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Telangana travails
Politics over
toilets |
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Pilgrims’ progress
Lalu case symbolic
A gift made precious by love
Little sense in this madness
Half-drawn portrait
A good run
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Telangana travails
The
die is cast. The Union Cabinet’s approval of a Home Ministry proposal for the creation of the 29th state by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and the Centre's decision to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to work out modalities for it have set into motion various processes the logical conclusion of which will be the creation of the state of Telangana. The decision is quite unpopular in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, known collectively as Seemandhra. Union ministers from the region have resigned, or threatened to put in their papers. They include Minister of State for Tourism K. Chiranjeevi, Human Resource Development Minister M. Pallam Raju, Textiles Minister Kavuri Samba Siva Rao and Minister of State for Railways Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy. There are widespread protests against the Telangana decision, even as the assent to it is being celebrated elsewhere. The Centre has, however, avoided a contentious issue by saying that Hyderabad will continue to be the capital of the two states for the next 10 years. Geographically, Hyderabad falls right in the middle of the Telangana region, but its special historical status as also a regional power hub of education, business and IT industries makes it a much sought after capital. The Centre has side-stepped the issue for now, but as has been seen in the Chandigarh experiment, which has often been cited in this context, shared capitals remain shared for much longer than intended and have the potential of straining relation between the two states. Concerns about Hyderabad losing its cosmopolitan culture to chauvinism will need to be addressed. The Congress has made good its electoral promise of creating Telangana, and is hoping to reap political benefits in the forthcoming elections. However, it is sailing in stormy waters. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is among those who oppose the creation of Telangana. Even if the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh has been taken because of political calculations, a cool head and a high degree of administrative acumen will be needed to handle the tricky situation that has emerged.
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Politics over
toilets
There
are more cellphones in India than toilets. No one has conducted a survey if the number of religious places exceeds the number of toilets in our country. Cellphones do not create a controversy when compared to the number of toilets, temples do. Hence, the uncalled-for political bickering. The fact remains, in the 2011 census, it was found that 53 per cent households in the country do not have toilets, forcing people to defecate in open. Since men do not have much hesitation in using walls and streets as open urinals in our country, it is women and the elderly who are inconvenienced. In rural India and urban slums, women wait for the sun to set, or, have to wake up before the sun is out, to go to the fields, at times risking attacks from reptiles. Making toilets is not as much an economic issue, as it is a cultural one. In a typical Indian household, money is spent where needs of men are involved. In rural India it is common to come across households with TV sets and cellphones but no toilets. It took gutsy women like Babita Rani of Kurukshetra, who refused to marry till the groom provided a toilet in the house, to bring focus on this much neglected cultural issue. That women need dignity and privacy for the very basic act that all living beings have to perform. The woeful lack of toilets not only causes serious health problems for a large populace, it affects tourism too. For women travellers across the country, the joy of discovering exotic locales is marred by terrible inconvenience caused by lack of clean toilets. Then, from railway stations to public buildings, one comes across the caste system of sanitation, with a number of toilets locked for VIPs. Therefore, despite the controversy the issue may have created, it is a sign of a maturing democracy that the basic issues like the need for sanitation are highlighted by the political class.
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Pilgrims’ progress
It
was environmental abuse that led to the tragedy of monumental magnitude that hit the Kedarnath Valley in June this year. Therefore, it is the measures taken to protect the environment that will bail out Uttarakhand from the aftermath of a disaster that caused losses, human and financial both, beyond measure. The economy of the state is largely dependent upon the pilgrims who undertake the char dham yatra( Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath). Hence, a lot depends on how human intervention in the natural environment is controlled without losing sight of the devotion of the pilgrims. It requires a delicate balance. Unlike the successful management of the Amarnath yatra, completed under the threat of terror, where registered pilgrims were to follow a well regulated route, all the four destinations for pilgrims in Uttarakhand have geographical distances, which pose a different kind of challenge to manage. A beginning has already been made by a decision to allow only 200 pilgrims a day, after a proper medical check-up to Kedarnath. Helicopter services are also in the offing, once again raising the same issue, to what extent the fragile ecology of the state can be disturbed for economic benefit? Monitoring the weather and number of pilgrims has been done successfully at other centres of pilgrimage with the aid of technology. The most challenging task the state government is going to face is denying permits and licences to a large number of hoteliers and tour operators who enjoyed benefits of a thriving tourism industry in the state. That will require some tough decisions and displeasing a large number of small and big business operators. Hopefully, a dedicated authority that will be constituted to supervise the char dham yarta will be empowered enough to make the powerful construction lobby in the state respect its point, that you can’t have another disaster waiting for the monetary benefit of a few.
