Why AAP is the most exciting new party to join politics

Chetan Bhagat
29 November 2013, 10:01 PM IST

Few cities in India, if not the world, have a past as glorious as Delhi. The Lodhis, Mughals, British and even us in present day India, have chosen this city-state to be our capital. Even after factoring in my bias, being born and brought up in Delhi, i can still say Delhi is one of the greatest cities of our country.

And yet, Delhi has lost some of its honour. First, it is considered the hotbed of corruption. Partly due to Delhi`s importance, India`s biggest scams have originated here. Second, the most horrific cases of crimes against women have come from Delhi. Today, few talk about Delhi as glorious and great. Many talk about Delhi as corrupt and unsafe.

It isn`t fair to Delhiites — 99.9% of them did not tarnish the city. A few bad elements ruined the metro`s reputation. Of course, statistics show many Indian cities are equally unsafe on a per-capita basis. Corruption is probably as rampant anywhere else in the country. However Delhi, being high profile, bears the taint more than others.

Will Delhi ever restore its glory? Can Delhi ever become the most aspirational city to live in India? Can it be a role model for other Indian cities? Can it be a place where merit scores over corruption, and citizens are safe? There are no easy answers. Reputation, after all, takes long to rebuild.

However, next week Delhi has a chance to redeem itself. Delhi faces an unusual assembly election. It is an election the country will watch. The way Delhi votes will decide if it deserves the mantle of a great city.

It isn`t an easy election. It is a triangular contest between three plausible alternatives. The first choice is the Congress, with a dynamic CM seeking a fourth term. Despite misconduct allegations, the fact remains Sheila Dikshit has overseen a transformation of Delhi`s infrastructure, almost unmatched in any other Indian city. However, her misfortune remains her being from Congress, which faces a loss of confidence amongst the middle classes.

The second alternative is BJP. They have tried to position a clean-image CM candidate in Harsh Vardhan. He is not as high profile as candidates of the other two parties. However, he benefits from association with BJP, traditional alternative to Congress and the party of Narendra Modi. The Modi wave, as smartly calculated, is helping every BJP candidate get that extra push.

Of course, many Delhiites know the difference between the national Lok Sabha election and the local assembly election. Support for Modi may well be kept in reserve for Lok Sabha 2014. For the assembly election, Delhi has the option to vote for another, new party founded on completely different principles. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the most exciting part of what might otherwise have been a fairly dull election.

The AAP is unlike any other Indian political party. Its origins are fascinating. It did not rise from representing an identity, common to almost all new political parties in the last 20 years. They are not representing Marathis or Muslims or Dalits. The non-divisive AAP represents the battered Indian who struggles through life without really making it. Their core values, at least on paper, revolve around integrity and service. In some ways, the AAP has trapped itself into extreme accountability.

Yet they are far from perfect. Controversial sting operations on them aside, they have a long way to go in terms of striking a balance between issues such as: idealism versus practicality; appeasing the aam aadmi in the short term versus making good policies for the longer term; staying fiercely independent versus working with other parties. Post-election disappointment from AAP is likely, given the burden of expectations.

However, do realise the larger benefit of the AAP winning a significant number of seats in Delhi. Overnight, the main political parties will take notice. Till date, many senior and powerful leaders across parties believe corruption and governance are fictitious issues created by the media and not really relevant to the Indian voter. However, if AAP can benefit politically from its platform of integrity, i can bet the major parties will undertake overnight reforms to make themselves cleaner.

If AAP can make clean, qualified candidates win, it will start a race within parties to get good people into politics. AAP would gain from this of course. However, what would gain most is our democracy and nation. For even BJP and Congress will look for good candidates and clean themselves up. The call for clean politics has always been there. AAP`s success will provide the incentive to turn this call into action.

Politicians are and should be chameleons. They change with the environment. An AAP success signals a new environment. The AAP broom won`t just clean up Delhi, it can clean up politics around the nation.

If all this happens, Delhi will redeem itself and restore its honour. The city has been ridiculed and shamed far too much. In deciding their 70 assembly seats, it has the chance to show the nation why it deserves to be India`s capital. Go Delhi. Go out and vote. Go get your honour back.

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The widening gulf

Gautam Adhikari
29 November 2013, 09:54 PM IST

In the words of a popular 60s-era ballad, there's something happening over there, what it is ain't exactly clear. "There" in this case is the Middle East or, as some prefer to call it, West Asia. Tectonic shifts, with profound implications for the future of international relations, may be occurring, with oil playing a significant role.

Some strange bedfellows may be drifting apart while other odd fellowships form. Starting with the oil price shocks of the 1970s, Saudi Arabia became an ally of the US, a general manager of the region, the key power in the global oil economy with its vast resources of black gold and a bulwark against Iran. The US Fifth Fleet patrolled the waters nearby to secure safe passage of oil and to protect the kingdom.

Today, with the US and Iran making deals perhaps to re-integrate Tehran in a not so distant future into the world community as a country friendly with the West, the Saudis increasingly fear being jilted. Its new friend in the region is now Israel!

The Saudis and the Israelis worked fruitlessly in tandem to prevent the White House from concluding an interim deal that would ease some international sanctions if Tehran adhered to a commitment to retreat from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Riyadh and Tel Aviv are now lobbying to persuade the US Congress not to support a deal that they fear would fundamentally alter the Middle East equation.

They are right in that assessment. But Israel just possibly may be overreacting.

Israel sees itself as the sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons power in the region and it doesn`t want any rival on this front. It also sees Iran as an instigator of anti-Israel terrorism. Moderate Israelis, however, can see silver linings in the Iran-US deal. For one, it might actually reverse Tehran`s march towards the Bomb. For another, Iran`s desire to integrate into the global economy and power structure might give the US and other powers options to temper Tehran`s ambitions.

Saudi anxiety is deeper, more fundamental in a sense since it stems from a historical Shia-Sunni animosity and rivalry with Iran for dominance in the Gulf and over the Islamic world. Besides, with the world`s oil economy changing rapidly, the Saudis fear being pushed back into a secondary status in the international power architecture.

The Fifth Fleet is still in and around the Gulf and likely to remain there in the foreseeable future. But the gulf between the Americans and the Saudis is widening.

They have major differences over Iran. They have different views of how to manage Egypt. They don`t see eye to eye on Syria. And, importantly, oil has begun to lose its central position as a lever of power for Saudis over the world and especially over America, a reality that will be aggravated with the re-entry of millions of barrels of Iranian oil in the world market if sanctions against Iran continue to ease.

Oil and natural gas in the US is expected before long to surpass the output of the largest producer today, Russia. An ensuing fall in oil prices will not only affect the Saudis, it is likely to moderate Russia`s strategic attitude and ambition. Meanwhile, China`s thirst for oil grows almost insatiably. Little wonder then if Saudi Arabia and China eye each other keenly for growing mutual understanding and ties.

From the sidelines, New Delhi might like to keep a watchful eye on developments in West Asia. And there are other changes afoot. US ties with Pakistan are very tense and unlikely to ease soon. The planned US withdrawal from Afghanistan next year will not be a complete pullout; six to 10,000 Americans are expected to stay back to train Afghan forces to fight Taliban interference from across the eastern border while US drones continue to hover over Pakistan.

Pakistan's ties with Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, are strong. Though no one can acknowledge it officially, Saudi Arabia is an `off-the-shelf` nuclear weapons power. It assisted Pakistan financially to build the Bomb with an understanding it would get one if required. Thus, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share many interests.

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Dr Harsh Vardhan's pioneering role in making India polio-free

LK Advani
30 November 2013, 12:33 PM IST

For my wife Kamla as well as for me, this month has a special significance; the birthdays of both of us fall in November. Kamla's is on 27th, and mine is on 8th. This year, my daughter Pratibha suggested that the family celebrate the two birthdays on Sunday November 24th and invite friends for a Musical programme, followed by lunch. Most of those who attended personally told me that Pratibha's planning of the entire programme, the décor, food etc was really superb.

