Thank God, There are Enough Fools Around !

There are a lot of people, especially leaders of some political parties in India, who are thanking the Almighty for creating fools, dumb and stupid, who have only ears to hear bluntly and hands to execute recklessly but no brains to think wisely. Otherwise how can a party like, say for example the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), get people to support their fanatic ideas and indulge in sabotaging public property and manhandle people from outside states.

We Indians, who often boast about our supreme constitutional values, can only feel disgraced on seeing such divisive politics being carried out by rogue politicians who can hardly claim to possess any of the absolute qualities of an ideal leader. The brainless activists of the MNS bullied people from North India and terrorized a whole area after heeding to the outrageous tirade of their leader Raj Thackeray against people from outside the state of Maharashtra, particularly the North Indians. They did this without thinking about the fact that their brothers, sisters, uncles and friends would be staying in other states, and if the people of those states too think in the same chauvinist lines as they are thinking, their dear ones would also face the same fate as of those whom they are chasing down.

Things are not any different in our state Kerala either and we also, by God’s grace, are “blessed” with a huge pool of big fools. Or else how can one convince oneself about the large gatherings of people assembling at the grounds of the meeting place of all major and minor parties in the state. The ever increasing number of these people is not anything less than a wonder, even after accounting for the large number of people who attend these meetings for want of “Chicken Biriyanis” and Rs.250 per head that the organizing committee members of these party meetings provide these daily wages “workers”. (May be the rates are different these days as this may tend to fluctuate owing to the market forces of “demand and supply”, but the Chicken Biriyani always remains without any change, I reckon)

One of the gravest dangers of being an activist of a political party is that one would lose his individuality and initiative as one would be forced to align his ideas and views in uniformity with the ideas and views of his political party, or rather the party leader or leaders. All political parties strive to create a group of activists who are quite predictable and convenient to manoeuvre and who are less prone to use their innate intelligence to think and make opinions of their own which would perhaps contradict the decisions and views of the party itself. The ultimate aim of political parties in a democracy should be to make the life of individuals as good as possible by instilling in them a sense of initiative which would finally result in the development of intellectual and material assets of a society. But instead what the present day political parties are trying to do is to kill the initiative in its activists and thus creating a society where intellectual development is morbid and material development is but a remote delusion.

If we come back to the example of Kerala, it is a state reigned by the fools who idiotically follow whatever the leaders of their political parties say and never take the effort to think individually using their brains. If Pinarayi Vijayan issues a diatribe against some individual, then all members of CPI (M) and its allied organizations would reiterate the same diatribe in a way that would remind you of nursery kids repeating the rhymes that their teachers sing. When he once said that “media syndicate” is behind all the real and perceived problems in CPI (M), even the new kid, who has recently joined the SFI unit of his school and who hardly know what the abbreviation SFI stands for, started repeating those “sacred” words even in his sleep. When Ramesh Chennithala speaks in meetings, with his often-heard, ridiculously frivolous and repetitive political rhetoric, groups of fools, garbed in the Congress attire would applaud and would presume that whatever he says is the definitive truth and would believe that thinking about anything beyond his words is a sheer waste of time. The BJP hasn’t got the political power in the state to assemble their own group of fools in a large number as yet, but it is not at all absurd for them to carry such a hope and their opportunity would also come sooner rather than later.

It is high time for the emergence of a good political party system that would embark upon a new path of political activism where individual empowerment and societal enrichment are the basic objectives that they would pursue and would put chauvinist and other divisive politics to the backburner for the overall development of our nation. And it is time for the young generation of Indians to think and understand the fallacies of the political parties of the present political system and try to overcome its perilous implications by enlightened thoughts and progressive actions. Till that happens, the obnoxious and parasitic political parties would exploit the fools at their disposal and ruin this country with a detestable quote in their minds, which would read – “Thank God, there are enough fools around.”

CPI (M) in Kerala - Down in the Dumps, Big Time

I am no part of the media syndicate, and I am not indulging myself into any crusade against the CPI(M), therefore it is only safe for me to presume that Pinarayi Vijayan and his CPI(M) red volunteers won’t manhandle me or crucify me the same way they reacted to the VS supporters at the state conference in Kottayam. But to say the truth, it is less than obvious for common people like us to understand what ideological discussions or strategic planning had taken place in that state conference. The only thing that seem to have happened is that the power and the stranglehold of Pinarayi Vijayan on the party state committee has increased beyond any reasonable doubt. In the paragraphs to follow I would try to convince the readers about the reasons for the title of this column.

