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Third Front speaks up
Alone abroad |
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Driven to suicide
Chimra of N-disarmament
Place of birth
CINEMA:
NEW Releases
Who’s afraid of sharks now?
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Third Front speaks up Tired of the logjam over questionable coal allocations to private firms, eight political parties have joined hands to demand a judicial inquiry and a debate in Parliament. Among them are the Samajwadi Party, the AIADMK, Telugu Desam, the Biju Janata Dal and the Left parties. In the Congress-BJP standoff these parties are feeling sidelined. Raising their collective voice, they have accused the Congress-BJP duo of corruption in coal block allotments. Their coming together is also seen as a revival of the Third Front in preparation for the coming Lok Sabha elections which, they believe, may not give a clear majority to either of the two national parties. That Mulayam Singh Yadav has prime ministerial ambitions is no secret. BJP veteran L.K. Advani’s prediction of a non-BJP, non-Congress Prime Minister in 2014 must have raised his hopes. Though his Samajwadi party extends outside support to the UPA government, he has kept other options open. For the Congress he is an undependable ally as was seen during the Presidential election. To meet his future goal and keep himself on the political centre stage, he depends on Left support. Though the Third Front tasted power twice at the Centre – first during 1989-90 and then in 1996 — it has always remained on a shaky ground. The BJP’s ill-conceived idea of paralysing Parliament has left it increasingly isolated. A majority of political parties, including some BJP allies, want that the coal controversy should be debated in Parliament. The Akali Dal is not enthusiastic about the BJP demand for the resignation of a Sikh Prime Minister. Oddly, BJP leaders prefer TV channels to the Parliament forum to discuss a serious issue. Important legislative work has been held up. Parliamentarians should find ways to resolve the crisis. A judicial inquiry may not help. A committee of experts can re-examine all coal block allocations and cancel those given on extraneous considerations. Cases of violation of the law, if any, can be handed over to the CBI. Raising a hue and cry day after day leads Parliament, and the country, no where.
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Alone abroad It is unfortunate that Indian students enrolled in yet another foreign university face an uncertain future because of the university’s problems with the British government. While it is well within its rights to revoke the permission given to the London Metropolitan University to sponsor visas, the estimated 2,000 foreign students face a deportation threat.
Even as the university is making all the right noises, the students would be concerned not only about losing their status but also the issue of quality of education imparted to them. The authorities maintain that the university has been lax in its testing standards, which threatens not only the Indian students, but also others who are enrolled there. Indian students, who study abroad, face problems on multiple fronts. The UK, because of its changing visa policies and problems associated with particular institutions, has become less coveted a destination for Indian students these days. In Australia, educational institutions with dubious credentials admitted students and then folded up. A number of racial attacks have further dented the reputation of the country, which has, however, taken many positive steps to address the issue. In the US, too, problems have cropped up with Tri-Valley and Herguan universities, to cite two recent cases, where Indian students faced problems as the authorities closed down the institutions they were studying in. Indian students have been going abroad for more than a century. They have contributed heavily to the cultures that provided them with higher education and thus educated Indians are treated with respect as assets all over the world. For most middle-class households, educating their children abroad is a dream that is realised after tremendous amount of dedication and hard work; and financed, more often than not, by selling off some assets. Due diligence by parents and students can ensure that students are sent only to bona fide universities. But what happens when such universities are found to be wanting? In such circumstances, it is the duty of the host government to help students, like the 350 or so Indian students in London, complete their studies in the least disruptive manner.
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Driven to suicide Somehow moral and ethical apprehensions of our society have got narrowed down to the girl-boy relationship. The presence of girls and boys in parks becomes a ‘threat’ to the ‘health of society.’ All those who join the bandwagon of the saviours of our ‘tradition’ forget that we took pride in giving the world its first treatise on sex, ‘Kamasutra’, and one of our greatest poets, Kalidasa, composed ‘Kumarshambhava,’ one of the finest pieces of erotic poetry.
