for poison." These lines are from an article written by Pierre Lavalle, a Canadian therapist, published in Times of India dated 22 Nov 09. He goes on to say that though it is very difficult for us but we should try and forgive those who carried out these terror attacks in Mumbai last year. Well, it had to come to this someday but it is rather surprising that Times of India published this article within just about an year of the most horrific terrorist attack on our soil. The call first got diluted from an all out war against Pakistan to just action against perpetrators of 26/11, then it got further watered down when Pak govt let go of one perpetrator after another while at the same time giving lip service of all possible help against terrorists even as our govt watched it helplessly and now sections of media within our own country are telling us that we should move on and forgive those murderers altogether, albeit on the prodding of westerners.

As for that article itself, its not so much about Palin as it is about Obama. In any case the language they've used is beyond the comprehension of Sarah Palin or her translators. It is now pretty clear why she has not taken exception to the article or the title even as she has objected to this picture. Well, I have one more theory about this article. May be this was sponsored by Palin herself along with her publisher Harper Collins in order to promote her book GOING ROGUE. Newsweek on its part 'obliged' her but chose what to write (after all they have a reputation to protect) and which picture to use. Palin cannot really take exception to all of it because its working. Even her exception to the cover photo has helped generate sales. And her book is selling like hot cakes. Remember, she has a mischievous streak and has gone rogue too, in her own words?

What we saw yesterday in Delhi was display of democracy at its worst. First the govt comes out with a ridiculous ordinance which is against sugarcane farmers and pro mill owners. Then the opposition gets together to organize a farmer's protest wherein the entire city is held to ransom and monuments vandalized while the police just looks on. The parliament too is not allowed to start its session by the opposition and then by evening the govt bows to the demands and says that they will do what's best for the farmers. Is this the way a democracy supposed to function? Well, If this is indeed democracy I don't want it. Give me communism for all I care but not this. Here are some naked truths which led to this sorry episode.

Given the rate at which Barrack Obama is bowing in front of monarchs I'm really sacred about his back. First to the Saudi King and now to Emperor Akihito. I hope he has consulted his doctors while indulging in this back breaking exercise. I mean we can't really have an American President with a broken back. Can we? His planners too have to be really careful so as not to include more than one meeting with a monarch in one visit. I mean one BOW is okay but BOW BOW is bad and BOW BOW BOW is disaster. It also conveys a very different meaning which I'm sure Obama would not like. Nonetheless by now Obama has actually perfected this 'art'. So much so that he can now do it better than the Japanese. A perfect perpendicular BOW because of which Emperor Akihito could possibly read the label stitched at the back of Obama's collar. But do you guys know why Obama keeps doing a BOW so often? That's because he is Barrack Obama and Wife. That's the real reason. Well, alright I admit. That's a stupid joke. Just the same I wonder how Michelle Obama feels when she watches her husband doing all that bowing, one after the other. Thankfully for him there's one monarch less in this world for him to bow to, Nepal.

Its not a question of if that happens but more of a question of when that happens. It will pave the way for establishment of a Muslim fundamentalist hub right here in the heart of India, bordering Delhi. What do you think happens when a whole lot of poor people from one community come to live together under not only one political but physical space as well? They are the breeding grounds of all kinds illegal and anti national activities.

Bal Thakeray had to do what he did. There was just no option left for him. His own protege Raj Thakeray was running away with his Marathi Manoos agenda. And it was working for Raj like the way it originally worked for Bal Thakeray with the result that Raj was being talked about as the new Bal Thakeray. How could he allow another Bal Thakeray to take his place in his own lifetime? Also, he was getting increasingly desperate what with his own son whom he chose over the more popular Raj proving to be quite a dud as far as taking control of the Sena and its future was concerned. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong occasion and the wrong person to reinvent his own ideology. Sachin Tendulkar was the wrong person to be picked for this exercise. Not only is he a thoroughbred gentleman but he's also an absolutely non political icon whom the entire country adores. But it was not to be. In his exuberance to make amends for wrongs of the last few years when he allowed Raj Thakeray and his MNS to hijack his own agenda Bal Thakeray has shot himself in his own foot. Sachin may have said those few words as a proud Indian but they have triggered a sequence of events which have some far reaching implications. Here are some of them.