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You can only predict things after they have happened. — Eugene Ionesco
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Lalu case symbolic Those
who stand for probity in public life should be highly pleased with the conviction of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad and the stiff penalty imposed on him. Any euphoria on this score will, however, be misplaced because this is not likely to lead to any immediate major cleansing of the polity. The role of money in government decisions is so overwhelming that the impact on those with a penchant for misdeeds will last only for a while. While the CBI deserves unqualified kudos for the thoroughness of investigation in the case which ensured effective prosecution of all conspirators, this could not have been achieved without the unstinted backing of the Supreme Court, the Patna High Court and an able Ranchi magistrate. If it has taken long years for the law to catch up with some of the most shrewd offenders, it was because of the might and influence enjoyed by the former Chief Minister. Also relevant is whether this satisfactory judicial conclusion could have been reached if the trial had not been transferred out of Bihar and to
Jharkhand. Desperate efforts were made to prevent this. But a determined Supreme Court stood its ground. We must salute the court for this perceptive response to an insidious attempt to subvert justice. Where do we go from here? It is easy to be cynical and hard to be optimistic in the battle against corruption. The proposed deliberate dilution of the deterrence built into the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, all in the name of protection of the innocent, sends a wrong signal to those in vital positions in government. The PC Act does not contemplate any government sanction for prosecuting retired public servants. This is now sought to be changed by a Bill pending in Parliament. This should force those on the verge of retirement also to buckle under pressure from a dishonest minister, even if they did not want to do so from an instinct of self-preservation and in pursuit of peace after retirement. I look upon this as a tendentious move that would encourage dishonesty in key places rather than discourage it. The Centre's response to the Supreme Court's query in one of the Coalgate hearings as to how it proposes to make the CBI more autonomous is unfortunately an exercise in obfuscation and deception. The refusal to concede independence to the CBI to investigate officials of and above the rank of Joint Secretary remains a major impediment to tackle corruption in high places. Under the present dispensation the CBI will have to reduce all the dope it has on a particular misdeed into writing, and the minister concerned will be privy to its contents. What happens when the minister himself is not above board and the civil servant to be questioned was just a conduit to be protected at all costs? How can the CBI proceed under this ludicrous situation? Unless the Supreme Court puts its foot down and upholds the
'hawala' judgment striking down the infamous Single Directive, there is no hope for salvation here. I hope the court will also have something harsh to say on the untenable position taken by the Centre that it is dangerous to vest too much of authority in a CBI Chief. The impression circulated is that an autonomous CBI Director will lack accountability. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Fortunately, we have had no Edgar Hoovers in our country. Nor will there be one in the foreseeable future. Even in the US, Hoover, who presided over the FBI for an incredible tenure of 48 years, was an aberration. In exercising their investigative powers, every CBI officer will be accountable to the law and courts, and no one else. If this is unacceptable to government, the whole dialogue between the Executive and the Supreme Court is bound to break down. The CBI is no doubt not omniscient, and it actually suffers from several infirmities, including a poor quality of investigation in many cases and a lack of incentives to its lower functionaries. While the CBI leadership needs to change the focus of training into a daily on-the-job exercise, in fairness to successive governments, it must be said that there has been some upgrade of service conditions. There is a definite case, however, for a further improvement. The usual argument that the government cannot be too lavish and it cannot discriminate between classes of its organisations in the matter of pay package does not hold water in the CBI's case. Corruption has become such a monster that not only does it affect India's international image, it also cuts at the roots of our economy. No cost will be too high, therefore, to counter corruption by having a well paid and, therefore, a well-motivated anti-corruption agency whose personnel are known for their high morale and integrity. There are allegations from time to time of excesses and lack of honesty among CBI ranks. This is distressing. A proactive Director is, therefore, the need of the hour, one who will zealously weed out bad hats in his
organisation. In this process he will personally pay a high price for any cover-up in a misguided effort not to demoralise his officers. More than this, there is an inescapable need for an Ombudsman (preferably a former Supreme Court judge) to undertake the much needed oversight. This is in the interest of the CBI itself, because there are far too many dishonest persons in society who, aggrieved by CBI investigations, are ready to level baseless allegations against investigation officers at the drop of a hat. All of this will not work unless there is a massive public opinion which is exercised over the compulsion to grease the palms of public servants. Activist movements of the past few years have no doubt contributed a little to raising awareness. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the movements seem to have lost their initial sheen. Deliberate misinformation about some leaders spearheading them is one factor. Such a vicious exercise, however, fits in with the Indian psyche. We should not surrender to such vile forces. Only the media can help here in exposing such
misadventures.
