O Sitaram!

The Men's Saloon is almost a mystic wonderland amidst the jungle of urban life in India. One of his last hide-outs, a man can truly relax and let-go of everything in this most unassuming adobe of tranquility. Men in the west may hit the sports-bars or join friends for a beer.Men in India are still more accustomed to the regal treatment at the local barbers'. Read the paper or magazines, discuss at length over politics or cricket-matches or local issues. Express yourself as the trained hands service the head and shoulders making click-clack sounds from bones you never knew even existed, lay back on a cushioned seat closing your eyes while the soft smell of talcum lingers in the air and there are brush-strokes of the most perfumed of shaving creme sweeping your face.

From the staunchest stubborns to aristocrats and elites... observe closely and you can see everyone unwind to their true honest selves in a little saloon. The fabled Indian Barber, the know-all social pundit still survives in some by-lane around the busy market street. I know of such a place, The Milan Saloon.... hairdressers serving 3 generations of my family (perhaps the only constant between these three generations :)). Sitaram, the proprietor is a master and guru at this fine art of (Indian) coiffures. I remember going there and getting my hair-cut done on my Grandpa's lap and for precisely a million other reasons I would visit this one shop every time I can do so in Jaipur. With his ever-growing team of apprentices and staff Milan glass door entrance is filled with banter, chatter and the light-hearted good natured spirit of men.

Welcome to the West, I don't wish to sound archaic but its actually weird to have a girl sit next to you at the barber's and as if this is the least of the inhibitions that affect you there are a million bottles of hair-serum and hair-dryers and tools and accessories of every kind with possibly more colour shades to choose from than on a Berger Paint's colour-sampler! I entered the reasonably hep Barber's Shop at the Reitz Union commercial center at UF (for those of you who're wondering, Yes... I still do have to visit the Barber's every few weeks and the dead tissues we embrace upon our skulls haven't eluded me completely as yet ).

A middle-aged woman who I assumed was a customer led me to a middle-aged man who was the barber. The middle-aged woman then went ahead trimming the golden-brown locks from a golden-brown haired girl's head. As I was trying to look-at-her without letting her know that I was looking-at-her I realized she could see me look-at-her in the mirror!

Anyways, the barber swung into action as the chair with some unknown configurational controls lifted, rotated, inclined me to an angle best suited for the middle-aged barber! As he started talking specifics about the operation at hand, I was thinking how to tell him small-but-not-too-small.

As scissor-hands clasped in the air the operation was underway! To my surprise, the middle-aged barber even triggered a conversation regarding departments and college studies which I tried support till our voices were subdued by the 'do you want me to leave the golden side up or do you want me to try the rollers' kind of a conversation from the next seat.

And I just sat there, sunk into this half robotic chair and murmured O Sitaram ji! I wish I was at Milan's.

Shame on the 'Intellectual'.

Every society prides itself on the number and the genius of its intellectuals. My country today, I am sorry to admit, is handicapped in this. With the recent upsurge in Naxalite Violence in some parts the country; I came across this short documentary film "India's Maoist Revolution" on Youtube.

The film starts by describing two Indias:

India A: the urban youth, a generation of Indians which is a product of the New India, the one that grew up in the '90s, with liberal values and a modern approach towards the world, a society that now hails consumerism and its brainpower, industrial and free market potential. The kids on the 'economic miracle' wavelength. I shouldn't have to describe this too much, just imagine as a reader you yourself are a part of it.

India B: Where poverty, illiteracy, exploitation of the tiller, the laborer and the women is the order of the day. An India that comes true in all the gory words we used in those long melancholy essays that we rote learned and prepared for our exams.

Does it not exist? I don't say so. For otherwise, there is no reason for Maoists to have atleast some influence in >25% of Indian districts.

Then why am I ashamed of the Indian 'intellectual' who makes a point of it?

I don't know Arundhati Roy, I have heard she won the Booker Prize for a book I have never bothered to read as yet (and wouldn't do so now for sure). The film (and the Indian Media) epitomizes Roy as a champion of the cause of the underprivileged in India, the messiah of the downtrodden who struggles tirelessly for the cause of India B. The film's other stars are Mr. Ajai Sahni from Institute of Conflict Management (think tank -- you who these people are?) and a Human Rights Activist Himanshu Danty.

