However cheesed off we might be at the Shiva Sena and MNS and the Thackereys in general for bullying the state and several eminent personalities, they are succeeding in scoring political points. Together, there is little doubt that MNS and Shiv Sena both live off controversies such as the ones created by their opposition to Pakistanis / Australians in IPL, or criticism of Mukesh Ambani, Shahrukh Khan etc. etc. for saying the obvious that Mumbai and Maharashtra are a part of India. Without these controversies, the political discussion in Maharashtra shifts to real issues like governance, development, law & order etc., a discussion that is neither very interesting to catch eyeballs consistently nor something that both parties have any major experience in, especially in the last 10 years or so. MNS is a new party, and being in the news either for right or wrong reasons is even more important for them. One more party in in the “marathi manoos” political space can only mean higher competitive intolerance as both parties try to raise as much hue and cry as possible to remain relevant. That Thackerey Sr. (what is his locus standi on the issue?) needs to be met by the BCCI President to convince him on not protesting the presence of Australian players in IPL is a pity – he and his band of followers should be be detained for threatening disruption of screenings / matches.
Release of a large no. of undertrials who have already spent significant amount of time in jails awaiting trial is a very welcome step. It is an irony that most people in our jails have not been convicted, but are awaiting trial (often for petty crimes). About 200,000 of 300,000 undertrials, many of whom have served more than 50% of the maximum jail term that could be awarded for the charges against them but are still waiting for their trial to begin are proposed to be freed. This will significantly reduce the burden on our jails, save taxpayer money without compromising our sense of justice. Undertrials awaiting justice for heinous crimes & crimes related to national security will not benefit, which again is a good thing.
Smaller states are better, but should we wait to find differences to create them? i have been saying for a while that there should be a formula to calculate the most efficient size of the state. State borders should ideally be straight lines – there is no need to create or encourage regional feelings by putting people with similar language, culture into one state and allow them to differentiate themselves against people from other states.
Let us have smaller states by all means, but we should not have smaller states based on regional and sub-regional feelings, but for purely administrative reasons. And in case we have states for purely administrative reasons, shouldn’t the borders (or which city falls in which state) matter at all? Or, would it matter if we had straight line borders like some states and even countries have?
Supreme Court earlier today suggested that prostitution be legalized as a way to better take care of the folks plying the trade and also to reduce its prevalence.
There are two other really good reasons.
The primary reason is that it is a victimless crime, and it should not be a crime to pay for sex, however hollow it may sound. It is someone’s personal decision to pay rather than woo, and in case there is another person who is willing to trade sex for money (there are all kinds of people in the world, and I dont see much wrong with people who might be willing to do that) it becomes a private contract between two people that the state has no business getting into. There is the cause of people who have been forced into prostitution, and legalizing it will actually help them get out of their tormentor’s clutches because they can approach police without the fear of being put into jail themselves.
The second reason is, as a large and flourishing business, it is a great source for service tax. When the central government admits it is not able to prevent it, for whatever flimsy reasons it may have to interfere in people’s lives, there is no reason why the government should not legalize it and get tax revenues from it. Legalizing prostitution and making condoms available at brothels is likely to promote safe sex, and thus reduce AIDS and other STDs that are completely avoidable.
People often confuse the morality and legality of prostitution with rape. Prostitution is a profession, even if it is not the most respectable one. Rape, on the other hand, is obviously forced (by definition) and needs to be met with the strictest punishment. There are people who have been forced into prostitution, but then there are cases of people who have been forced by others or circumstances into many other professions that are neither respectable, nor liked by the people in it.
The argument for prostitution (I have tried to be gender-neutral throughout) holds valid for women, men as well as transgenders who may be engaged in the profession. The argument holds true for heterosexual as well as homosexual prostitutes.
I hope our spineless government is soon forced by the courts to make prostitution. It will probably be the most progressive and empathetic step we would have taken for those in the trade.
The expulsion of Jaswant Singh, who was their Leader in Rajya Sabha, their External Affairs and their Finance Minister not before long for writing a book echoing views somewhat similar to what L K Advani said (who still remains a key figure in the BJP) a few years back is diabolical to say the least.