(The writer is a former CBI Director)
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A gift made precious by love This
year, the gift my spouse and I received from our eldest daughter, a Hindi teacher, on our 30th wedding anniversary was indeed heartwarming. This time, it was not a pair of branded shirt-and-trouser or imported perfume for me and a multi-hued, swanky saree or a trendy leather purse for her doting mom. She sprang a surprise for us as she walked in our room with a bouquet and an envelope tucked in her hands, as the pendulum of our Victorian wall clock chimed at 12 midnight. She handed over the gift to us, her younger siblings in tow, who trooped in with a heap of goodies for us. After a brief anniversary bash they had meticulously planned, I snappily opened the two-page congratulatory letter in Hindi, entitled:
"Merey Piyare Mata-Pita…" It was an ode from a quintessential daughter to her parents. Each couplet of her self-composed lyrical composition singing paeans for her parents’ well being left an indelible imprint on my memory. “Mera jeevan aapke bina uss patte ke samaan
hai, jisse patjhar mein briksh bhi apne se alag kar deta hai, merey jivan ko haryali se jinhone sajaya
hai, voh aap hain mere piyare mata-pita…” (My life without you is like a dry autumn leaf that even a tree doffs off as the season sets in. It is you, my adorable parents, who infused life in my lifeless frame). The terse and telling metaphors used as powerful vehicles continue to reverberate in my mind. “Janam yadi sachai hai to mrityu bhi nischit
hai, meri ishwar se yehi viniti hai, ki jub bhi iss dharati par janam loon, aur jis roop mein pana
chahun, woh aap hai mere piyare mata-pita" (If birth is a tested truth, death too is ordained to happen. I earnestly pray to God that if I am born again, I wish to be your progeny). The soulful outpourings of a daughter left us teary-eyed. We hugged her. That night I tossed in the bed, without getting a single wink of sleep. Around midnight, I tip-toed to the terrace of my office residence facing a sprawling park in the backyard, skirted by groves of ‘amalatas’ and other trees. It wore a cold look with the shrill sounds of cicadas shattering the serenity of the moonlit night. Reclining on a huge worn-out sofa that lay abandoned for years, I can't recall when I fell asleep. I got up the next morning to the pre-dawn chirpings of humming birds. It was a staid Sunday with clouds fleeting overhead like the elusive morning mist. A soothing breeze caressed my body. Each precious pearl of the composition, winsomely woven into an immortal piece of poetry, kept tugging at my heart. I was transported into a wonky world where we rogue mortals rush to offend daughters. We kill them in the wombs without qualms, hound them for dowry, and even brutally kill them for
'honour'. While we perpetrate atrocities on them, their heart never stops beating for their parents. As I was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, a knock at the door stirred me out of reverie. My daughter was there with a hot cup of tea for me. While I relished the morning
cuppa, I gazed at her cherubic face in
adoration!
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: *****Excellent ****Very Good ***Good **Average *Poor
Little sense in this madness Cinema
is first and foremost a means of entertainment; so believe a whole tribe of Bollywood film-makers including Abhinav Singh Kashyap the director who gave us the highly entertaining Dabangg. But as with other directors of the same ilk, often their strength becomes their biggest failing and they forget masala potboilers require just the right dose of seasoning and tadka to hit home.
Abhinav’s second outing, which one expected to be irreverent and fun, instead turns out to be lewd, bordering on crass and only sporadically funny. Walking on a wafer-thin skeletal storyline, the tale of a shameless ruffian Babli (Ranbir Kapoor) tries to pack ingredients like sexual innuendoes and toilet humour, a sensible and sensitive filmmaker ought to be ashamed of. Since Abhinav makes no such claims, his sense of absurdity and idea of wacky could have been forgiven and excused. Alas, the bigger shame here is he can’t make his mad-hatters click. Ranbir as Babli is far from adorable. Despite the orphan tweak (he is an orphan with no surname) and the heart of gold add-on (he donates all his ‘earnings’ to the orphanage) you just don’t root or feel for him. Nor for any other character the least of all the heroine Pallavi Sharda who is singularly unimpressive. Despite her plunging necklines she does little to add to the oomph or star value of the film. Ranbir’s bare act (yes you get to see him in a shower with his butt-line showing) too is unlikely to titillate even his diehard female fans. Actually the biggest disappointment of the film is Ranbir. The actor who has so far chosen his roles so carefully falls into a trap this time and his over-the-top antics can’t pull him out or save the film that begins on a rather insipid note.
