The idea of a No Man's Land

Death penalty for rape is a good idea. Rapists will be hanged everyday and hangmen across some States would become millionaires. So hangmen will hang men. All men here.

But what about our anti-death penalty lobbyists? They would feel unhappy about these rapists being hanged. They would protest at India Gate and harass the Government by going to the media. Some pseudo magazines and newspapers and TV channels (mostly owned by men) would even allow them to rant their intellectual views on this subject. That would derail the entire hanging process.

In that case, I think castration would be a better solution. Its immediate and  everlasting. But there is a small problem here too. How can our politicians pass such a law? Many of their own brethren (all men again) are routinely accused of such crimes.

May be then we should stop all moviemakers (99% men), advertisers (mostly men), television channels (almost all owned by men) to stop showcasing women in titillating avatars. A law should be passed by the Parliament (70% men) that only fully clothed women can be allowed to be showcased in media. But then how will viewers and customers (read - men) fall for their movies, TV shows and products?

Lets shut down the internet. So no access to adult content for men. But then men being men, they will find a way out of this problem too. All these adult sites are mostly run by men - and so is the internet.

Basically, I pity our women. They are so isolated in this world. Its time they unite against men and banish them from this earth. Thats their only hope. And trust me they can do it. All they have to do is to stop conceiving men. If women find men in their wombs, abort them.

Soon there will be fewer and fewer men on this earth. In some decades, the world will be full of women. When the last man on earth dies, women across the world will celebrate. That would be the day. Earth will then be aptly called The No Man's Land.

On this No Man's Land, finally, the last batch of lucky few women can live in peace. Because after a few more decades, there will be no women too on this earth.  So no men and no women. Nobody. No one.

Earth will then patiently wait for Adam and Eve to appear on her soil - for one last time. This time on, earth will sincerely hope that she will be a better place for women to live in.

In an increasingly intolerant India, freedom of speech needs to go hand-in -hand with fearlessness. Instead social media platforms have made it go hand-in-hand with carelessness.

There was no freedom of speech during the British Raj. But freedom fighters and writers still spoke their mind and got beaten up and arrested. Literature was published and distributed secretly. And through such literatur

e, without PCs, internet and TV, a nation rose against the might of the British.

That was then and this is now.

Social media has made freedom of speech a brainless activity. The moment a thought comes to your mind, the next moment you can publish it online. There is no need think. (So research is out of question.) You can publish a casual thought and you start getting equally casual Likes and Comments. This gives the writer a quick, yet false sense of achievement. Moreover, when all this comes without any responsibility or accountability, the combination is irresistible. As a result popular writing takes precedence over responsible writing.

Carelessness is an outcome of extreme laziness and breeds mediocrity. Social Media promotes this by design. That is why we see too much of mediocre writing around us.

The recent cases of violence and arrests against FB posts by some youngsters is a case in point. The posts have been carelessly written without any clear objective whatsoever. Violent reactions to such posts is equally dumb. But the writers are no less at fault. First they write something that can be potentially damaging. Which is absolutely ok, if they believe so. But when they are threatened, they not only backtrack but reverse their statements. And all this is done online. So where is the issue of obstructing freedom of speech here?

Infact what these guys have done is a mockery of the concept of freedom of speech and expression. I am not sure why India's social media supported their right to speak their mind. I have serious doubts whether they actually have a mind of their own. Instead, there is a need to focus on training young users to use social media effectively and responsibly to share their angst, and protest against injustice. We need to inculcate the understanding in them that the world does not work online. You need to roll up your sleeves and get to work offline to effect a change. Signing online petitions and lighting candles is a great way to participate and support a cause. But somebody needs to go out there in the real world and fight it out to change it. Needless to say, only people who do this achieve greatness. The rest move on to a new online pastime.

Here's a interesting anecdote I would like to share.

When Mumbai Police issued a advisory to Mumbaikars to stay indoors during Bal Thackeray's funeral, Rama Bijapurkar smsed a DCP protesting the inconvenience caused to people. The DCP smsed back saying, "Conviction is a luxury of those who occupy the sidelines."

Rama Bijapurkar disagreed with the cop. I tend to agree with him in the context of the above discussion. Staying sidelines is the new luxury in the online world.

 " My wife was so pious, so devoted, so religious. But it came to nothing. After she went to a Ganesh Chaturthi function in Bombay, we forgot the emergency bottle of her medicine and went to Karjat. Here was a test for gods and goddesses. It was the duty of God to remind her of the emergency bottle. If not, then you and your faith are led astray. When she needed it, the medicine was not there and w

e lost her. If the gods do not come to your help when you need them, then what's the use. I have removed all pictures of Ganesh from my house. But her picture will be there."