Going through the books some friends presented to me this day, I have been greatly impressed by a book about India, published and edited by a renowned global management concern, McKinsey & Company. The title of this book is: Reimagining India: Unlocking the potential of Asia's next Super power.
 
The front flap of the cover introduces the book as one that "brings together leading thinkers from around the world to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by one of the most important and least understood nations on earth".
 
This book, the introduction continues, "features an all star cast of contributors including CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Mukesh Ambani, CEO of India's largest private conglomerate; Microsoft founder Bill Gates; Google Chairman Eric Schmidt; award winning authors: Suketu Mehta, Edward Luce, and Patrick French; Nandan Nilekani, Infosys Cofounder, and chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India" and a host of other experts in variegated fields.
 
Of the contributors mentioned in this brief introduction, I immediately glanced at the contents to see what had Bill Gates written in the context of India. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the article listed against his name was "What I learned in the war (on polio)".

Only last night I have received from Dr. Harsh Vardhan, BJP's Chief Ministerial nominee for the Delhi Assembly elections a book written by him about a decade back.
 
On the opening page of this book, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has graciously inscribed "Thanks Respected Advaniji, you made it possible for me in 1994.  Today, we are a polio-free nation for last three years."  
Harsh
27.11.2013
 
The article by Bill Gates which is the core theme of my blog today says that "India's accomplishment in eradicating polio is the most impressive global health success I've ever seen."

When in 2004, Dr. Vardhan wrote this book titled A Tale of Two Drops he had asked me to write a Foreword for the book. The first two paragraphs of the three-page foreword I wrote for him would highlight why I strongly commended to the party that he be named the BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate.  In my Foreword, I said :
 
Ten years back, in 1994, I came in close contact with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the author of this book and, in a way, a principal pioneer of the national campaign for a polio-free India. He had just been appointed Health Minister of the Union Territory of Delhi, and simultaneously elected president of the Delhi Medical Association. In my very early meetings with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, he enlightened me about the World Health Organisation's efforts to eradicate polio globally and how they had succeeded in countries like Brazil and Philippines. He told me that he had studied the entire WHO literature about the 'Pulse Polio Campaign', and that he was confident that the country's capital, which was among the worst afflicted areas in India, could be rid of this scourge.
 
"I would like to compliment Dr. Harsh Vardhan heartily for his remarkable achievement. He started the campaign in Delhi and soon it emerged as a nationwide mission. Indeed, the pulse polio drive became the largest mass campaign, with exemplary public-private partnership, for the cause of making India a healthy society. I am happy that he has penned his experiences in the form of this book."
 
In his article, Bill Gates says that while flying into Bangalore, as we "made our final approach, I looked out of the window and saw an area of densely packed, tiny, dilapidated homes stretching out for miles". An Indian accompanying him proudly said "We have no slums in Bangalore".

Bill Gates perceptively comments: "Whether out of denial, embarrassment, or innocence, my colleague didn't see the other India. I don't mean to single him out. It can be easy to turn our eyes away from the poor.  But if we do, we miss seeing a society's full potential.
 
The article adds very rightly :
 
"I knew at the time that I was very fortunate to be collaborating with the most privileged people of India – highly educated citizens of great intelligence, diligence, and imagination. But when Melinda and I started our foundation's work in India, we began to meet people from the areas we'd been flying over. They had little education and poor health, and lived in slums or poor rural areas – the kind of people many experts had told us were holding India back. Yet our experience in India suggests the opposite: that what some call a weakness can instead be a source of great strength."
 
Yet another compliment paid by Bill Gates to our country is his observation: That India fully funded its own anti-polio plan is a ringing statement of commitment and self-confidence.
 
Summing up his evaluation of the campaign, Bill Gates concludes his article thus;
 
"The campaign showed India at its best―the relentless spirit, the scientific power, the business acumen, the manufacturing skill, the political imagination, and the vast human resources that can deploy more than two million people and spark the imagination of a billion. Yes, India faces challenges in many areas that are well documented in the media. But in its fight against polio, India has shown the world that when its people set an ambitious goal, mobilize the country, and measure the impact, India's promise is endless."
 
I feel happy and proud to find that in making India polio free, the BJP, and Dr. Vardhan personally, have played a vital and distinctive role.
 
Little wonder that Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been awarded numerous International and national Awards for his remarkable contribution in this field. He has been recipient of International Award by the Director General of World Health Organisation, Polio Eradication Champion Award by Rotary Foundation, International Service Award by Lions Club, Paul Harris Fellowship of Rotary International, Indian Medical Association Special Appreciation Award (Twice).
 
At a Rotary function held in 2001 to felicitate Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Shri A.B. Vajpayee described him as DR. SWASTHYA VARDHAN! Yet another Prime Minister who warmly complimented Dr. Harsh Vardhan for his performance was Shri I.K. Gujral. He described him as the best Health Minister Delhi has had.



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Restaurant review: Mi maratha (Maharashtrian)

Rashmi Uday Singh
29 November 2013, 04:19 PM IST

I admit. My work powers me with energy, fuels me with joy and fills me with hymns of gratitude to the divine. And it's all about the thrill of discovery, the joy of going into uncharted territories. And each time the gusto and excitement is of the same intensity, whether it's writing India's first city guide to restaurants, or the world's first vegetarian guide to Paris, or chancing upon this tiny Maharashtrian eatery in Parel.

Mi Maratha is a find. When passion and homestyle recipes come together, there is sweet music. It is sheer coincidence that the 59-year-old owner Arvind Haldipur, is an ex-musician  who has worked on many a Bollywood hit. Tucked away in the bowels of  Parel, this no-frills 28-seater eatery (a tiny wash basin, fridge all crammed into it) has me delighted. A digitally printed canvas of Marathas enlivens the plain and simple eatery. I sip on the garlicky and superb sol kadi and dig in to my overflowing thali and eat non-stop. I use my fingers to scoop the yielding, soft fish and its crisp tangy rawa coating  (superlative fried Bangda and Surmai), lick the  mild Pandhara Rassa off my fingers. The coconut-infused  Prawn curry is to kill for. GSB fare, made to the owner's family recipes, be it Chicken Sukha, Tisrya Masala, Kolambi Bhat or Bharleli Vangi. Ambat Tikhat (sour and spicy) used to be made by the owner's wife and brought here, but now the cooks have mastered it. Take your pick of thalis; the pomfret thali  offers  bowls of ambat tikhat Sol Kadi and Koshambir, a large rava-fried pomfret, three  chapattis  (vade or bhakri) and  rice. And for veggies, here is the surprise… flavoursome potatoes spiked with jeera and rai  and made mellow with ghee.

Only two dishes disappoint, the Bhareli Vangi and the Mutton Sukha. The rest of the lustily spiced meal (and VFM pricing meal for two Rs 200-400 ) has me doing a jig with delight… even more because though Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra, there is a paucity of Maharashtrian eateries.

Rating:
Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Décor: 2.5

Times food guide
Mi Maratha
Iqbal Manzil,
Next to A to Z industrial estate, GK Marg, Lower Parel.
Call 98190 81711
Meal for two costs: Rs 200-400

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Exiting Employees Are Brand Ambassadors

Abhijit Bhaduri
29 November 2013, 12:43 PM IST

I had gone to have a scoop of my favourite ice-cream. I selected a flavour and treated myself to a generous scoop, and then another. When I was having the last scoop and wondering if I should order another icecream, my reverie was interrupted by a pebble in the ice-cream.

The shopkeeper apologised profusely but I just have not gone back to the shop. When we think of crafting a powerful employer brand, we think of it as away of attracting and retaining talent.