From the start, you can get the feel the film is for a firang audience. At a point it even taunts that all that the Indian state touts itself for being the world's largest democracy is just in name. Ajai even claims that there is 'not a single' part of India where there is absolute authority of the state in full force. Amazing 'Intellectual'!

The Context:

The film talks bare minimum of the Naxal (Maoist) Revolution, Why is it as it is? Where it happens? And what are these people capable of? Now remind yourself of those 'distressed people who don’t see the state as a welfare state', those who declare war on the State of India, who go about abducting, extorting and intimidating entire populations and their administrations. Those who beheaded Police Officer Francis Induwar, those who hijacked a Rajdhani Express, those whose leaders claim to bring about a Maoist Revolution in India. Put to rest all class and cast distinctions, restart nation building 'as it should be'.

Maoists, Yes! I mean who are we? are we fools? I haven't studied atomic physics and I don't know how to build a thermonuclear weapon. However, I still know that nuclear arms and their effect do no good to mankind. Likewise, I haven't read Mao and I'm sure neither have most of you have, all I know that when Mao's reign ended, China was not today's China. It was in its worst political and socio-economic condition; a China where a Tiananmen Square took place! A police state with a broken economy and a broken spirit. A China which had to open up "Special Economic Zones" with full free-market freedom (entirely opposed to the Communist System) too survive. So much to prove that Maoism is a FAILED ideology, across the globe.

So whatever the Maoists wish to achieve is something that the Indian state, the law of the land shall never agree too or let happen. The soft-sate i.e. our country has to rise (and we already are seeing signs of it) to kill the Maoist virus. Stronger policing and 'power to the people' are tools indeed for the same.

However, the film totally covers these 3 'intellectuals' (and many more like them). These self-appointed know-all pundits of Modern India, who 'see' and 'feel' the pain of these people by dawning Khadi. The single focal point of the entire diatribe was criticism of the 'Salwa Judum' which is an Anti-Naxal tribal people's movement spawning in camps and displaced villages. The Salwa Judum is funded and armed by the state and its ranks fill up as Special Police Officers (SPOs), who know the topography and are directly affected by the Maoist threat.

Ms. Roy's very stately and morally correct claim goes in disregarding the importance of state help to Salwa Judum. These vigilante organizations which are drawn from the people to protect the people are in Ms. Roy's description a complete violation of India's constitutional duty of protecting its citizens and that arming civilians (for their own protection) is against all moral authority of the State.

The film describes the Salwa Judum as a militia; it shows incidents of violence in camps on the people by Salwa Judum and the police. It does not for once show the effectiveness of Salwa Judum in curbing or atleast retaliating to the Naxalites in times and place where the state could not. Mr. Danty addressing a meeting of these camp dwellers allegedly shot dead by the Salwa Judum says 'You can either die saying the truth or a coward... either way here you have to die', well this is a Social Worker and had I been in the camp I was definitely heading out for some fresh air.

Ms. Roy and her accomplices are all shown supporting the argument that the state is at fault. Well, as long as there is freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to Roy et. al. we will have to listen to this crap as well. Ms. Roy at a point even claims that it is some mutation of a ’Genocide’ on the tribal people by the Indian government.

Does Ms. Roy take into account the enormity of the task that the Police in traditionally poor pockets in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal have to face? The logistical nightmare of having to patrol, safeguard and police thousands of square kilometers of dense jungle and rough terrain? In a sense you see her justifying the cause of the enemy, the Maoist.

Yes, we need police reform but that doesn't come overnight or if it does it would come like Indira Gandhi's Emergency. We don't want that! So what is the problem in arming a civilian force to protect their homes and their properties where the state cannot guarantee the same? There are Village Defense Committees all across terror-ridden J&K, the North-Eastern states. Ask Ms. Roy to go protest that as well.

Fundamentally, what is wrong in the state letting me defend myself when the state cannot (for whatever reasons) guarantee my protection at present?

Ms. Roy is not the only one. She just represents a clan these 'intellectuals', we saw them and said nothing during the Singur crisis in W. Bengal and in the recent Maoist upsurge in Lalgarh.

And that brings extreme shame upon us for having such people as beacons of pride in the civil society.