I thought this is the Bal Thackeray very few people knew. But with around 20 lakh people attending his funeral procession, this was the Balasaheb Thackeray everyone knew. Not since Mahatma Gandhi have so many people congregated together for a politician's funeral. There are people from all communities, religions, castes and political parties.

I know Bal Thackeray as an amazing orator and an artist. Someone who could connect with the common man as well as the rich and famous.

When Thackeray launched his political party, he fought for issues related to identity of the local population like job reservation for Marathi youth. When you get a guy a job, you end up with 5 votes of the family. And thus, for the not-so-educated Marathi youth born in 1950s and 60s, he became the undisputed god of "Marathi Asmita" (Marathi Ego/Pride). Some from this generation rose from being "rasta chaap" nobody's to political bigwigs in Maharashtra. Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Manohar Joshi, Sanjay Nirupam, Sanjay Raut, Late Anand Dighe - the list is endless. Their example ensured that millions others were impacted by his ideology, his largesse in terms of guaranteed jobs in government sector through well orchestrated Labor Unions and his strategically polarized views (first for Marathis, then Hindus and then Mumbaikars). For this generation, this is an end of their era. They have lost their identity. If you watched TV, this was the generation that openly wept upon hearing the news of his demise. They will miss him the most.

As a politician, Thackeray always spoke either for or against something or someone. He unabashedly took sides and changed his stance when it suited his political ambitions. But he did with great conviction and always got away due to his strong oratory. Most importantly, he was never a fence-sitter like most other politicians in his generation. This is one quality which even his greatest detractors found to be endearing (but difficult to emulate). The "Marathi Manoos" in Maharashtra too fell for this quality.

What is surprising is that while on one side he spoke his mind on political issues, he had a circle of friends who were completely out of sync with his political ideologies. They loved him for what he was, inside the closed doors of Matoshree - a genial man who smoked pipes and cigars, drank beer and wine, cracked jokes, and most importantly kept his word, irrespective of his political calculations. Then there was another Bal Thackeray who publicly spoke ill when some of his closest friends who became State leaders under Shiv Sena left his party - like Bhujbal, Rane, Nirupam and Raj Thackeray. But rarely did they rebut him in public. So strong was his hold on even his fiercest opponents.

But beyond all this, as a political leader with a huge following amongst common man as well as other political parties, Thackeray and his Shiv Sena did little to address the real challenges Marathi Manoos faced. Shiv Sena on BMC did nothing spectacular to change the face of Mumbai into an international financial/business hub. The strong cultural heritage of Maharashtra in terms of Marathi language, art, theatre, poetry, movies, folk songs, music, etc. was never systematically promoted by Shiv Sena. The only culture they promoted was the "Culture of Bandhs". There was no clear agenda or plan to promote Marathi entrepreneurs. There was no clear plan or strategy for poverty alleviation of the poor in Maharashtra. Marathi Farmers never found strong support from the Shiv Sena for their cause, until Uddhav Thackeray started visiting them a few years ago. The only cause that Shiv Sena propagated was the "Marathi Asmita", which really meant nothing more than a halo.

Strategically, Bal Thackeray never took any official position and throughout stayed anti-establishment. He loved doing that. Even during his own regime, he was anti-establishment and criticized his own leaders for policies that went against the common man. People loved this as they thought he was on their side. And which he was. So maybe the outpour was for this sense of loss the "Marathi Manoos" felt after his death. Who will now speak for them and their rights? Who will fight for their cause?

Looking at the number of people at his funeral he could be one of the most popular "Marathi Manoos" ever born in post-independence India. So the more important question will be about what legacy he has left behind for the State.

I would like to believe that the genuine concern that Balasaheb Thackeray had for the common Marathi Manoos needs to be converted into a solid action plan for development of the State. That would be the most fitting tribute to this charismatic politician by Shiv Sena.

Since the 1980s, the Shiv Sena won elections because of the connect Balasaheb had with the common maharashtrian. With this connect now gone out of Shiv Sena (and into MNS), the only option the party has is to show some real action on the ground. I hope they do. Else they would cease to exist in the State.

Maybe they could begin this process by not announcing a State Bandh tomorrow. Jai Maharashtra.

(Written on November 18, 2012)

The Disappearing Handcarts

The Handcart - one of the most environmentally sound modes of freight carriers is fast disappearing from city's landscape. I saw this man, at Ballardpier, sitting on a handcart between some of the popular modes of transport.