I was so horribly wrong when I wrote this post on Cash for Votes scam in our parliament and the sting operation conducted by CNN IBN Rajdeep Sardesai is for sale!! in Nov 08. Its not just him who is up for sale most of the news channels and newspapers are up for sale too. Rajdeep Sardesai did nothing which is not done by the media houses. And I'm not talking about a stake sale in their respective companies. I'm talking about the news content which they carry. Yes, it has been proved beyond doubt now that indeed they do sell their space for money. As luck would have it there were quite a few elections in 2009. First it was the Lok Sabha polls and then state assembly elections in not one but four states. Not too forget many other sources like numerous movie releases, book launches etc etc. And they are all sources of good unaccountable money for our media houses.

Whether the promise of work by Madhur Bhandarkar impinged upon the freedom/willingness to have sex on the part of Preeti Jain is a question which needs to be answered. Another question which she needs to answer is whether she liked what she did with him or not? In other words whether she enjoyed the whole activity or not? I know I'm being very crass here but these are relevant questions. And I'm pretty sure she would not have done it sixteen times with him if she did not like it. Fact is that all this technical stuff is rather misleading. It can confuse the hell out of not just us but judges, lawyers and linguistic experts as well. What is in fact not confusing is the fact that she was just 'using' her body to get work in return.

Red is fast getting out of fashion. If you don't believe me ask CPM or whatever is LEFT of it. The writing on the wall of Writer's Building is rather clear and unambiguous. Left has to go in 2011. If you believe Mamata Bannerjee "It is bhictary for the peepul, by the peepul and for the peepul". Yeah, it was all that and more. But I was kind of hoping Mamata would use some different words. Anyways, this bhictary has once again reinforced our belief that Left has indeed failed both, the state as well as it's peepul.

Kamleshwar, the late Hindi writer and commentator once said," Kitne Pakistan". How many Pakistans do we have within India? He was so right. Pakistan is right here inside us, meaning that we are our own worst enemies. Even as we keep hearing of discrimination against people from North East, subjugation of Muslims in Gujarat or other such biases MNS took this enmity to a completely new level when they assaulted Abu Azmi of SP in the legislative assembly for taking his oath in Hindi. The bias itself may not be anything new but the way it came to the fore it was a brutal slap on the faces of all right minded Indians. For me it signifies the beginning of Talibanisation of Maharashtra where you could see them trying to impose their brand of Maharashtra on others.

There are some scenes of movies which remain etched in your memory long after you've seen a movie. They remain in your subconscious mind and come to the fore when you see or read something similar. The cold blooded murder of 13 people at Fort Hood by Major Nidal Hassan reminded me of one such scene from Guns of Navarone where Capt Mallory (Gregory Peck) was shown trying to convince Corporal MIller (David Niven) about the need for change of plans. They were both smoking and arguing with each other about their plans to successfully accomplish their mission. On the face of it there is not much in common in these two situations but if you look beyond the obvious there indeed is.

The so called greats going by the names of Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Harbhajan and few others failed to do justice and once again when Sachin left it was more or less all over. Except for one last deep breath when Praveen Kumar hit a six the Indian challenge had breathed it's last, last night. No, they did not fail by just three runs, it was the god who failed by nineteen runs. Or may be we needed another god. A god of nineteen runs.

Nobody worships his or her motherland like they do for their Gods. I mean you have temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches where you worship your God. But do you have anything like BHARAT MATA KA MANDIR? No, you don't. If you do, it's pooja for your country not of your country. Vande Mataram is just a figure of speech which has propelled patriotic fervor in the hearts of millions of Indians. We don't have to take it literally. Even if you take it literally, does Vande only mean worship? Does it imply the same as worshiping our Gods?