Indeed Abhinav thought he had scored a winner by casting the three members of the illustrious Kapoor khandaan. Perhaps the coming together of Rishi, Ranbir and Neetu could have been the USP of the film and some scenes between the trio (and the couple too) are endearing for sure. But the director seems so enamoured by his perceived masterstroke and tries to rub in, and remind you time and again of the connection between the threesome that it’s no more awesome. To be honest, there is little (and that goes for the tepid musical score as well) in the film that is winsome. Be it when Abhinav is following the formula or debunking it he somehow fails to enrapture you. The tongue-in-cheek digs at other films and songs too don’t add up to anything substantial or amusing. With so many references to other films and actors one doesn’t know whether Abhinav is paying a tribute or laughing at them. But clearly he doesn’t have the last laugh (at least not on the critical appreciation meter). Will he laugh all the way to the bank…well, judging by the first day collections (the film opened on Gandhi Jayanti) he might. In case you want to add to the film’s revenue business…by all means join the club. Only remember madness isn’t always unadulterated khel tamasha. Certainly not when villain Hawala king Bheem Singh Chandel (Javed Jaffrey) and his henchmen go around wielding rocket launchers in City Beautiful, a place where the film is partially set. If not audiences, at least Chandigarh deserved better.
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Half-drawn portrait What
kind of a person was Princess Diana? Was she the Queen of Hearts or a confused, even fickle woman? Based on Kate Snell’s Diana: Her Last Love, this new film Diana delves into the psyche of the late Princess with moderate success but is far too ponderous about her love with a Pakistani doctor.
Narrated in flashback, it covers the last two years of her life before her fatal car crash in Paris. Her marriage with Prince Charles was over (“there were three in a marriage, a bit crowded”) and Diana (Naomi Watts) had just met Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews) Seen after a long absence Naveen Andrews does a good job while Naomi Watts tries hard to get under the skin of the complex princess. Cas Anvar is minimized as Dodi Fayed in this much ado about little drama. |
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A good run When
Princeton University professor Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) finds himself in trouble with his dean over his encouraging gambling on the campus, he has to make other plans.
But first, he has to settle a score with gambling shark Ivan Black (Ben Affleck) in Costa Rica and for this he goes to his dad, a big gambler in his time. Taking time off from Princeton he flies to that Latino country to meet Black who has a ring of security guards around him and the frame is dotted with skimpily-clad gorgeous women. Impressed by his direct approach Black massages his ego and even wins him over to work for him. This is the beginning of a maze with loads of players he can hardly trust. Black is a smooth operator making decisions innocuously as he goes about his chores. But Richie soon finds himself in all sorts of trouble. Agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) kidnaps him in right royal style and tries to enlist him in an anti-Black front The Costa Rica scenario is graphically captured with bribery being a cottage industry and dollars are concealed under cigars. Latino music with its familiar beat is provided by Christophe Beck and the gyrating damsels. There’s never a dull moment in this absorbing 91-minute drama rounded off with a delightful ending. Justin Timberlake is his usual suave self as he battles left and right and is ably supported by a restrained Ben Affleck. Gemma Atkinson provides the oomph and dramatic relief while cameo player Anthony Mackie is wasted in too brief a role.
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So instead of meeting a smart alec car thief Babli you encounter one who wakes up the whole neighbourhood while stealing a car. And even has police on his tail. And guess who the police is — Inspector Chulbul Chautala( Rishi Kapoor) and constable Bulbul Chautala (Neetu Singh). 
She was royalty, even if she strayed into it and he was an orthodox Muslim at first reluctant to be seen with her in public. But love seemed to have changed that. He even sends her to Lahore to see his parents where his mother does not spare her of the embarrassment of Mountbatten’s legacy. The Pakistani comes across strongly as a mature, well-read and dedicated person caught in a dilemma but director Oliver Hirschbiegel lingers laboriously on the affair. He is not helped by a patchy script by Stephen Jeffreys and the film could have done with dramatic relief. It gets far too repetitive. 
The screenplay by Koppleman and Levien is studded with wit and director Furmsen keeps the action taut aided by Jeff McEvoy’s crisp editing as cameraman Mauro Flore provides visual relief skimming over the water caressingly.
American Pie 2
Aashiqui 2