But in the name of imposing their own brand of morals, the young are made to receive flak because of their voiceless status in society. The overzealousness of some residents of Jalandhar to protect the moral standards of their locality led to the suicide of a young woman, leaving behind many questions. What is immoral — a girl driving in a car with a boy, or, the shaming of the girl to an extent that she had to take her own life? Who should be blamed in such cases of moral decadence— the police, the so-called moral guardians of society who call the police to ‘correct’ the young, or the young themselves? If the Punjab police is trying to outdo party-raiding Assistant Commissioner of Police Vasant Dobhle, who turned the social services branch of the police into a de-facto moral police in Mumbai, it will do them good to remember that it earned him only notoriety. While the young get stamped as irresponsible, it is the authorities who behave recklessly in the name of correcting morals. Why did the Jalandhar police invite the media? Despite protests by the girl, why did photojournalists click her pictures? Even though the Assistant Sub-Inspector involved in the case has been suspended, the saddest part of the whole episode is the role of the police and the media. It is time to sensitise not only the police but also the media about the impact public humiliation and negative publicity can have on impressionable young minds.
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We do not judge the people we love. — Jean-Paul Sartre
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Chimra of N-disarmament The
anniversary of the barbaric atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 went by virtually unnoticed, except in a ritual manner, devoid of either emotion or conviction. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon sent a message that was read out in
Hiroshima on August 6 stating: “On this day, in this city, let me proclaim again: there must never be another nuclear attack – never… Such weapons have no legitimate place in our world. Their elimination is both morally right and a practical necessity in protecting humanity.” There is no question of the desirability of nuclear disarmament. But a shadow falls between the intent and its execution casting doubts on the feasibility of this endeavour. A lifetime can be spent in parsing the permutations and combinations possible with these two words. Is nuclear disarmament desirable and feasible; not desirable nor feasible; desirable but not feasible; or feasible but not desirable? Should Hiroshima and Nagasaki not inform us that nuclear disarmament has become unavoidable as science and technology rolls onwards? The objections can initially be rehearsed that nuclear disarmament is a fantasy. Why? First, information on manufacturing nuclear weapons is widespread, and
the equipment and materials required can be obtained with some effort. In any case, the knowledge to make nuclear weapons cannot be dis-invented. Second, they provide deterrence and defense against nuclear and major conventional attack; hence they are cardinal for national security. Third, a real danger exists that a small nuclear arsenal could be secreted away, and become critical in a disarmed world. Fourth, the nuclear weapon-states — recognised by the NPT and the
outliers — should disarm first, but are hardly likely to do so, due to the ‘You First’ syndrome, viz. X will not disarm until Y disarms, and Y will not disarm until X disarms. Fifth, the military-industrial-scientific-bureaucratic complex assembled around nuclear weapons would face retrenchment, which it will resist. Besides, there are serious possibilities that these unemployed persons would become available to the nuclear aspirants. So, what are the counter-arguments? First, nuclear weapons are different. The destruction they caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was horrendous in terms of casualties and destruction to property and infrastructure. The victims’ descendants continue to suffer, and we still do not fully comprehend the effect of atomic radiation on the human body and the environment. Second, a logical inconsistency is obtaining. The nuclear weapon- states urge that they cannot disarm in any foreseeable time-frame on security considerations, but are firmly against nuclear proliferation and more countries joining the Nuclear Club. Only China has acted Third, the problems of national security have become complex with the more relevant threats arising from terrorism, climate change, migration, environmental decay, and cyber security. Nuclear weapons do provide deterrence against nuclear or major conventional attack, but have no relevance for addressing these more imminent threats. Fourth, nuclear weapons have no relevance either for a world where economic strength and the GDP size has trumped military prowess. Japan
