Islamic Republic Of Denial

Nadeem F. Paracha writes in Dawn:

Here we have a university that was attacked by a psychotic suicide bomber who slaughtered and injured dozens of students so he could get his share of hooris in Paradise. The attack was then proudly owned by the Tekrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. And in its wake, we saw enraged students protesting against the Kerry-Lugar act? What a response!

...

But then, some would suggest that in a society like Pakistan, such idiosyncrasies should be swallowed as a norm. And I agree. What else can one expect from a society living in a curiously delusional state of denial, gleefully mistaking it as ‘patriotism’ and ‘concern.’ It seems no amount of proof will ever be enough to dent Pakistanis’ resolve to defend the unsubstantiated, wild theories that they so dearly hold in their rapidly shrinking heads.

Leave religion behind, guys. In the 600 A.D., it was great to have it, as an underpinning for the budding civilization in the deserts of Arabia. Now move on, confine it to prayers and festivals. It's 2009.

Very easy to say this. Nobody would listen.

End Before 2012?

MNS's latest agenda: bullying SBI over recruitment. (Only those domiciled in Maharashtra should be hired, is the demand.)

Shiv Sena's latest agenda: Putting sari on Kareena's bare back.

If this is Uddhav and company's idea of outdoing/upstaging Raj, may god save them. At this rate Sena's obit would be written sooner than 2012 -- when Mumbai corporation elections are due.

Sachin, Lata, and Bachchan

I don't understand why TOI is making celebrities from other walks of life talk about Sachin. Yesterday it was full-page Amitabh Bachchan. Today it is Lata Mangeshkar.

Celebrating Sachin, I can understand. People worship him. Recently he made 175, so this is the season of worship. Fine.

But why Bachchan and Mangeshkar? Firstly, both are not (known to be) cricket experts. Moreover, both are amongst the most boring interviewees in our country. Diplomatic to the core. You ask Amitabh about SRK and he says: he is a competent actor. If asked about Raj Thackeray, he will probably say Raj is a competent politician. And Lataji: once we (she and I) were talking about late O P Nayyar. Who, allegedly, hated her guts. She never sang for him.
She said to me: Oh, people say we had a quarrel, etc, but really there was nothing like that. We were good friends. It's just that I never got to sing for him.
Sure, I said, I believe you.

(Ok, ok. I have spoken to Lata only once, on the day Nayyar passed away. A telephonic talk. But she did say that.)

Competitive

Abu Azmi is the most pitiable guy in the world right now. First he got slapped by an MNS MLA. Now Shiv Sena, annoyed because MNS beat it to beating Azmi, wants to prove that it is the original slapper party. So it threatened to thrash Abu over his remark about Bal Thackeray. MNS goes one up: seeking to highjack Sena's cause, it has said it too idolizes Bal Thackeray, and would not hesitate to beat Azmi again if he dares insult the old man. Of course, MNS's threat sounds more credible at the moment.

In short: Two parties, which between them have lots of beatings and thrashings and breakings to their credit, are competing to bash Azmi.

Abu dear, run...

PS: MNS today apologised to the assembly for the ruckus during the oath-taking. It said there was no question of apologising to Azmi. This is like LeT saying it wants to apologize to the owners of Taj and Trident and Nariman House, but there is no question of apologizing to those who got killed inside these buildings.

Mata Enfield Bullet

From William Dalrymple's `Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India':

...Certainly on my travels around India for this book I found many worlds strangely colliding as the velocity of this process accelerates.

Outside Jodhpur, I visited a shrine and pilgrimage centre that has formed around an Enfield Bullet motorbike. Initially erected as a memorial to its owner, after the latter suffered a fatal crash, bike has now become a centre of pilgrimage, attracting pilgrims, especially devout truck drivers.

प्रति, श्री. कुमार केतकर

प्रति,

श्री. कुमार केतकर,

लोकसत्ता

केतकर साहेब,

आपला दैनिक लोकसत्तामधिल आजचा अबू आझमी यांना झालेल्या मारहाणीविषयीचा अग्रलेख आवडला.

बाकी दैनिकेही अग्रलेख छापतात, परन्तु ते अग्रलेख व्यक्तिमत्वहिन असतात. त्या दैनिकांच्या संपादकांप्रमाणेच. तुम्ही राज ठाकरे व

मनसे यांचा उत्तम समाचार घेतलात.

परन्तु प्रश्न असा पडतो कि राज ठाकरे हे व्यक्तिस्वातन्त्र्य, अहिंसा, लोकशाहीची शिस्त, राज्य

घटनेप्रती बांधिलकी, या गोष्टींना कस्पटासमान मानतात हे लोकसत्ताला याआधी कधी जाणवले नव्हते काय?

आत्तापर्यंत मनसेच्या छोट्या- छोट्या चळवळींना `मनसेचा दणका' असे संबोधून त्या पक्षाला उत्तेजन देण्याचे धोरण आपण का

स्वीकारले होते? राज ठाकरे यांची मनसे-प्रणीत हिंसक घटनांनंतरची सम्भावितासारखी निवेदने आपण छापलीत, तेव्हा त्याच्या जोडीला ठाकरे यांच्या युक्तिवादातील तर्कदुष्टपणावर बोट ठेवणारे लेख आपण का छापले नाहीत बरे?

बहुधा, मनसे हा शिवसेनेच्या मुळावर उठलेला पक्ष असल्याने त्याला उत्तेजन द्यावे असे तुमचे धोरण होते.

आता मनसे हा सवाई शिवसेना होत आहे. यापुढे मनसेचे लाड लोकसत्ता करणार नाही, अशी आशा आहे.

एक वाचक

In Assembly

MNS MLA slaps Abu Azmi on the floor of the assembly -- for taking oath in Hindi. And the peons and clerks in my office -- fellow Maharashtrians -- love it. "It was the right thing to do," is the consensus.

Congrats, Raj.

The incident also reminded me of what happened in East Pakistan assembly several decades ago. Deputy speaker of the house was lynched by rival party's MPs -- on the floor of the office. We are not there, yet.