Mumbai blasts

I will throw up if somebody mentions the Mumbai spirit and resilience to me once again, i really will. Its not only overtly romanticized, it has reached a point where Mumbaikars will take shit after shit without giving a damn.

However shocking, tragic and barbaric those terrorist attacks were, killing unnecessary innocent lives, for me our reaction to it was more shocking and terrible. Minutes after the blasts, even before they could confirm how many blasts have actually occured the media were taking of the Mumbai spirit and how will it bounce back.

According to me a free civil society is best represented by the media. Its the voice of the people. But if the coverage of these blasts are anything to go by then we have a huge problem of misplaced priorities.

Terrorism is a global phenomeneon, India has been a witness to it for more than a decade. Its not that bomb blasts, affect Kashmir or that remote village in the Northeast anymore, it has entered our lives. Practically anybody could have been on that train, if it was a weekend i would have been on it. Its a war, a global war,and to tackle it needs vision, efficiency and a unrelenting swift criminal justice system.

Can anyone tell me what were Kunal Kohli and Shabana Azmi doing on the panel of We the People and the show on CNN IBN? A social activist, i dont remember her name, announced that the solution is we have to stamp about fundamentalism from our homes. How very insightful madam, go and give your fucking sermon to Osama bin Laden and Praveen tagodia, you may just change the world. Its the last thing we need, a social activist deciding how do we tackle terror. Agreed fundamentalism should be stamped out and the likes of Shiv Sena should not be allowed to take advantage, but why give them ideas of it in the first place. My question is where were the terrorism experts, strategic thinkers, operatinal task force anlysing what should be done to avoid more attacks like this.

The point is from corridors of government to newsrooms of media houses, we are yet to realize the danger we are facing. The previous government was more inclined to stop minoritysm than terror, and now this government is doing the reverse. We have an economist Prime Minister (i am not sure of his economic credentials anymore), whose sppech on TV the other day looked like begging more than a warning to terrorists. For gods sake dude we know you are a nice man, get over it. The less said about the Home Minister the better.

We are supposed to be a Nation on the brink of being a global power, but our actions are ridiculously third world. Dont be surprised if some more of us are blown apart.

Inequality & the agrarian crisis

Its a familiar tone that economic reform debate takes, the debate about the growing inequality, the widening gap between the rich and the poor. The media loves it. How often do we see the images flash across the screen, of a poor hutment right next to a high rise apartment, of a handicapped beggar begging from a seth in a mercedes benz.Inequality of wealth is shown as the single most bane of reforms. But is inequality of wealth a fair enough measure? I think not.

For one wealth is relative, what is enough for me maybe too tiny for you. And also i never understood the dollar a day measure. Is a guy who earns 1 dollar 10 cents much better?. Compared to Bill gates i am terrribly poor. But its unfair to point finger at Bill gates and say oh how very cruel of you to mint billions when poor little Rajeev slogs for a few thousand rupees. Its unfair because the measure doesnt take into account how immensely lazy i am and how ridiculously unambitious i can get.

Instead of focussing on inequality of wealth, what we need to monitor , worry and focus on is inequality of oppurtunities. But how do you measure inequality of oppurtunity? Hmm tough nut to crack, i wish i knew but i will try and find out.

One more issue i have been thinking about and was the purpose of this post is the farmer suicides and the much large agrarian crisis. I am terribly hungry now so will continue this in the next post.

Argentina needed a Steven Rodger Waugh

What a world cup its turning out to be. Such drama and passion. The two South American giants are out.

I expected Brazil to lose after i watched them in the Ghana match. They were selfish and terribly over confident. Never once did they play like a team. It was like 11 stars playing to achieve their own personal glory and Ronaldo seemed to net the ball more to break Gerd Muller's record than to make his team go through. So when they came aganist a resurgent French side and a magical Zinadine Zidane they fell awfully short.

Argentina was different. Whoever saw that sublime 24 pass goal against the hapless Serbia & Montenagro stand convinced that this is their world cup. For a country still reeling under the enormous cult of a single man ,that crazy genius called Maradona, this was a chance to find new stars and new age of footballing greats. And they had talent and skill in the likes of Riquelme, Messi and Saviola. So when they went ahead just minutes into the second half against an inspired but what i think a limited German team, i thought they would win 3-0. But Football is a game played as much in the coach's head as it is in the field. Peckerman went defensive and removed Crespo and Riquelma a touch too early and never introduced Messi. Finally it was all down to penalties

Sport as life can be very harsh. While passion, skill , exubarence and style can win you acclodes and fans, it is good old fashioned grit , hardwork and ruthlessness that will win you matches in crunch times. When it comes down to a kick the head matters more than the heart. The Germans come from a culture of discipline, ruthlessness and professionalism, not Argentina. In a team full of Brian Charles Laras, Argentina needed a Steven Rodger Waugh