When did you guys last see party MPs cutting across party lines for anything? Let me refresh your memories. It was when they asked for a pay raise for themselves. Well, they have come together again. This time they want Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) allocation to be increased from Rs 2 Crore per year to Rs 10 Crore per year. They say that they can't achieve anything in this paltry amount. It's far too less. I agree.

There are two facets of this issue. The first is that you cannot really expect Karzai to sack the very man who nearly gave the president's chair to him as a gift. The second issue is that once the US and UN had acknowledged the massive fraud which took place earlier they should have endorsed this demand of Dr Abdullah.

If guys who said this believe in Sharia so strongly why don't they impose it first in all the Muslim countries of the world? If their own Muslim brethren don't agree with them then why don't they just shut up or even better, go back to wherever they came from. At least that way the other peace loving Muslims living in UK can live in peace. In the meanwhile they can be thankful to Britain and it's Queen for not throwing them and their ilk into jail for talking crap.

What the Pakistani people and their govt fail to understand is that terror attacks within Pakistan which are killing hundreds day in and day out have got nothing to do with Kashmir or India for that matter. These attacks are however a direct fallout of America-Pak relations or lack thereof. This visit which could have been utilized by Pak to gain more trust and favor with Americans did exactly the opposite forcing Hillary to say

When I read about the Bhubaneshwar- Delhi Rajdhani blockade by Maoists recently I found the whole thing to be quite sinister. It did not make any sense. I mean they stopped the train for over five hours, threatened passengers and drivers and then just let them go in the end, for nothing? What was going on? Some newspapers say that they wanted to demonstrate what they can do but I don't believe it because we already know what they are capable of. It was much later that things started becoming clearer. And it does all add up and it makes perfect sense, for Maoists.

There are three issues which we need to understand as far as spectrum allocation deals are concerned. First is that the country did suffer a huge loss in excess of Rs 60,000 crores in the deals with various companies, a fact which the govt has sadly not even admitted so far. Secondly, someone has to be held responsible for this loss. Thirdly, is there a political angle to this scam? Quite likely there is.

Over the period of last few decades while Naxalism was gaining ground the authorities did not appreciate the kind of challenge this would come to pose. Even the successive central govts while being duly concerned with Kashmir ignored the situation in these areas. During this time not only did Maoists manage to gain ground they also graduated from being an ideology driven groups to someone akin to terrorists. It is only because violence in Kashmir has abated to a very large extent that atrocities of Maoists are now coming into focus.

Well! Well! Well!!! After all the talk of BREAKING INDIA INTO PIECES, hundreds of border 'transgressions', consternation on Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, separate visas to Kashmiris and a host of other provocations, Wen Jiabao now says that they want to have good relations with India. He said this when he met Manmohan Singh in Thailand on the sidelines of ASEAN summit. Damn good. Just what the doctor ordered. But why does my heart tell me not to believe him? Possibly my heart has gone crazy. After all it's the premier of a sovereign nation saying so. Hey, wait a minute. Didn't Hu Jintao (their President) say something similar in June when he met Manmohan Singh in Russia? And most of the provocations which I mentioned have taken place after that? Well, my heart is damn right. We cannot believe Wen Jiabao, Hu Jintao, Mao Mao, Lao Lao or even Ming Ping Chin for that matter.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!!!!!! It was 7 AM Thursday, 22nd October. Election results. Where was the remote? Where did I leave it last night? Holy shit! Aleena was sleeping on the remote. And the damn thing was wet. Aleena had done susu over it. Goddamnit!!!! Can't help it. I wiped it clean and switched on the TV. Dish TV welcomes you!! Bullshit, get lost. Where was Times Now? There it was.