A strong employer brand makes it easier for the employer to attract the right talent. Yet, the processes that follow an employee's resignation in many organisations may leave a bitter aftertaste and may ruin the memory of what might have otherwise been a great experience.

Employers have understood the importance of using innovative ways to get noticed. Advertisements in newspapers, radio spots, the buzz in social media add up to create powerful brand communication. Being visible in the media for the right reasons also enhances the firm's brand recall.

The brand is a promise that the employer must live up to even when the employee chooses to leave. A lot of attention is paid to the process of talent acquisition and to ensure that the employee has a positive experience.

This is usually when most employers are on their best behaviour. They will ensure they do whatever it takes to woo the right person into the organisation. During the course of employment, there are employee engagement activities and surveys done to keep a finger on the pulse of the employee.

Employee exits are rarely looked upon as opportunities to impact the employer brand. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's book, 'Thinking Fast Thinking Slow' explores the notion of happiness through the lens of a behavioural economist. He talks about there being two roles of our brain.

One of which is to experience what we are going through. The second role of the brain is to store the "memory" of the experience. For instance, if someone goes for vacation to an exotic destination, but gets robbed on the way back, most people will not think of that vacation as a positive experience. So it is equally important to end the vacation well.

If the time the employee spends in the organisation is a positive experience then an unpleasant ending to it will ruin the memory of it. The employer brand is an experience and it is also a memory of the experience. The stories that people tell about the brand come from the overall memory of the experience.

A well-known strategy consulting firm routinely leverages its alumni to grow its business. This is despite the fact that the firm is known for an up-or-out policy. The firm makes sure that the alumni feel proud of their association with the firm and that is the memory of the employer brand it leverages. Making the employee feel valued even after he or she resigns is a way of strengthening the employer brand.

The exits need to be given the same importance as the processes to attract and retain talent. Think about it.

Do you know of organizations that manage the exit process really well? Have you had any such experiences? Put down your ideas in the comments.

---------------

Join me on twitter @AbhijitBhaduri

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Many boycotts now

Jug Suraiya
29 November 2013, 02:29 PM IST

Following the accusation of sexual assault made by a young woman journalist against Tarun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of Tehelka – and his subsequent attempts to intimidate the victim and members of her family – will many readers of the publication, which bills itself as being frank and fearless in its reportage, stop subscribing to it? Quite a lot, possibly.

Already a number of senior staff members including the managing editor, have resigned, and others might follow in their footsteps, not wanting to be associated with a product whose promoter stand exposed not only as a sexual molester but as a hypocrite, as is ironically underlined by the fact that the latest issue of Tehelka features a lead story about the rape and murder of a young woman.

Thanks to the disgraceful behaviour of its editor-in-chief, Tehelka could become the target of a boycott, a mass action which remains one of the most effective ways for the public to punish wrongdoers.

The other day I came across another case of boycott, when at a lunch get-together a fellow guest refused the offer of a popular brand of beer made by the company owned by Vijay Mallya. "I refuse to patronise a product made by a man who's called the 'King of good times', owns a yacht and palatial houses all over the world and has swindled the employees of his now defunct Kingfisher airlines of their salaries," said the guest, turning down an empty glass to the proffered beer.

Robber barons must have thick hides, and it's doubtful if Mallya would even feel the tiniest sting of remorse at such token protests. But if enough customers of his products were to do it, it could eventually hurt him where it matters most – in his royal lifestyle which costs a king's ransom to maintain.

Arvind Kejriwal has also brought the concept of boycotting in the news by founding his Aam Admi Party and so giving voters an opportunity to reject – or boycott – parties like the Congress and the BJP who have been accused of corruption. Indeed, the Election Commission itself has embraced the idea of a boycott by allowing voters, for the first time, to reject all the candidates in a particular constituency by punching the button marked NOTA – None Of The Above – on the electronic voting machine.

Named after a 19^th century officer, Captain Boycott, who was shunned by his neighbours for political reasons, the collective refusal to have anything to do with an individual, institution or any other entity, was most successfully used by Mahatma Gandhi when he urged his fellow Indians to spin their own cloth and stop using fabric made in the spinning mills of imperial Britain. This impeccable lineage gives the boycott a moral legitimacy and authority at a time when such legitimacy and authority are so singularly notable for their absence in almost all spheres of public life, be in the realm of politics, media or business.

What can make boycotts particularly effective today is social networking through the internet, Twitter and similar facilities which enable individual protest to snowball into collective action.

So join the boycott club. And if the first thing you decide to boycott is this blog, that's fine. Because it'll prove just how effective boycotts can be.

jug.suraiya@timesgroup.com

 

 

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Justice should be done and 'seem' to be done!

Gajanan Khergamker
28 November 2013, 11:38 AM IST

"Do you think most editors are like this? Is it true that this kind of stuff goes on freely in the media?" asked a neighbour looking like she'd been sadly deprived of the nitty-gritty that had been doing the rounds. She had, in one clean sweep, charged the editor in question with the guilt for commission of an act that had, technically speaking, yet to be proved as on the particular day. The first thought that came to my mind was, "Now, we go off…again…" and then quickly bit my tongue to exercise restraint from telling her, "Hey…. No, all editors aren't like that either! All men are just not the same."

She wasn't at fault any lesser than most in the media themselves. And, the masses are products of the communication doled out to them day in and out by the media itself, right? And, this singular Goa incident only vindicated a widely-held bias. Just about everyone from beyond the media has generated a loose view of the industry and its players. I must clarify here that I have no idea of who is guilty and of what. That's for the courts to decide. What I do know is that being swift in our judgment of people and situations lands all of us in trouble: In Goa and beyond!

The media has been so guilty and so often of shooting from the hip when it comes to pegging blame or insinuating all sorts of misdemeanors – legal, social and natural – that we've moved far off from the very basics. Our legal system stresses on the notion of 'Presumption of Innocence," right meaning that till the legal processes are complete, the media and masses have to exercise restraint and desist from indulging in dangerous postulations that could adversely affect the legal process itself.

It's a given that nobody follows the rule which remains redundant. As an advocate of free will and legal activism, I have been vocal against the dangers of the 'Contempt of Court Act' that shackles journalists and seems like an intimidator too. However, consider this: Any publication which prejudices the course of justice could fall within the ambit of the definition of Contempt within the Contempt of Court Act. "Contempt of court" means civil contempt or criminal contempt".  "Civil contempt" means willful disobedience to any judgement, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court. "Criminal contempt" means the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which:
(d) (i) Scandalises or tends to scandalize, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court, or (ii) Prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial proceeding , or
(iii) Interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.
(a) "High Court" means the High Court for a State or a Union territory and includes the court of the Judicial Commissioner in any Union territory.
Accordingly, a report of a court case providing details of the defendant's previous criminal convictions, before the end of the trial, would be criminal contempt. This is so, because it is seen as prejudicing the judge, magistrate or jury against the defendant, if there are many previous convictions. This would also reduce the chances of a fair trial. Previous convictions (often called antecedents or priors) may not be revealed until after the verdict has been reached. They are then considered by the court to help it to decide on an appropriate punishment.

Broadly, the media should exercise enough restraint in reportage and stick to actuals rather than opinionating as it does tantamount to attempting to influence the course of law. But then, weren't the television channels fighting over who should earn the credit for the Supreme Court decision to give time to Mumbai's Campa Cola families? They went overboard with loud claims of having influenced the legal process in favour of the Campa Cola families too. And that, in itself, was a subversion of the legal system.

If the media is above the law, the entire process of democracy and its associated organs need to be relooked. Whether Tarun Tejpal is guilty or not isn't important. Also, it isn't just important that justice is done. What is important is that justice should also seem to be done. The way the issue is being covered. Without any semblance of objectivity or sensitivity, even if achieved at the end, justice surely wouldn't seem to be done.