and Germany have greater influence in world affairs than the UK or France which possess nuclear arsenals. China is firmly set on overtaking the United States as the world’s foremost power despite the latter spending the most on defence and possessing the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Fifth, the issues of nuclear safety as also of nuclear security have become very visible. The possibility of nuclear weapon accidents are constantly coming to light. There is also a growing angst that terrorists might acquire nuclear weapons or fissile materials and fashion them into nuclear weapons. Sixth, the tradition of non-use of nuclear weapons has strengthened after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear catastrophe. The United States suffered an ignominious defeat in Vietnam, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan,
and India could not use its nuclear weapons in Kargil to repel the Pakistani aggression. What use then are nuclear weapons to serve the realistic ends of national security? So, where is India on these weighty issues? It would be fair to note
that Nehru’s idealistic vision of universal and complete disarmament collapsed with the occurrence of three apocalyptic events in the sixties — India’s humiliating defeat in the Sino-Indian border
conflict (1962), China’s explosion of its first nuclear device (1964), and Sino-Pak collusion during the second India-Pakistan war (1965). The need for a nuclear deterrent posited subsequently in the Indian consciousness and found expression ultimately in the nuclear tests of
May 1998. The Indian establishment knew where it was going, but cloaked this process behind a cloud of rhetoric, grand-standing declarations. They included stentorian calls to achieve complete, verifiable and universal nuclear disarmament in a time-bound framework. The Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan (1988) has also been resurrected in a new avatar with official benevolence. Meanwhile, India is proceeding ahead with its ballistic missile and ballistic missile defence programmes. Agni-V has been flight-tested over a 5000 km range to provide deterrence against China. Interceptor missiles of different ranges and phased array radars are being tested to defend against incoming missiles and provide the elements of a
ballistic missile defence system. The Arihant nuclear missile armed submarine is undergoing sea trials and would endow India with the third leg of its Nuclear Triad, as envisaged in its nuclear doctrine. This two-pronged policy of calling for nuclear disarmament, but Incidentally, the Mayor of Nagasaki had urged that: “The international community must act now by taking the first concrete steps toward concluding the Nuclear Weapons Convention.” It would outlaw the creation, possession and employment of atomic armaments, but is nowhere on the horizon. Nor will it come onto the agenda in the current strategic environment. And if nobody starts this process nuclear disarmament will continue to remain a
chimera.
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Place of birth Ever since I can remember, every application form that I have filled has had a rather innocuous and harmless little column saying, “Place of birth”. Over the years I came to regard this column as redundant. I was convinced that my being born in Jubar or Jhumri Talaiya or any other place had never made any difference to the outcome of my application. Then, recently, two things happened in quick succession that proved that I was wrong. It was 1961 and my brother-in-law, who was in the Army, was posted at Jammu. It was here that my niece, Praneet, was born. She could easily have been born in Jalandhar, where my parents, both doctors, and my mother, a gynaecologist, lived. At that time the matter seemed of little consequence. Last year, Praneet decided to go with some friends on a visit to China. Her application for a visa was promptly and firmly turned down on the grounds that she was born in Jammu and Kashmir. Praneet took this in her stride: there were still many foreign lands she had not visited and she would take her chance with them. Then early this year, when she was planning a holiday trip during summer, she found, to her dismay, that her passport had expired. She decided to apply for a renewal under the ‘Tatkal’ scheme. But when she got onto the net, a box popped out at her and she discovered to her horror that a passport renewal, or the issue of a new passport were not permissible under the ‘Tatkal’ scheme to people born in Jammu and Kashmir. For further details she could meet the Regional Passport Officer. The Passport Officer was polite and courteous to a fault. He offered her a rather convoluted explanation about Jammu and Kashmir having a special constitution, which made little sense to her. He also advised her to file an affidavit to say that her father had been in the army and that her stay in Jammu and Kashmir had been limited to the first few months of her life. But a dozen visits and three affidavits later she was exactly where she had been and decided to wait for her passport renewal under the regular procedure. Never again will I dismiss the Place of Birth column as being inconsequential– it is, as borne out by Praneet’s experience, anything but harmless or innocuous! It deserves to be treated with
respect.