For the layman - the ordinary human being, absolutely oblivious of the intricacies of the party politics and its by-products, VS Achuthanandan is the embodiment of everything virtuous and Pinarayi Vijayan, the personification of everything vice. The truth may be different (and that is a big 'may be') and to be honest, I am no expert to attempt finding an answer to this imbroglio, but because of factors yet to be discovered, it is so for a vast majority of common people. And hence they feel that the factionalism prevailing in the party - which some party member once said was just a creation of the media and nothing else but later accepted it to be a reality - is between the forces that uphold virtues and forces that encourage vices. Pinarayi Vijayan has been re-elected as the State Party Secretary and he took control of the 84 member State committee with a majority of his supporters elected. So it is only sensible that the laymen think that the party is down in the dumps, as he tends to think that vice has won over virtue.

Sitaram Yechury recently told at Kottayam, in one of his speeches, that Marxism is a creative science and it is the only science that is capable of explaining the conditions of modern world. Yes, there is no denying the fact that Marxism is a creative science and I must confess that while I was a student of Economics (though I’ve used the past tense, I am still only a student), I was rather overwhelmed by the intellectual essence of Karl Marx’s economic theory. But the question to be asked here is, does the present state committee of the party in Kerala has the scholarly human resource in it to take forward the ideological discussions of the Marxian theory. The answer is not a brain teaser and it is a very emphatic NO. Another reason to believe that the party is down and under.

For the ordinary people, CPI(M) is (read ‘was’) the party of the downtrodden and is the only party that has got the political courage to pick them up from their vicious circle of poverty and hence had great expectations when the party came into power. But what they got is not what they expected, but a worse outcome and a sordid state of affairs. The most striking evidence of this can be seen at the Vallarpadam container terminal site at Kochi, where people were displaced from their homes and were beaten up by the police and the local administration. There is also a condition where the land mafia is taking control of the state’s land resources and there is noone to stop them from their merry march. The illegal HMT land deal is one such affair, where the Chief Minister was attacked from within and outside his party on taking a stand against the culprits. Now the CM, widely considered as the epitome of all good virtues, is being vilified by his own party members and is accusing him for not taking the side of the wrongdoers in this case, which incidentally, it seems, are from his own party. Another reason why this party is at it’s ridiculous low.

What the party is lacking right now is the presence of an ideologue who, with his/her intellectual ideas can show a new way for the party to pursue, so that it can reinvigorate the Marxian ideology based on which it has acquired such great significance in this state. The maximum the present state party leadership is capable of doing, because of their inability and lack of knowledge and understanding of Marxian theories and policies, is to strictly follow the ideas and policies that the party's intellectuals at the center and at West Bengal are saying and doing. But what a lot of party leaders and party members at the state are doing right now, though covertly, is ridiculing those central leaders by saying that they became leaders of the party directly from the Western Universities like the Cambridge, and hence they don't have the experience of working with the people and knowing their problems.

So the party must try right now to find someone from the party within who can lead the party in the future, who can give the party some intellectual ideas on Marxism, so that it gets a new vigour to face the problem of waning public support and help to solve the problems faced by the people. But presuming that the future leaders of CPI (M) in the state would come from the present leaders of DYFI and SFI, it seems highly unlikely and improbable to happen, as these organizations are facing the same malice that CPI (M) is facing now - ideological penury.

Guantanamo Bay – A Symbol of Gross Human Rights Violations

Guantanamo Bay is a bay located in the Guantanamo Province in the south-eastern end of Cuba. The United States has assumed the territorial control over the Guantanamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban-American treaty. Since 2002 the United States naval base at the Guantanamo Bay, also called the Gitmo, is hosting it’s detention camp where they hold people accused of being terrorists and waging a war against the United States and it’s people. But the gross human rights violation happening in the Gitmo has resulted in the widespread agitation by human rights groups the world over.

The major issue of contention is the United States’ refusal to accept the prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay as “Prisoners of War” or the PoWs. Instead the United States is quite adamant in calling the prisoners as “unlawful combatants”, and hence they don’t come under the protection of the 1949 Geneva Conventions that set out rules that have to be followed in dealing with the PoWs. The Bush Administration is blatantly flouting the International humanitarian laws and is challenging the whole essence of basic human rights. The prisoners at Gitmo are tortured, coerced and deprived and are subjected to grave human rights violations. And one of the most appalling things about the Guantanamo prison is that the public is absolutely oblivious about who the detainees are, what they have allegedly done and whether they have been charged, convicted or released. Even some of the prisoners are not having any idea about the alleged crime that they have committed.

The United States’ contention that the persons captured from Afghanistan are not prisoners of war is really faulty as they don’t have the moral and legal right to conclude that, unless and until a competent tribunal individually determine that they are not eligible for the prisoners of war status. Instead of setting up an independent tribunal for the trial of the prisoners, the United States had set up an inherently flawed military tribunal for the trial of the prisoners often done at secret places without giving the prisoners any access to outsiders or access to defense counsels, which in itself is violation of international norms of natural justice.