At some point or the other each one of us must have asked these questions to oneself: Is my religion the correct one to follow? Why are there so many religions in this world with each one 'seemingly' out to destroy the others? Which one of these is the best? Why was I born in the religion that I was? If indeed there is one God then why are there so many different faiths which give vastly different interpretations to the truths of life? Why did God let this happen, if there is indeed a God?

I believe the Delhi govt undertook an initiative to urge people not to burst crackers which create a hell of a lot of noise but quite obviously nobody cared about it. Delhiites burst crackers like they do on every Diwali. It's high time Shiela Dixit realized one basic fact. We are Indians. We will not stop burning crackers unless it is made unlawful. We do not understand decent words like 'urging' or 'request'.

Mumbai is surely a city of superstitious people. And they consider 13 as an unlucky number, quite religiously (pun intended). Otherwise how can anyone explain the dismal 45% voting in the city which has nearly 70 lakh registered voters? I mean we are talking about a city which witnessed the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of this country but still does not care about who comes to power in the state. Quite ironic if not ridiculous. It's ironic because I remember watching lakhs of Mumbaikars protesting against the failure of the govt to prevent these attacks but when it came to making a choice they backed out, rather meekly I'd say. Or may be it was just that that they are too superstitious about number 13, holiday or no holiday.

Manish completely surprised me when he produced tickets for matches of T20 Champions League being played at Ferozshah Kotla ground. When I looked at the tickets I was aghast to find that he had spent Rs4500/- for them and I let him have it. On second thoughts I saw reason and apologized to him (Yeah, I'm a pretty decent person alright- HA!! HA!!). After all how many times in your life do you get to see such matches.

They say that Obama was surprised when the award was announced. Let me tell you, he may have been surprised whereas I was aghast when I heard about it. I actually thought it was a joke. And so did most Americans. They say that though Obama did deserve a Nobel but for economics and not for peace- for the way he is leading America and in effect the rest of the world out of recession. The committee got it all wrong. Even Obama's kids don't believe it. They're more concerned about their doggy's b'day(?) than the Nobel. Maybe that's the way it should be.

Consider this. As chairman of Reliance Communications Anil Ambani earned Rs 2.4 crs for the year 2006-07 while the profit of his company was Rs 3163 crs. For 2007-08 his salary jumped to Rs 13.5 crs, a jump of nearly 600%, while the profit for the company increased to Rs 5401 crs. For the year 2008-09 his income went to Rs 30 crs while his company's profit went down (Yes, that's right) to Rs 4800 crs. On the face of it you may say that if the company is making so much money 30 crs is just a fraction of it. So what's the harm? Let him have it. It's his company. But that's the whole point.

The car started, yipee!!!! AC worked, stereo worked and the girls were laughing in the back seat. Thank god for small mercies!!! Hopefully nothing would go wrong now. Phew!! I was really hassled after all the events at home and wanted some peace, which is a rare commodity in my household these days.

Whatever the Mahatma preached was nothing new to start with. Non violence and compassion have always been an integral part of Hinduism. We all grow up learning these values but over a period of time we get so involved in our day to day lives that we forget what we've learnt. They were just rediscovered by him so as to unite us against the British. He managed to shake the conscience of hundreds and thousands of Indians by focusing on those three things- non violence, compassion and equality. And we did become conscious of all these virtues while he was alive. The nationalist fervor that he whipped up created a country out of a colony.

By asking for her pound of flesh in return for being a rubber stamp President Pratibha Patil has indeed set a wrong precedent. No other President has ever done that. They have all been above all this, as they should've been. For Pratibha Patil, well, all I can say is wrong precedent by the wrong President.

P Chidambaram was being very decent when he recently said that Delhiites need to behave themselves. What he actually meant was that most Delhiites are one hell of a crude self centered lot who need to be taught a few lessons in good behaviour. He is dead right. They are indeed all that and more. And most Delhiites don't just need lessons in good behaviour but a few kicks on the backside. As they say- laton ke bhoot baton se nahin mante.