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CINEMA:
NEW Releases
This joker isn’t a game winner
The son is none else than scientist Agastya (Akshay Kumar) in search of alien presence. So you think he finds it in this strange land where a teacher thinks that World War II is not yet over, where Agastya’s brother (Shreyas Talpade) talks gibberish for unexplained reasons. Presto, UFO sighted, alien presence confirmed and mission accomplished. Well, well, it’s not so simple. For the movie is not so much about aliens and space ships as about the condition of a remote village, neglected and abandoned by all three states. So what can a scientist do? He develops a scientific hoax---crop circle and village men masquerading as aliens to garner world attention. And strangely enough, despite the bizarre premise, director Shirish Kunder pulls it off for the first half at least. The fast pace and crisp editing help the movie roll on smoothly enough. In the second half, however, the wafer thin storyline stumbles, gets repetitive and chugs along the predictable path, with no surprises counted. Nevertheless, the film’s short length prevents it from becoming dreary. Sure logic be damned… How a village where even mukhiya’s house resembles a bhoot bangla manages to get an item bomb dancing and singing to I just wanna you is inexplicable. The film has far too many loose ends which the director, also the story writer doesn’t care to tie up. For the intention is to serve a feel good film, often stretching the limits of imagination and incredulity too far. Humour, despite battery of comic actors, is sporadic and witty one-liners are lost. Our own Punjabi comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi barely gets one wisecrack. Asrani the school teacher has several, mostly translations of Hindi into English…. So hamara mazaak mat udao becomes “don’t fly jokes” and ulti chatri vomit umbrella. But give us the jailer of Sholay anytime, anywhere. However, where the film scores is that for most part it treads on familiar ground and stirs clear of creating the wherewithal’s of a regular science fiction. Instead of directly zooming on to extra-terrestrial creatures, the fantasy element is reserved for the last bit. In the histrionics department, the film sails on the shoulders of Akshay Kumar, who does all he can. Sonakshi Sinha as the pretty hangers on is just about apt and Minissha Lamba’s special appearance is not quite special. Chitrangada Singh, the sultry beauty, by the way, sizzles in the item number. The film, however, is no sizzler. Average albeit unusual fare, it is neither a revelation nor a joyride into the world of aliens. Barely passes muster on the watchable quotient. |
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Who’s afraid of sharks now?
Just let them be, let the good old creature enjoy the magnanimity of size, somersault in the dark blue ocean waters. Why do we go looking for them, at least once in two years? Sharks…somehow Hollywood hasn’t had enough of this species. Their flesh-tearing jaws, their rocket speed in water; Sharks in Bollywood seem to be the friendliest creatures after the chimps! Whether it is 12 Days of Terror, Jaws or Shark Attack, the creature has made the audiences close their eyes in terror many a time. Following suit, Shark Night 3D hits the theatres garnering ‘countable’ scary eyes! Shark Night has ‘yes-we-have-seen-that-before’ plot and moments. A group of friends having a ball of a time wake up to the deadly shark around them, courtesy the villain Dennis (Chris Carmack). But we aren’t surprised; we have seen that a hundred times before! Shark Night doesn’t have any bone-chilling moments. However, the only time you are woken up is when some flesh chomps come flying, hitting your face - thanks to ‘limited’ 3D effects. The other time when you feel like blinking your eyes is to take one warm and good look at the cute Sara Paxton. This is all that can keep you awake in the movie. All the earlier shark movies, including Shark Night, can be tied together and handed down to a biology student to understand the behaviour of directors who have made, remade them with the same approach without fail. In the absence of twists and turns, horror and thrill, we can see Shark Night being gobbled up by the deadly creature itself! |
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Movies on tv
Saturday SEPTEMBER 1 ZEE CINEMA 8:00PM Agent Vinod is a 2012 Indian action spy film directed by Sriram
Raghavan. A series of seemingly unconnected events across the world leads to Agent Vinod undertaking a globe-trotting mission to discover why his colleague was murdered. It stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor in leading roles and also features Ravi Kishan and Prem Chopra. ZEE Cinema 1:10AM 99, 4:00AM Mr.