The Bottom Line:

Criticism of policies when intended to bring police reform, to develop social infrastructure and economic opportunities is agreeable and necessary, but criticism done on false-reporting, biased-opinionated coverage, only to show that 'I am a social activist par-excellence par-state' is the sickest, meanest trick in the book.

If you stoop this low in making a point for a foreign audience, you are no better than India's last reminiscence still smitten by the 'British Raj' looking for a 'Shabaashi' from a 'Gore Saab'.

Down with such 'intellectuals'!

P.s.: If half the stuff I wrote about above was fresh and never heard-off before by you, I'm sorry. India A and India B do exist and the gap is increasing!

You need to sign in with your Google Account to read this its a 22min film and here is the link to the documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2WwESwJhw&aia=true

Breaking Crap!

Funny as it has always been, I am once again entrapped in the strict regime of 24hr news channels blurting out nonsensical and almost whimsical accounts of everything like:

"How the Taliban in the Swat plan to regroup": something that even dear Obama doesn’t have a clue of, a question boggling intelligence agencies of atleast 10 countries!

and my current favourite...

"How the plane carrying socialite Mufatlal 'safely landed' with 72 lac worth of 'illegal' jewelry" as if any aircraft carrying anything illegal was bound to crash land!!

The video broadcast's loop-button inventors must be tumbling in their graves as they witness the horrific tragedy that has unfolded as 24hr news television in India.....

Where else do you get dedicated sections as the "Breaking News" appear everyday 20:00hrs? As if the news would wait till it’s 8 and then bang on to the world!

Now that’s some redefinition!

 The same news every half hour and on the hour was Star News (then run by NDTV) staple feed, then came the News boom and now on my Tata Sky I have at least 20 news channels churning out the same bits, feeds, crazy animation and inundating sets. You can skip anything on television these days but not the news and it sure may help a few in the iPod generation but for genuine lovers of news bulletins, it’s a sad pain. I was wondering if the Indian law doesn’t prohibit unchecked broadcast of bullshit through the wires and now digital media!

 Take This: "Kal-kripal" or "Teen-deviyan" or so many like those feature babas and sadhus and dhongis (fakesters) openly preaching stuff like IFF you are a Virgo and IFF you have a bad headache THEN you should rub some brick-powder on your head and go give a roti to a cow! 

And Holy Cow! All that your society strived to achieve for over a century, freedom from the clutches of superstitions and modern scientific thought etc. is gone, the same middle ages crap is being fed into the system again from the bottle-neck i.e. the media!

 A "necessary-evil" is the best possible position one can allot to the news scenario in India. No doubt such wonderful work has been made possible by the Indian media that it has its position as the fourth-pillar of our state well-deserved. But the evil takes its toll and by any random guess 7 out 0f 10 channels have underrated performance when it comes to even the most basic news coverage. English reporters not fluent with the language, Hindi reporters speaking as if reporting was worth the business of discussing the locality’s gossip at a tea-stall and God knows what it would be for the regional media.

 Solve it? Here lies the problem, TV and especially news television has become a media so powerful that it can make or break public image in a matter of hours. The dragon unleashed, even the government of the day wouldn't dare tame it as it risks being tainted for the rest of its term!

Print media may still serve a fair semblance in this context but when it comes to television, the average viewer sees news channels as a clan, that competes within to nadir-low levels in claiming that their experts had predicted that a certain team would loose a match before analysts on the other channel did. Yet, whenever a finger is raised upon anyone, clan-o-nomics comes into play and the fraternity would most vociferously protect its members and their idiocy. Even seasoned journalists like Barkha Dutt and Pranoy Roy haven’t been able to resist this temptation and if you look close enough, the clan is essentially same blood.

We would listen day long expert sessions on all aspects of life, sport, human, divine and politics but please inform me if there's a session on any channel which forces the media to introspect or brings to light its failures!

Nothing is perfect, and same goes with the media. The only way out is for strong and opinionated voices (still about 40%) in Indian TV Journalism to step forward and create common minimum standards of what is and what is not going down the wire!

Till then, remember that in one interview with a rape victim in Orissa the reporter asks the woman, “ab apko kaisa lag raha hai?” (“How are you feeling now?”). A fitting analogy to when you as a viewer are asked to write-in and tell us , "how was our show"!

from the Lectern, reporting for meaningful news television in India!