When justice to be done for the poorest and equitable punishment doled out to the mightiest, it makes for a great copy. But, in ensuring that it happens, the media must desist from assuming the role of the mightiest and one beyond legal reach. In doing so, they role-play the very power-crazed demon they want to bring to justice. After a long conversation over endless cups of chai, she left…better informed.

I think I did better than if I had shot off, "No, all editors aren't like that either! All men are just not the same!"

That way, I would be insinuating the said editor's guilt too, right; and, violating the law in the very same way.

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Wet and wild

Shreya Sen Handley
28 November 2013, 12:10 PM IST

Its winter now in Sherwood Forest and my hippie cool goes into deep freeze as the days get forbiddingly dark and cold. Paeans to nudity are forgotten as I bundle the family into seven layers of woollies each. And the very thought of skinny dipping makes me shudder, much like some of you, but not, sadly, from a need for decorum.

This morning I am cosying up to a cup of cocoa while flicking through the tales of human perfidy that flood my newsfeed. There are Tejpals, Talwars and other terrors. But a different set of Tees are on my mind today. I'm thinking taboos, towels and tension. My women readers have cottoned on already and liberal and assertive though they are, they are cringing inwardly, thinking, should we even go there? Yes, yes we should. It's time. It's time to breach that last barrier. It's that time of the month. Cold, wet and squelchy outside…and in.

My male readers, in the meantime, are switching off in droves. Ugh, not an article about "women's troubles", they mutter. But wait. We're in this together, right? You've been ever so good. I've told you off for leching, lying, wanking and lording it over us. You've not only laughed with me, you've come back for more. You've been absolute dears. We've exchanged (views on) every other bodily fluid. And now there will be blood.

T is also for toilet. World Toilet Day came and went without much more than a few scatological jokes cracked in its honour.  Yet it wasn't just about poo, it highlighted another evil, deep-rooted in society and heart breaking in the damage it does. "One in three women worldwide," said the Toilet People, "risk shame, disease, harassment and even attack because they have nowhere safe to change and clean themselves when menstruating. In many countries girls have no option but to stay home."

This followed a news item from Nepal that had already made me see…er… red: "Hindu leaders ban menstruating women from school". Female teachers and students stayed away from their classes during their periods afraid that refusing would lead to reprisals including the expulsion of whole families from the village. Sound familiar? In many Indian towns and villages, menstruating women aren't allowed to cook, serve food or enter places of worship for fear of "contamination". Usually segregated, they are made to sleep apart from the family, in places as filthy as cowsheds, at a time when hygiene is most important for their reproductive and even general health. These strictures affect schoolgirls worst of all. Most schools in our country have filthy toilets, and in the villages, often none at all. Concentrating on lessons is nearly impossible for a young girl getting to grips with this new and difficult bodily process, when she has nowhere to change or dispose of sanitary napkins or towels. As society does all it can to make it impossible for them to continue their education, 23% of them end up leaving school for a menial job or an arranged marriage.

And that's when it stops being a "women's issue" (if it ever was). When women are denied education because they are menstruating, in other words just being women, the whole world suffers with them, whether they realise it or not, because educated women are healthier, have smaller families, earn more; positively impacting on development. So prosperity or moneeee, that word even the most ignorant bigot understands, bypasses them because they won't treat vulnerable little girls just blossoming into womanhood with a bit of consideration, a touch of dignity, a smidgeon of sympathy when they are doing the most natural thing in the world – bleeding - so the human race can carry on.

Upper class girls may be spared some of the physical privations but they still have to act like they are harbouring a dirty secret. They believe it IS a dirty secret because of the euphemisms, the enforced silence and the "must shield the menfolk" mantra that surrounds it. Call it Omerta, you wouldn't be far wrong.

But why is this subject taboo? Why can't I casually drop it into conversations even though I can discuss disease (and this is not a disease), even the most gruesome amongst them, in great detail? Why does that not scandalise when the very mention of an everyday, natural, completely harmless (to you) process shock and horrify?  

Even in the liberal West, this subject remains off-limits. You might mention it to a close female friend when explaining your mood or the extra trips to the loo that day, but that too would have to be accompanied by some coy beating about the bush (not a double entendre, not today, Mate). Hannah Betts in The Telegraph says it doesn't matter where in the world you live, "Menstruation constitutes the great, shared silence at the heart of female existence". She goes on to say, "I've been bleeding for 30-plus years, with a variety of ever-evolving symptoms from passing out via great tranches of pain to glassy, lobotomised exhaustion. Yet I am not supposed to talk about it. It's a vast part of my life, and the lives of those around me that society expects to go entirely unspoken."

Not much has changed since the Bible pronounced, "if her issue be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean. And everything that she lieth upon shall be unclean….." Yada, yada, yada. And it has this to say as well, "If a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, both of them shall be cut off from their people". Oh well done - menstruation is a "sickness" and contact with it, worthy of banishment! It doesn't stop there, Miranda Farage in her book "The Vulva" (men bought this one by the bushel, I bet), states, "As bleeding is a sign of injury, our ancestors may have viewed cyclical bleeding – without dying – as a supernatural event", rendering the process incomprehensible and frightening. Contact with menstruating women had all sorts of strange effects including milk and bacon going rancid, the latter was discussed in the British Medical Journal as late as 1878. It seems too old, too ingrained and too widespread a mind-set to change but bacon I can handle. Well, actually I can't right now, it might go rancid. And why am I reminding you that it's that time for me? Because you feel uncomfortable every time I do it and I'd like you to examine why.            

It's like a red rag to a bull (terrible pun but you know you deserve it). The minute I say the word you bring out that great big broom of yours (no pun there!) and sweep it under the carpet. Or you squirm in embarrassment as if I'd suggested a spot of incest. The most ignorant will tell us it's about health; that the bleeding might be catching. The more sophisticated have convinced themselves it's about propriety and privacy because women are so easily embarrassed. If they don't blush and swoon at the mere mention of menses, can they really be women? What it is, is misogyny (practised by both men and women). It's about punishing women for being women, who, just like people of different sexual orientations and colour, are a threat because they are different.

That was the wet, and now the wild. It's all part of the same myth about menstruating women being "unclean", "dangerous" and terribly, horribly mad. Of course PMT, PMS and even PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) are real and very debilitating. But it is rarely so out of control that a PMSing woman can be said to be dangerous or mad. In its most severe form it is believed to afflict only 8% of women.  And despite the stories swapped at watering holes around the world, it seldom leads to violent attacks. Right now I'm not feeling great (yup, am waving that red rag in your face again) and my tolerance of chicanery of any kind is less than usual. But that is universal when a person is in discomfort.  As Pulitzer Prize winning writer Maureen Dowd says, these stereotypical signs of PMS are just as common in men, "Women are affected by lunar tides only once a month but men have raging hormones every day, as we noticed when Dick Cheney rampaged around the globe like Godzilla." I can think of as many catty, bitchy and worse, mad, bad and dangerous men as there are women.

Probably more, after all, who starts wars? But let's be charitable, let's just say it's not the preserve of any particular gender and in its overt form, it is rarely caused by premenstrual tension.

At this time of the month, I can get awfully blue, I might shout more than usual but I am rarely ever moved to murder (don't try me though). But if I am, it will have more to do with all the rottenness in the world than my menstrual cycle. So, let's go easy on the scary apocryphal stories, eh? The misinformation is a double whammy for young women.  As Farage observes, "Girls across cultures are horrified, frightened, confused and embarrassed by menarche." They have been told so little about it that many children think they are dying when it happens the first time, even those who have had a sketchy talk are shocked. If on top of this they are treated like diseased, unstable pariahs, it really is a bit much, to put it mildly (see, I can be mild at these times). Let's NOT give the women in our lives a wide berth when they are uncomfortable and unhappy, they'd much rather have a hug and a few chores done for them than be pussyfooted around as if they were The Hulk in a pretty frock.