Azaad, 7:15AM Naag Lok, 1:25PM Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, 4:45PM Maa Tujhhe Salaam, 8:00PM Agent Vinod SET MAX 6:30AM
Dil, 10:35AM The Super Khiladi, 2:05PM Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya, 5:10PM Simha: The Tiger, 8:00PM Dirty
Khabar, 8:30PM Munnabhai M.B.B.S., 11:55PM Kaalia STAR MOVIES 7:30AM Good Neighbors, 9:30AM The Front Row with Anupama Chopra 10:00AM Down Periscope, 12:30PM Bad Boys II, 2:30PM Zookeeper, 5:00PM Unstoppable, 7:00PM Ong
Bak, 9:00PM 2012 SONY PIX 8:30AM The Nutcracker, 10:30AM John Rambo, 12:20PM The Da Vinci Code, 2:35PM My Best Friend's Wedding, 4:30PM True Legend, 7:00PM Monster House, 9:00PM Fast & Furious, 11:15PM Return to the Blue Lagoon B4U MOVIES 8:00AM
Sharmilee, 12:00PM Baadshah, 4:00PM Victoria No. 203: Diamonds Are Forever, 7:30PM Apne MOVIES OK 6:15AM
Suryavanshi, 9:45AM Veergati, 1:15PM Kahaani, 3:55PM Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, 7:20PM D-War: Dragon Wars, 9:00PM Sabse Bada Don MOVIES NOW 8:00AM Executive Decision, 10:45AM
Shrek, 12:30PM Shrek 2, 2:30PM Shrek The Third, 4:15PM Predator, 6:30PM Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, 9:00PM Body of Lies, 11:45PM Lady Kung Fu 9:30AM Agni Pareeksha 9:00PM Dharamyudh Sunday SEPTEMBER
2 Oye Lucky Lucky Oye B4U MOVIES 7:30PM A burglar reflects on his life and love; while the media speculates how he managed to pull off so many heists. It is a 2008 Indian film starring Abhay
Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Manjot Singh and Archana Puran Singh. It is directed by Dibakar
Banerjee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. STAR MOVIES 7:30AM Ong
Bak, 9:30AM The Princess Diaries, 12:00PM 2012, 2:30PM Grown Ups, 5:00PM
Eragon, 7:00PM Crazy On The Outside, 9:00PM Salt 11:00PM Kung Fu Hustle ZEE Cinema 1:10AM Lal
Baadshah, 4:00AM Yaadein, 7:15AM Vaishanavi, 10:40AM Hera Pheri, 2:15PM Prem
Rog, 6:00PM Agent Vinod, 9:25PM Badla Naag Ka SAHARA ONE 3:00PM Dharma, 8:30PM Heer Ranjha B4U MOVIES 8:00AM Jaan Se
Pyara, 12:00PM 4 Times Lucky, 4:00PM Naqaab, 7:30PM Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! MOVIES OK 6:00AM Comedy Club, 6:30AM Duplicate, 9:55AM Jajantaram
Mamantaram, 12:30PM Patiala House, 3:35PM Hero No.1, 5:50PM Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya 9:00PM Golmaal 3 SONY PIX 6:30AM My Best Friend's Wedding, 8:50AM John Rambo, 10:40AM Monster House, 12:20PM The Fast and the Furious, 2:15PM Friends With Benefits, 4:00PM
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 6:35PM Slumdog Millionaire, 9:00PM Bean, 11:00PM Good Luck Chuck |
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Nonika Singh
What’s
Directed by David R Ellis and written by Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg, the movie stars Sara Paxton, Alyssa Diaz, Dustin Milligan, Katharine McPhee and Joel David Moore. A group of friends, a family vacation on a private lake; encounter with an ex-flame, lots of predictable scary scenes and our old gory friend - the shark…a perfect story line for all shark stories. Did we think this was going to be any different? Were we about to see the sharks and the actors bond over a swim or a dive? 
AGENT VINOD 
SAHARA ONE