You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2006.
This is hilarious stuff!
“Attention Passengers”, came the announcement “ Air Deccan regrets to announce that this flight stands cancelled due to technical reasons. We regret the inconvenience”, much to the consternation of all those on board. All passengers were then requested to leave the aircraft, and make alternative arrangements. Complicating matters, while insisting that the passengers de-plane in mid-air so that repairs could be carried out, the crew refused to provide parachutes, jetpacks, or even ladders, sparking off angry reactions.
That’s a great blog. The latest story is Indian Union Ministers to Undergo New ‘ Swearing – At ‘ Ceremony.
A state guest will arrive shortly in India. There’s a person this guest doesnt like. So the Indian government, obviously under great pressure from that guest’s chamchas in India, serves notice to this person to stay out of the limits of the city in which he has lived all his life. If he doesnt comply, he’ll be deported to the place he originally came from. Why? Is he a criminal? A terrorist? A murderer? Mentally deranged? No. Is he a violent protestor atleast? No!
Who is this person? His name is Tenzin Tsundue. Why is he so unwanted? What crime did he commit or is going to commit? He’s going to protest. Protest China’s illegal occupation of Tibet. Is he going to throw stones? Is he going to use Molotov cocktails? Is he going to break the windows of buses? No! He has never taken to violence. Nor does he intend to. He advocates nonviolent protest and in fact, has always protested nonviolently before.
But for some reason, he’s banned from protesting. If he protests, he’s warned, he’ll be deported to Tibet. Imagine the injustice. Decades back, he and his kind have been denied the right to live in their own land according to their will by the marauders who are somewhat heavily named Peoples’ Liberation Army (liberation my ass! If you ask me, it should be named Other Peoples’ Occupation Army.) They however found shelter in a far more tolerant and inclusive society called India. And now, it looks like this tolerant society is beginning to show shades of intolerance, thanks to the government which is held hostage by the proponents of an intolerant ideology, an ideology they share with the guest, whom these proponents hold in ultra high esteem (Karat must be getting reddy to lick Hu Jintao’s boots. Karat and Yechuri might actually be fighting on who’ll get to lick first.)
Amit Varma puts it beautifully:
The Chinese government is not happy about a dissenter in India, so they get the Indian government to crack down on him. (Read it all.)
In an interview with Karan Thapar, Jethmalani claims:
I have a conscience which many people would be proud of. I am a champion of justice. That is precisely what I am doing.
And more:
In the first place, I have not made any accusations against her character. You can go on repeating it a hundred times if you like. I have cast no aspersions on her character. On the contrary, I have given her some character. I hope she deserves it.
We’ve already heard his “tall Sikh gentleman” theory (read bullshit). It was not Manu Sharma who shot Jessica that night. It was some nameless “tall Sikh gentleman” who apparently dropped out of the sky invisible to all those present at the scene. And Ram Jethmalani was the only person on planet Earth, who knew about it.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m wasting time preparing for IPS. Maybe I should just throw it all away and become a criminal lawyer like Jethmalani. Then, I’d have the privelege of meeting the worst criminals and defending them in a court of law. I can, for instance, claim that it wasnt Mohammad Atta who flew a plane into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. I can claim that it was actually a “tall Sikh gentleman” who flew the plane. I can also claim that “I gave the WTC Towers some height and strength. Hope they deserve it.” And at the end of the day, still come back home and have a shot of single malt, all the while telling myself and everybody else “I’m a fuckin’ champion of justice!”
Now, I like Chinese food. China is also the world’s fastest growing economy, it has an ancient culture, and is pegged to become a superpower. So, I’m supposed to like China. I’m supposed to admire China and be awed by its progress. But somehow I dont like China. I have a negative image of China. Not because China is a serious competitor to India but maybe because of China’s (high school bully) attitude towards other countries and cultures. The latest in the list of China’s exemplary achievements vis-a-vis its international relations is the following claim made by its ambassador:
- “In our position the whole of what you call the state of Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese territory and Tawang (district) is only one place in it and we are claiming all of that-that’s our position,” said Ambassador Sun Yuxi.
(Predictably, there was no response from 27-29, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, New Delhi. If anything, you might get a “Hey why not?” from Yechuri in the coming days. And the deafening silence of the communist mouthpiece, The Hindu, on this issue is all too obvious.)
Why should this be taken seriously, you ask? Because these words come not from some tired and frustrated column writer like Praful Bidwai but from a very important Chinese official – the Chinese Ambassador, the Ambassador!
It’s like the Indian Ambassador to Pakistan saying this to a Paki TV channel in Islamabad:
- “In our position the whole of what you call the province of Punjab is Indian territory and Lahore is only one place in it and we are claiming all of that-that’s our position,” said the Indian Ambassador to Pakistan.
The thing that angers me most is the sheer audacity of this claim. You go to a neighbouring country’s capital and claim that a part of that country’s territory as yours. And you do it in such a casual fashion, as if you’re asking for a beedi at a panshop.
China wants Arunchal Pradesh mainly because it believes Ar. P. was a part of Tibet once. In fact, the Chinese refer to Ar. P. as South Tibet. Tawang is an important Buddhist monastery and China’s occupation of Tibet would be complete if Tawang and Ar. P. are added to the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Other than this, China has no justification whatsoever to place claims over Ar. P. Moreover, Ar. P. has always been administrated by India. There’s a stable government in place. It’s economy is booming, doubling every five years. There seems to be no dissatisfaction with Indian administration.
China’s reasoning of its occupation of Tibet itself (crudely: “Tibet was a part of China once”) is quite ridiculous, almost childish, which is why I liked these comments by readers on that CNN-IBN article:
- Pakistan and Bangladesh were once apart of India. We should go and reclaim these countries becausae they were historically a part of India. And the Chola Empire once covered South India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Thus, we have the right to claim Indonesia and Sri Lanka becuase we have parts of this historic kingdom. China’s justification is childish, and can be used to justify its takeover of all land in the world.
- I have know idea why we belive China’s reasoning! They are no justification. Using their beliefs, we can reclaim all land between Afghanistan and Vietnam and even Indonesia (remember the Chola empire) because all those lands were once apart of India in some way. And because Buddhism originated in India, WE CAN CLAIM ALL OF CHINA! Just because land belonged to a country in the past does not mean they can today. China’s wanting of Arunachal Pradesh is merely justified by childish reasons.
- First Budhism is not native to Tibet. Just because Dalai Lama is resident in Dharmsala, that does not mean that place belongs to Tibet. No one knows when that lamasery was established. Looks like it is time that India starts claiming all of southeast asia as it was part of greater India once upon a time and also Pakistan and Bangladesh as it is india with indians divided into 3 countries. Start claiming all these and others will keep quiet on Arunachal pradesh, Kashmir etc.
Quite! China, just lay off, will ya?
Cricket, football, tennis… we havent been doing that well these days.
Atleast, we’re good at archery:
India emerged champions in the Second Commonwealth Archery Championship in Jamshedpur on Saturday bagging five gold, two silver and one bronze.
Congratulations to the team! Celebrate!
Recent Comments