The prisoners also include children and they are kept together with the adult prisoners which is a violation of international standards. There are special international rules on child prisoners and under the Optional Protocol on Child Soldiers, which the United States has ratified, the US government is having responsibility of rehabilitation of these child prisoners and they must be given special protection against any form of torture and mental or physical anguish. But the rehabilitation of these hapless children is not possible at a place like Guantanamo far form their homes and hence the US government should take immediate decision on the status of these children and should resolve all outstanding cases involving these children at the earliest.

Guantanamo Bay is already an icon of lawlessness. The prisoners at this prison are subjected to torture techniques like waterboarding, which is not all acceptable under any circumstances. If the United States is going to use the evidences, that they received from the prisoners through torture techniques, against them at their trial, it is going to be an obvious infringement of international laws and violation of basic human rights. The prisoners who are detained at the Guantanamo Bay without charge and without a free trial are victims of grave human rights defiance of the United States. Convicting the detainees on charges of terrorism by just assuming that they have perpetrated the crime, without free trial, is a gross injustice and should be condemned in the strongest of words. All human rights organizations and human rights activists are strongly for prosecuting persons responsible for inciting violence, involved in the act of terrorism and engaged in the crimes against humanity, but such a prosecution should be based on fair trial and according to international due process standards.

The United States should mend its ways regarding its administration of the Guantanamo Bay. They should bring back order in its handling of the detainees and should get ready to accept and obey all international laws regarding prisoners and there should be no human rights violations on its prisoners. Treacherous use of force and barbaric forms of torture against the prisoners should be abandoned with immediate effect. Fair trial processes should be initiated for the prosecution of the detainees and there should be access to defense counsels for the detainees and there should also be provisions for judicial review.

Above all, Guantanamo Bay, the ominous harbor of mental and physical affliction, should be closed down permanently. All human rights activists and all those who believe in the ultimate tenets of justice and human rights should work together in disrupting this horrific and terrible prison which has become a symbol of mass human rights violation and human torture. I, being a blogger who writes for human rights , strongly condemn the United States’ actions against the detainees at Guantanamo Bay and calls for the shutting down of this state-sponsored terror center.

AR Rahman's Greatest Five - My Personal Choice

I am going to attempt something rather bizarre, something that is perhaps virtually impossible to any degree of flawlessness. Since I have committed myself into doing this, I should back myself and move forward and try to list my personal choice of AR Rahman's five greatest songs. This is without doubt a very challenging task as there are umpteen numbers of songs that have the mark of the class and greatness of this great musician par excellence. So to deduce the greatest five from such a large number of songs is going to be a really hard task and certainly I have got my task cut out. And now, here is my pick of five of the greatest songs by AR Rahman.

1. Nahin Samne (Taal) –Perchance, the greatest soundtrack that I’ve ever heard in my lifetime. This great and unique composition by Rahman will take you to another world. The western classical style of music of this love pathos song is the most memorable experience of any listener who listens to this amazing album. The rendition by Hariharan is equally breathtaking. The piece of music created at the beginning with Piano contains the full essence of this song. Only a musical genius like AR Rahman can create such mellifluous song and equal appreciation is due to Hariharan for his soulful rendition.

2. Sonnalum Ketpathillai (Kadhal Virus) – My second most favorite song from AR Rahman. The song starts with the use of one of Rahman’s most favorite musical instruments, the flute or the ‘pullanguzhal’. This semi classical soulful romantic number from the album Kadhal Virus is without doubt one of the best songs in the semi classical genre in Indian film music. The Carnatic music training received by both singers, Unnikrishnan and Harini, is very much evident in this great song. The clever use of chorus singers, one trademark quality of Rahman, is also quite apparent in this melodious number.

3. Oru Poiyavathu Sol Kanne (Jodi) – This song comes in a very rare genre in Tamil film music – Ghazal. There are three renditions of the same song in that film by three different singers – Sujatha, Srinivas and Hariharan. But it is the one by Hariharan that makes you understand that this is not yet another ordinary song that you have grown up hearing, but is a rare jewel from the music maestro. It is a love pathos song, made in the Ghazal style, sung by one of the greatest in the Hindustani classical music, Hariharan. The way in which Hariharan gives sound to the emotions of the song is really amazing and the beauty of the music is enhanced by its lyrics. This is a one-of-the-kind song and is a must hear for any music lover.

4. Kannathil Muthamittal (Kannathil Muthamittal) – This song, it seems, is in the list of almost all Rahman song listeners as one of his greatest. One of the greatest compositions of all times, this song has got two versions, one sung by Chinmayee and the other sung by the Malayalee legend Jayachandran. Rahman has given two different shades for both these songs, but both are equally good. One with the sweet, naïve voice of the young Chinmayee and the other with the elegant and matured voice of the great Jayachandran. But both these songs are equally enchanting and makes you feel that the music is coming from yet another world and is taking you together with it to the other world as well.