I've said this before but it bears repeating; changing the world must start at home. Talk to your growing girl about it, all of you, menfolk included. Hold her when she's in pain, clean up after her if she's in shock and always, always tell her how normal it is, but never make light of her discomfort either.  

Tell her, "We'll look after everything else, so you can just skip to the loo, my darling."

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Tejpal, Modi, Manmohan...The end doesn't justify the means

Ashish Tripathi
28 November 2013, 06:09 PM IST

When Tehelka was accused of using sex workers in its sting operation in 2001 during NDA government to expose corruption in defence deals, many tried to justify it. They said at the end of the day it 'exposed corruption which is the biggest enemy of the country'. Those defending Tehelka, however, did not consider that use of sex workers was not only against the ethics of journalism but also reflected the mindset which saw women as a commodity. Today, the same mindset is visible in the case in which Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal has been accused of sexual assault on his own colleague which he describes as mere a 'bad lapse of judgment'. Clearly, the end doesn't justify the means. And, as you sow, so shall you reap.

Significantly, while BJP and Congress are indulging in slugfest over the issue, it has also come to light that both Kapil Sibal (Congress) and Ram Jethmalani (BJP) had stakes in the Tehelka. Besides funding, Tehelka's structure and operations as well as Tejpal's new business ventures by businessmen are also under scanner. Tehelka is not the only one. Earlier, Radia tapes revealed journalist-corporate-politician nexus. There are number of such cases in media which never come out. There is no dearth of journalists who are ready to sale their integrity for a consideration. Paid news is also an ugly reality. Clearly, the end doesn't justify the means. And, as you sow, so shall you reap.

When a sleaze CD showing RSS pracharak and BJP leader Sanjay Joshi in compromising position with a woman was circulated at the BJP's national executive committee meeting in Mumbai in 2005, he was forced to resign and asked by the party to stay away till a probe gave him a clean chit. There were allegations that the CD was circulated by Gujarat's anti-terror-squad. Joshi is an arch-rival of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Later, forensic examination of the CD found that it was doctored. Modi supporters had then denied his involvement and justified party's action against Joshi. Today, a 'CD' has put Modi and his aides in trouble. It has not been proved as yet whether such a CD exist or not but Modi rivals are using it to tarnish his image. Modi's '50 crore ki girlfriend' and 'dehati aurat' jibes also reflected mindset. However, irrespective of whether the allegations were true or wrong, 'the means' adopted in both the cases to settle political scores were wrong.

The 'CD' allegation has come to haunt Modi after Stalkgate expose. The expose alleges that the Modi government was stalking a woman on the orders of Modi. The BJP in defence said  that it was not 'snooping' but 'surveillance' done to protect the woman on the oral request of his father. Party leaders also said what's wrong in providing security on oral orders if it is meant for the good of the people. However, during 2002 riots, when former Congress MP Eshan Jafri called Modi's office for protection when a bloodthirsty mob attacked his home, it was not taken seriously. Eshan was killed. Had Modi shown the same urgency for Eshan, he showed in the surveillance case, he would have known as a secular and a humanist. Clearly, the end doesn't justify the means. And, as you sow, so shall you reap.

When 2G scam was exposed, questions were raised why prime minister Manmohan Singh did not stop the accused minister from flouting norms. Singh tried to justify his stand by citing 'compulsions of coalition politics'. He meant that he could not do much because the accused minister belonged to an ally and acting him against would have jeopardize the coalition government. Had he not compromised, more scams in coming days would have not occurred. He wanted to save his government but today he is being accused of heading one of the most corrupt government in free India. Again, the end doesn't justify the means. And, as you sow, so shall you reap.

Similarly, corruption in the successive Congress governments after Indira Gandhi (and family) have led to a situation where it has lost organizational base. The party is declining across the country. People at the grassroots are not ready to work for the party. In fact, the cadre has disintegrated to the extent that the party is not finding people who can publicize food security law, which party think can make it win next elections.

When political parties are questioned about use of black money, criminals, castism and communalism in elections, they say that for them winability is the most important factor. They justify their acts by citing 'practical problems of politics' at the ground level. When a leader of a party is accused of crime or corruption or castism or communalism, he/she tends to justify his/her act by pointing fingers at rivals. Almost all political parties are guilty of using unfair and illegal means. And, we vote for them. Under such circumstances, no matter who wins, how can we expect good governance? Clearly, the end doesn't justify the means. And, as you sow, so shall you reap. But, how many, particularly in the privileged class, of us as an individual actually think about 'means' before acting.

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Move over, Raghuram Rajan

TK Arun
27 November 2013, 03:23 PM IST

To tame runaway inflation , India needs political solutions , not just monetary tightening

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan cannot bring inflation down. Only politics can. The sooner politicians , policymakers and analysts realise this, the sooner we will have realistic solutions.

Inflation has three different drivers . One is the large fiscal deficit, which creates demand for goods and services in excess of the supply. Another is steady increase in fuel prices as part of a programme of gradual decontrol in a context of volatile global energy prices and a weak rupee . And the third is a steady increase in the demand for fruit and vegetables and a range of protein foods such as lentils, milk, meat, fish and eggs. To squeeze any of these inflation drivers, you need good politics.

Finance minister P Chidambaram has said that he would hold the deficit down below 4.8% of GDP. And his determination is clear and credible. But this is not enough. This is because the effect of the fiscal deficit on inflation is not straightforward and depends on the composition of government spending and the level of investment by the private sector. 

The fiscal deficit lays a claim on the non-government sector's savings . If this claim is less than what the private sector has to spare after meeting its own investment, there is no problem. But when the deficit is large and so, therefore, is the draft on private savings, the credit system allows both the government and the private sector to meet their expenditure targets in nominal terms, but excess demand would create inflation , reducing effective expenditure.

If the government uses its borrowings to invest, that would spur growth. If the government uses its borrowings to fund consumption, which is what happens when money is spent on subsidies, it would just appropriate private savings and direct them away from capital formation , whether by itself or by the private sector. This depresses growth.

Costly Fuel Beneficial

It matters whether Chidambaram would meet his deficit reduction target by slashing expenditure on consumption or capital formation. Politics would determine if the government dares to cut fuel and fertiliser subsidies and spend more on roads and bridges and new townships, as, for example, along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Fuel price decontrol is necessary to reduce the fiscal deficit. At the same time, it directly and indirectly feeds inflation, although Kirit Parikh's simulations suggest that the net effect on the overall price index of reducing excess demand by controlling the fiscal deficit would outweigh the impact of allowing fuel prices to go up.

This is not easy to explain and communicate to ordinary voters. It takes a lot of political skill and credibility to convince people that raising diesel prices would actually make their overall consumption basket more affordable. It would take even more courage to decontrol fuel marketing , breaking up the cosy monopoly of public sector fuel marketing companies and throwing the retail business to stand-alone retainers with no refining stake.

The biggest contributor to inflation is food. Of this, inflation in cereals is entirely the government's fault. It sits on the largest hoard of grain in India's history and lacks the administrative courage and wherewithal to sell large chunks of its stocks across the country in small lots to squeeze cereal inflation out of the system altogether. It takes politics to either sack the incompetent food minister or force him to get his ministry , petrified into inaction by obsessive fear of being accused of selling grain cheap and causing loss to the exchequer, to act.

The only way to combat inflation in protein foods and fruit and vegetables is to step up output. That is lots of complex politics.

Changing rural economy

Ongoing structural transformation of the rural economy — only 49% of India's workforce is now engaged in agriculture , according to the National Sample Survey — has seen real wages rise steadily in rural India. This has increased broad-based demand for superior foods and increased their cost of production. The pain that urban consumers feel is more than offset by the material gain to the rural poor, whose living standards are going up. Only good politics can make this collective improvement to social welfare palatable to those made worse off in urban centres. More to the point, good politics alone can increase production.