Whenever there is a talk of Narendra Modi, most of us, depending on which side of the political and religious divide we belong to, conjure up two different pictures of him. One is of a person who played a major role during Gujarat riots and the second one is of a leader who is now the guiding force behind the rapid development and modernization of state of Gujarat. There is yet another group of people who have not yet made up their minds as to whether they want to hate him or love him or neither.

Even as the debate rages on about the 'innocent' little tweet of our UN returned Shashi Tharoor I would like to proclaim that it is actually me whom he was referring to. Yes, I'm from 'cattle class'. Me and nearly three hundred million other Indians who travel economy, if and when they travel by air. Unfortunately for Tharoor, it is this 'cattle class' which drives not just the airline in which he travels but more than 70% of the entire Indian economy. And if he feels below his dignity to be associated with this class in any manner he can quit and go back to UN where he came from. A whole lot of tweeters have rallied behind Tharoor and have said that it was just innocent humor. Even our Prime Minister has dismissed it as just a joke. But I'm sorry, I take umbrage to this remark.

While we are on the issue of organizing games in Delhi I would like to mention that the Badminton World Championships which were recently concluded in Hyderabad were initially supposed to be held in Delhi. They were shifted from Delhi to Hyderabad because the stadiums and the rest of the paraphernalia in Delhi was not ready. Mind you, it was Delhi which made a bid for these games and were allocated the same in 2005, much after the allotment of Commonwealth Games which was in 2003. This bid was probably made only because after the CWG games were allotted to us we thought that we should get this World Cup as well because by 2009 everything should be ready for CWG 2010.

Vincent Bugliosi says that if impeachment proceedings can be launched against a sitting president for having a consensual physical relationship with an intern outside his marriage why can't criminal proceedings be initiated against a president who deliberately lied to the country to launch this war which has resulted in deaths of more than a hundred thousand innocent people which include Americans and Iraqi women and children?

Yes, this is a political obituary to LK Advani. His political career is all but over. Just that that he is yet to announce it. After what we saw on TV yesterday and today it is a foregone conclusion. He stands discredited and exposed as a man who has lied to the nation about the hijacking of IC 814 to Kandahar. And now he has no option but to resign not only from his post as leader of opposition in Lok Sabha but from his parliamentary constituency as well.

Had Jaswant Singh published this book before the elections would BJP have reacted in a similar manner? Well, that's one good question, wouldn't you say? Actually, I don't think they would have done this had that been the case. They may well have endorsed it by saying that this was an extension of Advani's views. Remember, it was the time when Varun Gandhi's hateful speech and in turn BJP was being deplored all over the country and this book may just have helped BJP in some ways. Poor Jaswant Singh! The timing of his book has been horribly wrong.

Oh my god! They arrested SRK? Sorry, not arrested but detained SRK for two long hours? Holy mother of Christ! How dare they? Who the hell do they think they are? We'll make them pay for this. We'll sort them out. We'll launch our missiles on their Newark airport which had the audacity of being the place where SRK was detained for two long hours. Well, tell you what? Please relax. They did nothing wrong. It's SRK and the Indian media who is blowing things out of proportion. US damn well has a right to detain SRK or any other foreigner for that matter if there is reason to suspect him. And in this case there was.

When I first saw Musharraf singing Raag Darbari along with Ustad Hamid Ali Khan I was rather amused. I mean we didn't know that Musharraf could sing and that too with a professional singer. Believe you me it is indeed a treat to watch. Had BJP known about this they might as well have organized something similar when he came to India way back in 2001and may be the result of that summit could have been different than what it was.

At the outset let me clarify that this is neither run of the mill routine statement nor is it meant to create any panic amongst Indians. This is a feeling which I get after considering all the developments within India and in the Af-Pak region as well. Like I said there is no need to panic but there is definitely a need to be aware of the situation and people around us. Now here are the reasons why I make this stupid prediction.