5. Chinna Chinna Aasai (Roja) – Roja is one among Time Magazine’s best 10 soundtracks ever produced in this world and that itself is more than enough to describe this great album by Rahman. It is really hard to believe that this is Rahman’s debut album. In that album, Rahman comes up this astonishing number, ‘Chinna Chinaa Aasai’, sung by the very talented Minmini. This great number had brought an astounding freshness to the Tamil film songs at that time with never-heard-before style of orchestration and with Rahman’s unique jingle rhythms. The humming by Rahman himself at the middle of this song gives it a real punch and the songs lands straight into the hearts of the listeners. Surely one of the greatest songs ever made in Indian film industry or in the World film industry as designated by the Time Magazine.

I must confess that this is a very subjective list of songs and there is no guarantee that this will be line with the thoughts of a second person or a third one. I would like the readers to give their list and also opine about what they think about the list that I’ve created. I would greatly appreciate feedback from the readers as Shashi Tharoor once said, “feedback is the lifeblood of the columnist.” The personal choices of the people may differ, but I am pretty sure that there won’t be an argument on the assertion of the greatness of this music wizard, AR Rahman and on the claim that he is one of the greatest music directors India has ever produced, if not the best.

Gilchrist - The Aussie Who Walks, The Aussie I Like

Test cricket wont be the same from hereafter. Because one of the greatest entertainers of Test cricket wont wield the bat again or wear the gloves for another test match. The greatest wicket keeper-batsman ever, Adam Gilchrist has called it a day. Gilchrist, affectionately called as "Gilly" by his teammates and friends, is one of the greatest the game has ever seen. As Steve Waugh, his former captain has pointed out, Gilchrist is perhaps the greatest all rounder ever, second only to Sir Garfield Sobers.

Adam Gilchrist was born in 1971 at Bellingen, New South Wales and made his first class debut for the New South Wales Blues in the 1992-93 season. In 1994 he joined the Western Warriors in Western Australia and thus made the bouncier pitch of WACA, Perth as his home ground. He made his ODI debut in the year 1996 against South Africa at Faridabad and made his test debut against Pakistan in 1999 at the Gabba, Brisbane. He was also part of the three consecutive World Cup winning team of Australia in 1999, 2003 and 2007. He has played 96 tests with a batting average of 47.60 and 416 dismissals and in the shorter version of the game; he has played 277 matches with a batting average of 36.03 and 454 dismissals.

Let us set aside the records made by this great cricketer because it is not the main reason why we love and respect this Aussie. Instead its the way in which he has played this sport and the way in which he has conducted himself on a cricket field, especially in a team which goes out to any extend of abhorrence to win a game of cricket, which makes us revere this one-of-the-kind cricketer.. It is only the strength of his personality and the grace of his family upbringing that he is able to show such great degree of integrity and honesty in this highly competitive sport. This flamboyant southpaw, known as "The Aussie who walks", after his famous walk in the 2003 World Cup Semi finals against Sri Lanka when he edged the ball to the wicket keeper and went off before the umpire giving him out, declared openly that he is a walker and reignited the debate in the cricket world about walking. His stature grew in the eyes of the cricket lovers after this incident and he got more popular and became the role model of a whole generation in Australia and outside. He is one example that shows the whole world that you can be honest as well as successful in the modern competitive world. His "walking" together with his stupendous sportsmanship made him one of the most respected Aussie players even among his opponents. It is one of the ironies of this game that his candid behavior in upholding moral righteousness during cricket matches landed him in some trouble also.

The awards and recognitions that he has received are true evidences of the talent and skills this great cricketer possess. He was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the year for 2002, he was the wicketkeeper in Richie Benaud's Greatest XI, he was voted as the ‘world scariest batsman’ by a poll conducted among the international bowlers and in a poll of over ten thousand people hosted in 2007 by Cricinfo, he was voted the ninth greatest all-rounder of the last one hundred years.

It is certainly a sad truth that this swashbuckling batsmen wont be available again in the test match arena and pretty soon will finish his international career, but the legacy that he has left behind will be alive always - may it be the way he batted or may it be the spirit in which he has played the game or of course, his "walking." We Indians, it seems, are lucky enough to see more of him as he is joining the Indian Premier League soon and that would be something that I, being a passionate cricket follower and an ardent Adam Gilchrist fan, look forward to. His blitzkrieg with the willow is certainly something that would keep one glued to the television screens while he is on song and his sincere and honest sportsmanship is something that is worth emulating, not only for the sports-persons but for all human beings involved in the highly competitive game called life. He is the only Aussie who walks and he is the only Aussie that I like, I admire and I desire to follow. You are a gem Gilly, a real gem.