Power-Hungry

For farmers to benefit from higher prices in consumption centres, the current dominance of middlemen in the farm supply chain must go. This is high-voltage politics, tougher than making power flow along the lines that have been drawn, under the Rural Electrification Programme , to 80% of all villages, to create a cold chain. For this, state monopoly in coal has to be scrapped. Power distribution must become sustainable. That means ending patronage of power theft and giveaways.

Right now, it is possible that hoarding plays part in fuelling some prices like that of onions. Combating that, too, is politics. Move over, Raghuram Rajan.

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Saheb's Soviet misadventure

Rajiv Shah
27 November 2013, 07:21 PM IST

The recent decision of the Gujarat chief minister's office (CMO) to "bar" the entry of accredited journalists to enter the Swarnim Sankul – the swanky complex built to house Narendra Modi's office and of his Cabinet colleagues – wasn't surprising. Only those journalists who had prior appointment or were "invited" by officials sitting inside had to be allowed in. The decision was implemented for about a week, but was lifted because, to quote a Modi aide, it was imposed because of a "misunderstanding." While the aide didn't explain what this "misunderstanding" was, it left me wondering whether it reflected the suspicious character of the man who has come to known as "Saheb".

The "official" reason forwarded for not allowing scribes was, there was an intelligence input which said a terrorist might enter into the Sankul in the garb of a journalist.

However, circumstantial evidence suggested that the "ban" was imposed in the wake of the snoopgate which is rocking Modi's image. CMO knew: Increasing number of scribes was keen to know what had happened and how, who that woman known to Modi was, why was "security" beefed up around her involving some top cops, and whether all this was done officially. Also under suspicion was suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma, who had introduced this woman to Modi. Many scribes know Sharma personally. Not that they could get any lead, but all the same, there were apprehensions.

The other day evening, I was chatting with a senior journalist-colleague in the Times of India, Ahmedabad. He wondered whether the short-lived ban smacked of what I had experienced in the former Soviet Union. "Don't you remember, you told me once how, to enter into a Soviet building, the accreditation card was of no use and you were accompanied with a cop?" Indeed, the practice under the communist regime was similar to what Modi's office was trying to experiment with. And the parallel was striking. Like in the Soviet government offices, in Gandhinagar Sachivalaya, too, on getting an appointment, a security guard was to accompany you to the office of the person with whom you had appointment. It was to ensure that you didn't go astray.

My stint in Moscow as special correspondent of the pro-Soviet daily Patriot and weekly Link between 1986 and 1993 suggested how the Iron Curtain was imposed on all journalists alike, foreign and local. On reaching Moscow in January-end 1986, the first thing I was told by a Soviet Foreign Ministry official, whom I met for my accreditation card, was that the press office attached with the ministry was not meant to give information. "Out spokesperson is TASS (Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union). You will know whatever we want to tell you through TASS", he told me. And what if I had queries? His cryptic reply was, "There is foreign ministry spokesperson who briefs media every Wednesday afternoon. You can direct your queries to him".

In Gandhinagar, the information department does exactly that. A government spokesperson meets media only when Modi asks him to, generally every Wednesday afternoon, not otherwise. Ministers have long been asked not to utter a word. Former cabinet minister Jay Narayan Vyas, a government spokesperson till the last polls, in which he was defeated, would frankly tell reporters that he wouldn't react on any subject till he was asked to.  Bureaucrats – who used to be quite frank in late 1990s – are either tight-lipped or talk "off the record." Apprehensions of snooping and stalking hang over their faces. Indeed, like TASS in the Soviet Union, the only "government spokesperson" in Gujarat is the information department press note!

Of course, in the Soviet Union, there was a separate Soviet propaganda agency, Novosti, which helped one get appointments with government officials and academics – but all on its terms. Even such arrangement doesn't exist in Gujarat. In fact, without Novosti support, approaching individual patrocrats, as they were known outside the Soviet Union, was virtually impossible. About a couple of years before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, I tried to directly meet a senior Communist party official in a central committee office, situated opposite the KGB headquarters. He was head of the India Desk of the ruling party. I think his name was Felix Yurlov. I approached the Novosti man, specially assigned to me for appointments, for a meeting. I wanted to know what the Soviet government thought of India in the era of perestroika and glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev.

It wasn't easy to get appointment. "Why do you want to meet him? What purpose would it serve?", I was asked. Finally, I managed the appointment and reached the sprawling gate of the central committee. Refusing to give a smile, the guard there looked at me carefully, saw my accreditation card, scanned through a list, phoned up to find out if there was an appointment, and finally, a militia man came to accompany me to meet the partocrat. Yurlov met me. He was quite warm when we exchanged pleasantries. But the moment I asked him questions about Soviet policies, he refused to take any of them. I was disappointed. Our meeting lasted for not more than 15 minutes.    

Unlike now, I travelled a lot in the Soviet Union. Enamoured by VI Lenin, founder of the Soviet regime, I particularly visited the places where Lenin was imprisoned and exiled in eastern Siberia. It was easier for foreign journalists to travel. Yet, formalities had to be completed. Twenty-four hours before departing from Moscow, I must inform the Russian foreign office where I was to go and on which dates, where would I stay, and proceed. During my trip to eastern Siberia, a Novosti man accompanied me to help me out. I was shown a museum of Buddhism to showcase the great freedom of religion in the country. There, in my poor Russian, which I had picked up, I asked questions to the museum in charge about persecution of Buddhists. Someone overheard me, and began telling me what had happened. "This is not for what you are here", the Novosti man told me, and I was whisked away.   

In another incident, when I went to the small Caucasian province of Dagestan, I met well-known poet Rasul Gamzatov. A war veteran, I had read his poetry and was pretty impressed by his couplets. I wanted to do an interview. Tens of people had gathered at the place where the interview was arranged – only to listen to what Gamzatov said. One of my questions was whether he thought there was anything like Soviet poetry. The question was controversial, as the Communist ideologues believed, a new type of genre had developed called socialist realism, which eulogized socialism and communism. In the Soviet Union, it was "Soviet poetry" or "Soviet literature", hiding the language in which a literary work was created.

Gamzatov was frank: "No there isn't anything like Soviet poetry. There is Russian poetry, Avar (the language of Dagestan) poetry, Ukrainian poetry and so on. Poem always reflects the local milieu and belongs to the place where you live, and not to the entire country", he declared. The interview was published, and Novosi which had arranged the meeting was terribly upset. "Our purpose has not been served. You asked Gamzatov a wrong question. Whatever he said answering your question has been published even in local media in Dagestan. This has damaged us", I was told.

I don't want to believe that India may slip into a similar regime. Yet, there are traits in the man being projected as the country's Prime Ministerial candidate which indicate his love for things Soviet. He wants all panchayats in Gujarat to be unanimously elected, and has made a big thing out of it. He also wants compulsory voting – a bill on it awaits Gujarat governor sanction for quite some time. Both are traits of the former Soviet Union. Veteran Masood Ali Khan, CPI organ New Age correspondent in Moscow, who died in 2004, would make fun of both during informal talks. I met him during election time. "They have all been asked to vote. As always, there will be 99 per cent polling, and 99 per cent votes will go to the one and only Communist candidate", he said, smiling.

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Looking back wistfully…with perhaps a tinge of envy.