Yeah, I thank the lord for not bringing me into this world through the Chinese route. They may be doing very well economically but I shudder to think what life must be out there. The first thing that strikes me is that had I been born in China I would not have been allowed to do this- blogging. And had I persisted I would have been behind bars by now.

When Barack Obama got elected as President of US there were quite a few comparisons made between him and Mayawati. Some people also hoped that if Obama could become the President of US then Mayawati too can become the PM of India. Mayawati as PM? Oh my god!!! Well, I don't know about you guys but if this were to happen I will leave this country, for sure, and live anywhere, may be Nepal or even Bangladesh. Anywhere in this world but here.

Seventeen years is a pretty long time. During this period a generation grows up, another generation grows old while yet another dies. In my opinion this issue belonged to the previous generation which is being kept young and alive by our politicians. If our political and judicial system takes seventeen god damned years to find out who was responsible, which we all know in any case, it's ridiculous to say the very least. Liberhan Commission should have been scrapped at least a decade ago, if not more.

Can any of you imagine women working in corporate offices wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine women fighting elections wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine a woman flying an airplane wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine a woman playing golf wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine a woman teaching in college wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine a woman doing military service wearing a Burqa? Can you imagine a Prime Minister or a President or just an ordinary minister wearing a Burqa?

While we all talk of racism we coolly ignore the issue of casteism within India. Now, you guys may question that there is a difference. You may say that racism is not the same as casteism in India. But tell you what, I don't think so. I feel they are one and the same thing. Yes, there's a physical aspect to racism in the sense that in racism, discrimination is based on the color of your skin and how you look. But it's still discrimination. It's implications are the same.

According to Sikhism no one, not even the Akal Takht which is the supreme holy body of Sikhs can declare any Sikh or group heretical or blasphemous. So those who perpetrated this crime in Vienna are going against their very own religion. But that's just the philosophical part of this whole thing which in any case no one is interested in. All they are interested in is money and power that goes with these various gurudwaras and sects.

The people of the country have spoken and, for a change, they have spoken quite decisively. And it's against BJP. In my opinion they feel that BJP needs to apologize to the country for Gujarat riots, among other things. They need to shed their image of being rigid and stuck up on issues like Hindutatva and morality. I know its a big ask but just take a look at Congress. They apologized to Sikhs for 1984 and they have been forgiven more or less. Their victory in Punjab in today's results proves this beyond doubt.

Yes, Obama will fail in Iran. There is no doubt about this. And that too for no fault of his. It's just that that he has become the President at the wrong time. Iran is too far ahead in it's nuclear program to consider stopping it now.

They say that you can't change your neighbors. They also say that if your neighbors are developing so will you and if they are peaceful so will you be. But unfortunately, in India's case they are anything but peaceful. Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and now Bangladesh are all burning. When the fires burning in these countries are so strong and fierce how can India remain unaffected by all this? It surely has spilled over pretty fast and is now threatening to consume India as well.

Yeah, that’s right in my opinion the Pak army and their Govt may be justified in striking a deal with terrorists. I’m sure you guys are surprised, to say the very least. And that too coming from an Indian? I gotta be crazy to say something like this. But read again, I say that they may be justified in striking a deal. I never said that it is the correct thing to do. Get the difference between these two things? Even if you don’t, just read on. I have some very solid reasons to say all this.

I had initially written this post on 22 Dec 08 after Mumbai attacks. Ever since this post has been the most popular post on the blog. Also, its still a very relevant subject given the fact that not much has changed after this. And so I decided not only to renew it but also add my thoughts as I feel today. So here goes- "My heart says YES. Pakistan is one country who has been sponsoring terror not just in India but throughout the world. The Pakistani govt may deny it's involvement in terror attacks but the fact

I’m weeping today, literally. I'm weeping because our polity can still not come together to fight this monster. I'm weeping because I know our leaders will go back to their routine of stupid rhetoric and no action in a few months from now.