SG OwnBlog

In India Defence Ministers engage in some of the biggest scams ever. Multi-billion dollar deals are hijacked and loot siphoned off clandestinely. The ill gotten wealth goes all the way to some top notch Swiss bank. After a couple of years some folks raise a hullabaloo about the whole matter to earn votes and topple the Government. So that they can do the same thing. And the process goes on and on. Our present minister Mr. A.K. Anthony is a decent man. He may have his failings, no doubt. But he is not corrupt. In a Government that has broken all records of corruption this should be a matter of pride. This gentleman has been instrumental in finalizing a number of defence deals and that too with a fair amount of transparency. He has always lead a simple and spartan life, quite like out previous Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee and so far at least has a very clean image. For this reason alone he has earned my respect. So it is very unfortunate the the events have taken an ugly tu

Criminals commit crime. Convicted criminals I mean. For some unknown reason, India still allowed rapists, murderers and drug peddlers to run for elections, get elected and become chief ministers of states and do what they do best - rape, murder, peddle drugs. Only difference, they did it with police protection. Now the Supreme Court has played spoilsport . They have come out with a damning judgement that sends almost a third of India's elected representatives out of office. A pretty common sensical judgement one would assume. But the Government and especially the ruling party has seriously objected to the ruling and plans to take it up legally. The point they have is simple. If Dirlewanger could help the Nazis supress the Warsaw Uprising, why should criminals be left out of the election arena. In fact if possible committing a crime should be made a pre-requisite for being an elected representative. No doubt, people say, "India is a funny country!". 'RSS' p

It was 15th June, 2004. Gujarat Police gunned down four people between the Gandhinagar - Ahmedabad road. The killed were Ishrat Jahan Raza aged 19, Javed Gulam Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar. Allegations were raised that the encounter was fake. In 2004 itself, a Lahore based publication of the Lashkar e Tayyiba confirmed that Ishrat Jahan and the other three were indeed operatives. This definitely gave a jolt to many parties who were crying foul. After three longs years, Jamaat-ud-Dawa stated that it was a 'journalistic mistake' to include the name of Ishrat Jahan and sent an apology to her family. This stirred the other folks into action. The hibernating political jumbos immediately filed a number of cases and after a long investigation, that is after 5 years, the Ahmedabad Metropolitan court declared that the encounter was staged . Important thing to note here is that it did not claim that Ishrat Jahan was innocent. Something quite damning then happened. Dav

Last weekend, Diggy Raja responded to the email I sent to him a year back. That too he chose the snail mail. Yes, that's right. I received a postcard for the email! He wrote that he would allow me to interview him. He also gave me the place and time. Every month he visits a renowned psychiatrist for schizophrenia related ailments. While returning he would have some time and that's when he would answer my questions. I was glad. So I went to the clinic, showed the postcard and surprisingly was put into the van where he was sitting. He was restrained with steel chains. But he seemed to be sitting comfortably. A mark of habit perhaps. Me: Thank you very much Diggy Raja for allowing me to interview you. It is an honor. DR: Aaaaaarrrggghh.(Eyes turn red) Hide your shirt...I said hide your shirt.....(he was screaming and crying at the same time) Me: I was wearing a normal brown shirt with a 'OM' symbol etched in yellow. I buttoned my jacket to hide my shirt. DR: Much b

This question looms large over all Indians. The 2014 general elections is approaching. Sure it is still another year to go, but for us somehow this one feels so different. Over the last five years India and the world has changed a lot.The Congress ruled Government has some serious challenge to face. In spite of the contribution to national development they are facing the flak. Achievements of the present government - All records for corruption have been broken. The total scams unearthed so far in the short span of four years is equivalent to the GDP of all of Africa combined. Successfully supporting, shielding corrupt people. Dividing the nation on communal lines. Ensuring that the rate of growth declines and the economy slows down. Accelerating inflation and promoting crimes. Not preventing a rape wave but successfully assault protesters. Somehow finding BJP and Hindutva responsible for all ills. On the opposite side is the still unfortunately untainted(economically) Nare