Sukanti Ghosh
27 November 2013, 07:32 PM IST

Recently, we spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon at a friend's penthouse that overlooks a lake in the suburbs of maximum city. I say 'wonderful' not only because of the rapier wit that our hosts and their nephew and niece – investment bankers who had spent a fair amount of time in the UK – displayed, the stunning view around us or the exquisite bill of fare that was laid out on the occasion. I say 'wonderful' as it felt very good to experience the obvious warmth between uncle and nephew; aunty and niece; and the kids and their grandparents. What I also enjoyed – with perhaps a tinge of envy – was all the stories they shared about their hectic social calendars whenever they are in Kolkata, because of the breadth of their family tree and the active levels of engagement that all of them maintain with each other.

Looking back, I remember a couple of years in Kolkata which were very much the same for us: the simple, but carefree games my cousins, my brother and I would play at my grandparent's house where we would congregate every couple of weeks. The dinners at my aunts' houses, the picnics out of town, the movie nights, the pujas, bhai phota (bhai duj), countless sleepovers and the equally countless weddings, birthdays and invitations. In those salad days I never really differentiated between my sibling and my cousins: it didn't matter, since my parents never taught us to differentiate between them.

The first jolt out of my innocent reverie was perhaps when one of my cousins chose to start 'limiting' her invitation to bhai phota. Several years later, I felt the bonds loosen some more when we were all preparing for college. Suddenly, I sensed an underlying cloud of competition darkening the otherwise clear, warm and fuzzy firmament. The answers to my innocent, but keen questions - 'how did s/he do in her exams? What does s/he intend to do now? And, where all has s/he applied?' met with stonewalling or vague answers. Over the years, these feelings of veiled mistrust have continued to intensify as we have drifted farther and farther apart till we have all started to feel like outsiders in our own family.

Then two years ago, some of these barriers started to fall away with the passing of my parents, and our over powering realization of the fragility of human life. We started to make an even greater attempt to reconnect, join the dots and repair the torn fabric of our relationships. In the meanwhile, each one of us – cousins – had continued to move in our chosen, but different directions. We had completed our education, started families, chased our dreams, moved cities, and risen up the corporate ladder.

But then looking back on the years gone by, I realize things are not the same, nor are they ever likely to be. We have all drifted too far apart. The past 15 years have seen me change several cities and countries, while many of them stayed on where they were. During much of this period, I remember looking with envy and anguish every time my wife's aunts and uncles called and asked after us, while mine never did. And then, over time, they too became infrequent and almost stopped, and when they did come, were far more searching and pointed rather than caring and compassionate as their children grew up as peers to my daughter.

Strange as it may sound, I don't believe we have all changed that much. It's the circumstances of our existence and our frame of reference that has: we still call all our relatives on occasion, visit them whenever we are in Kolkata, and ask after the well-being of their children – my nephews and nieces – though I realize we would probably walk past each other, without the slightest hint of recognition, on the street. What we have stopped doing however is imploring them to call us if and when they get the time – as we have done over the past decade and a half. Our experience has shown they never will, though you are left to carry the cross of responsibility if you don't. Our expectations of them are pretty much dead.

Have we become more stoical as a result of these experiences, yes; am I saddened by the fact that I have a cousin in maximum city who has chosen to disappear ever since he has got married, yes; will I one day forsake these relationships once and for all? Well….maybe not. Some thirty five years ago my parents took a life-changing decision to allow us – my brother and I – to experience the happiness and the strength in living together (not necessarily in a joint family) as a family and this is what holds us together - even though time has flown, they have passed, and regretfully, the knot has irreparably loosened.

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Sue you, sue me!

Anoop Kohli
26 November 2013, 01:06 AM IST

So what do you think humans are made of? The zeal to help, to uplift the poor, to promise free lunches, to learn governance if they haven't, and proclaim publicly that it is not for the lust of power? No it is for self-serving goals, loyalties for sheer benefit, clubbing on to an ideology so as to move down the dissenters. Do we play for the game, or do we play rather aggressively for our own innings?  Both, you may say, but if it comes to elimination of one of the two, self-serving goals are preferred, perhaps wiser.

The penultimate week of regional elections, the theme has been what is wrong with the other, not what right is one group promising to the nation, or to the state they serve. Democracy, in its conceptual principles gives one the right to choose, but disturbingly from the lot that is already chosen. Can't say that money, muscle and manipulation do not go in all that, and putting it bluntly, why should one who has all this not use it for his purpose? The answer is that he probably would, if he found someone more deserving. No harm at all in believing we all are immortals, because when the inevitable happened, no one came back to say, just to say that it was indeed not so.

If a particular point of power is known, if the location of the chair that controls other's destiny is well spotted, facts of history, geography, legends of the past can be quoted for self-serving gains. Does it matter now if Nehru and Patel were probably not on the same wavelength? Yes it does if that is the way you would like to sway the minds of people. I can't say that as a strategy this is wrong. People actually wait for such stories in election times. The need to have a basis of conviction to cast an honest vote has to be fulfilled. So who do you think proposed to whom? Was it Emperor Akbar, or princess Jodha? Now this is a tricky one for most parties. Probably it was mutual chemistry would be the best response for both major parties. Shift either side, and twenty percent of your vote bank is likely to sway to the convenient side. The Marxists may have the right answer: "It was a decision of the State." They and only they can get away with such neutral responses. With the polity so fragile and yet so determined in their beliefs, one cannot put the blame entirely on the politicians.

Election symbols do not seem do have any logo-intelligence. The Election Commission has reprimanded the use of the adjective "khooni panja". That is not being contested. I believe the word was first heard two decades ago from a bunch of laborers in old Faridabad. Sitting by the fireside on a cold night, a few of them, probably from Ballia were rather upset that their Thakurji's Bhondsi farm had been annexed by the local and state government in collusion. So came the first recorded recitation of the word in public domain. Actually, as the word "panja" goes, most humans in this land hardly have the training of the fine circuitry nature has endowed to the human hand. For manual work, the hand as an extension of an extremity is evaluated for its power and strength, much like other mammals. One uses the word "panja" in hand wrestling. Even for indo-grecan wrestling the coach is likely to use the same adjective while giving instructions. Thinking of the intellectual properties of the hand is a sure way to lose any bout. Unless one retains a mind-set that he has a lion's paw, further motivation does not build up.

Yes the word "khooni", the adjective to the first adjective, if spoken by a senior politician in a rally, can raise justifiable objections. Let me remind you though, that this group of lotus eaters were also reciting alternately, their own slogan, "kamal ka phol, kabhie na bhol!". Only they could have deciphered their own pronunciation!

Hindi that traverses through so many major regional languages in the country, is likely to offend sensitivities, without really intending so. My mother, appropriately plump as Punjabi women should be, came out red faced from a saree shop in Ahmedabad, vowing never to go there again. The polite shop owner had addressed her as "Moti-ben" (moti meaning big, or respectful in gujarati). That is just not allowed. Use the word "healthy" if you are to complement any Punjabi lady.

As if that was not all, her cousin from Bhatinda (a Congress councilor in his town), left for the shop in his white political pajamas, and the shopkeeper doubly impressed that a second customer came in minutes, asked him if he could sell him, at an early morning discount, a "lahenga", which is what a pajama is called in the local language. I do want to dwell on how the matter was finally settled, but as you can see, it was no-one's fault. That the ruling party in the state as well as the Centre was the Congress, may have helped matters.

As the epicenter of all opposition activity has been miscalculated to a particular state and person (electoral dynamics should have an equation for each state), let me give you another example. Tea in Gujarat, at any wayside stall is classified as "lashkari" (for the infantry in real terms), "Badshahi" ( royal in translation), and "pecial" (actually special). The tariffs are in the ascending order. I suppose with marginal need for Urdu for a business community, and a reasonable rivalry, "Shehzada" is a well intended substitute. I cannot discount the many backgrounds the spearheading candidate of the opposition campaign has been attributed to, but I did read somewhere that he once had a role in selling tea. The present ruling party can suitably coin words from the regional language for a reasonable rivalry.