Does this mean RSS is getting back to pulling strings big time after Vajpayee and Advani (to a lesser extent) kept it at bay? Two consecutive defeats in national elections have left it confused, and a throwback to the “core ideology” shows the second generation leadership’s nervousness and clueless-ness in taking the party forward. Somewhat like Congress, BJP now seems to be dominated by people who are not necessarily popularly elected, or have eroding bases of popular support that are not likely to hold for long. The attempt to sideline Vasundhara Raje Scindia seems to have massively backfired after she proved conclusively that the majority of BJP MLAs in Rajasthan still supported her, and the expulsion of Jaswant Singh smacks of a cheap manoeuvre to show who is still in control before the December organizational elections in BJP.
Despite Kandahar, Jaswant Singh was one of the more respectable leaders in the BJP, someone that the English-speaking voters connected with for he was seemingly erudite and moderate. BJP has now lost that face and seems set for a turn to extreme right under the tutelage of RSS and a confused leadership.
I hate vandalism, especially something with communal overtones (such as in Karnataka and Orissa recently). Extreme right-wing Hindu ultra-nationalist organizations seek to do their rabble rousing to remain in the limelight once in a while. Clearly, creating communal tension polarizes the majority voters (hailing from the majority Hindu community) and helps right-wing parties in elections. Even when there are no elections, it is important not to let people forget their base emotions when it comes to India’s divisive electoral politics and hence such acts keep happening. When there is a need to pick up lighter issues, they pick on issues affecting freedom of expression (soft targets such as MF Hussain and Khushboo). There have been instances when their actions have resulted in someone getting killed as well. While I don’t condone their actions – they must be punished with the maximum allowed penalties for such actions, their actions are just not comparable to terrorism.
However, there has been a move recently by the UPA government to brand antisocial elements of the extreme right-wing in the same category as terrorists – this hyphenation is dangerous, and is in the same vein as the attempt to hyphenate Sarabjit Singh and Afzal Guru to justify inaction on the death penalty confirmed by the Supreme Court on Afzal Guru for the parliament attack in 2001.
The objectives and methods of the extreme right-wingers are very different from those of terrorists. Terrorists and naxals strike at the core of India’s integrity and unity as a nation, whereas extreme right-wingers are ultra-nationalists at worst. They strike to maim and kill, carry deadly ammunition with the intention to use it to cause maximum damage, whereas right-wingers almost often are just seeking attention. Much of the cultural policing the extreme right-wingers tend to get into is, while completely uncalled for, is also backed by the so-called Indian centrists and liberals. Terrorists are supported, trained and armed externally (the trend of Indian terrorism is really recent) whereas extreme right-wingers are Indians with a misplaced sense of idealism and nationalism.
I would safely compare naxals and terrorists, more so because naxals have secessionist motives that threaten India’s integrity as a nation. They are often as well organized and armed, are these days supported externally, and they strike often to maim and kill. Whatever mass support they enjoyed in the past, the only emotions they elicit these days are fear and hatred. Ultra-nationalists are probably more comparable to the left-wing trade unions, whose power comes from strikes and their power to disrupt work and normal life (through bandhs / lockouts). Their means and motives are similar, often almost altruist, but definitely misplaced, and worthy of censure.
Last week came probably the strongest evidence aware of Pakistan army’s direct involvement (at least complicity) of the blast in Indian embassy in Kabul a few months back. This came directly from the US, and was one of the reasons for US deciding to attack terrorists within Pakistan territory.
This should have given ammunition to India to up ante over Pakistan’s role in supporting cross-border terrorism internationally – infact, it gives India enough moral right to engage in hot pursuit into Pakistani territories on its own. Pakistan, with US attacking its western badlands and India taking on terrorist camps in PoK, would have been under tremendous pressure to set a few things right. Direct involvement from the US would also keep China at bay, really important for India to ensure a limited conflict doesn’t go out of hand.
Ads are not just ways to sell your products – they are often used by companies to put down their competition (Pepsi vs. Coke, anyone?) especially in those countries where the permits it (you cannot name the competition in ads shown in India).
Second Punch: Audi gives it back…
Knockout!: Subaru kicks both BMS & Audi bigtime with this..
Source: http://www.agencyfaqs.com/
This Vicks ad is not really talking about how great or old Vicks is as a product, or how great P&G is as a company.. but talks about what Vicks does for you.. helps you breathe..
And it has just one word copy… says Respire.. quite effective, in my view.
Source: http://www.agencyfaqs.com/