Rajasthan is different. One night at the magnificient "Umed Bhawan", and three times the room service knocked at my door, "Hukum?", and each time I politely declined, "thanks I have had my dinner and coffee, don't need anything else". "Hukum" is an honorable way to address a guest of the king! Be not surprised if the famed God-man in the Jodhpur prison is addressed the same way, because a culture may not change for an accused, or an un-accused nobleman.

The "Aam Aadmi Party" (APP), scores the highest in innovative marketing. The caps with the black letters probably keep the bumbleblees away. So far, they have incriminated many, and the rebuttals have been unconvincing. The youth are enamored, and one wonders, depending on the outcomes, if this shall become a political case study for scholars to work on. Besides their thrust in Delhi, Lucknow is another susceptible town. No ground work required. Use the local tehzeeb, "Pehle Aap, Pehle Aap"!

Political insinuations are not without their polarizing effect. This election somehow appears to me like a graduation of Indian politics from college to a university. There may be sudden and time bound agendas thrust right away on the economy, more importantly the issue if India would retain its respectability in the elite world economic club. One cannot be sure, but the road ahead is steep and rocky.

For the final rounds, we need truly professional debates, a show of professionals in each party besides the politicians. The theme should not be to criticize. Add answerability to it, "Given a chance, tell us what you will give back to India".

Not a co-incidence we are celebrating 50 years after assassination of the man who urged his country on these lines. And we can't forget that today is 26/11!

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To sir, with love

P Ramesh Kumar
25 November 2013, 02:32 PM IST

Sir had an amazing capacity for love. He was endearing to all his students and anyone else he came across. His rustic appearance sat pretty with his handsome face and, together with his academic brilliance, made for a deadly charisma.

Dr CD Sidhu, who  passed away on November 18, was Sidhu Saheb or simply 'sir' to the hundreds of students who attended his classes in his 43-year career as English teacher in Delhi University's Hans Raj College. Not only was he approachable to just anyone but also the doors of his house were open to all who wanted to talk or were in need of help. His loving wife and five daughters were equally hospitable.

His personality was unique and magnetic. There was a disarming honesty about him and he had often made me wonder how a man could be so transparent. To be his friend one didn't have to share his interests as everyone was important for the teacher-playwright, who was an incorrigible student of human nature.

I joined Hans Raj College on the advice of an academic because the 'helpful' Sidhu Saheb was in the English department but did not have him as my teacher during my postgraduation as he had taken some kind of a sabbatical from the Arts Faculty where the main classes used to be held. However, I got to attend his tutorials in the college on an author other than Bernard Shaw, whose works were the subject of his doctorate in Wisconsin University, US.

His having studied and topped in the US or having stood 10th in the civil service exams never went to his head. He used his knowledge of Shaw's drama and of the history he had to study for his civil service exams to write his first play, 'Indumati Satyadev'.

I was an admirer of his anyway but I got to see him from close quarters when I acted in three of his plays (two Punjabi and one Hindi), apart from playing a part in Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons', which was staged many a time in not-so-well-known colleges with the sole purpose of boosting the morale of the average and below-average students.

There was nobility in his thoughts and motives. His major concerns in his plays were exploitation of the poor, women's plight and young students, For a winner of the Sahitya Akademi award for his Bhagat Singh trilogy in Punjabi in 2004, Dr Sidhu was a modest person. When asked to comment on his success, he had once said, "I am not a born writer. My books are the result of my hard work."

God only knows how he managed his time, considering he was a sincere teacher who stayed up late making notes for his regular classes even if there was a show of a play written or directed by him the next day. He wrote 38 plays, most of them in Punjabi, and was half way through writing his 39th when the curtains of his life were drawn.

I found sir to be a unique blend of brains, application, perseverance and conscience. In his life, he was emulating his role model who was his school teacher, Pandit Gobind Ram, while we were trying to emulate him. Although he justifiably cared a lot about his academic achievements and playwriting, the quality that stood out in him was his love. Anyone who spoke to him felt good about themselves.

When I first met Dr Sidhu I had the feeling this man was my father in my previous birth or will be in my next birth. Slowly I realized I shared this father with many other children.

When my biological father died in 2007, sir comforted me with these words, "Do fathers ever die? Mine died 28 years ago but I talk to him every day." How true! Sir, you continue to talk to not just your five children but all your children.

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After sexual assault, slander

Rajesh Kalra
26 November 2013, 01:37 PM IST

The Tehelka sexual assault episode has been discussed threadbare by all. Depending on which side of the spectrum they are, people have taken clear stances, basically along expected lines. While the young journalist, her friends, even her colleagues along with the majority of the media seem to agree with her allegations, the powerful and 'literary' friends of the accused, Tehelka's Editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, have started defending him.

While that was to be expected, what has left a completely unsavoury taste in almost every observer's mouth has been the attempt by these worthies to tarnish the young girl's reputation. From the first attempts to say it was 'consensual' to a 'fleeting' one, the girl is now being accused of being a 'liar' and that she was 'partying' around even after the incident and that if she was partying, she couldn't have been 'traumatised' as she is claiming to be.

Among the host of absurd claims and explanations made, this one must rank as the most absurd. Who has ever said that a person who has been molested by an all powerful boss is barred from enjoying herself? If anything, I would give credit to the youngster that she maintained her dignity in the face of the beastly attack by her boss, all to ensure that the event that she and her colleagues had worked tirelessly for is not jeopardised.

It is being said that she even messaged her friends about how excited she was about the time she spent with Robert De Niro and his wife, after the 'so-called' rape attempt. How bizarre! If anything, she shows the maturity way beyond her age, while discharging the duty that she has been assigned – to ensure that a big Hollywood star and his wife are taken care of. You need to respect the girl, and actually be grateful that she did not create a scene. But these so called 'intellectuals' are using it to malign her reputation. How utterly pathetic! Or, as Arundhati Roy has said in her essay on the issue, this is like her 2nd rape.

I have often referred to the cozy clubs that exist all over. Memberships to these cliques is guarded ferociously and they don't allow anyone else to enter even as they throw a crumb here and there to keep the general public interested. Anyone trying to break these cozy clubs is treated with disdain. A concerted attack is launched against the person to discredit him. The attack is so relentless that the person eventually gives up. Often, this attack is wrapped in flowery language and intellectualism that makes the other seem inadequate.

They have succeeded so far because those who can take them on also succumb to the crumbs often. But this vice-like grip is showing chasm with the coming of the social media, which, thankfully, despite its many flaws, does not respect the social status of wrong doers and says it the way it is – straight. Thank God!

We have all seen the flip-flops of the powerful management of the magazine on the issue. From trying to hush it up, to it being an internal issue, to a bizarre self-imposed exile, to penance, to a public apology and now this. Sad! (http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/randomaccess/entry/tehelka_stings_itself_wake_up_call_for_media)

And that is not all. While seeking anticipatory bail, it is also being said that they would demand that the case be moved out of Goa as they fear they would be targeted by the local government. They must surely think the justice system is an ass. They are pre-judging that the state is biased and that they will act against. Has there been even a shred of evidence that the manner in which the state police has moved so far is biased. Why should any court even entertain a request like that?

These silly actions are making the already irretrievable situation go even more out of hand.

In Hindi, there is a saying 'Vinashkaale Vipreet Buddhi', which, loosely translated in to English means: Under trying times, the brain often stops functioning or makes you do wrong. Wonder if it was coined with some of these men in mind. In the meanwhile, kudos to the gutsy young journalist!

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Goonga Pehelwan

Abhijit Bhaduri
24 November 2013, 12:10 PM IST

Unlike many other countries, India does not have the luxury of having so many sports people who have won gold medals at Olympics that we would miss out a name or two. Yet, if we are asked to name the wrestler who has won the gold medal twice and a bronze medal in the Olympics, most of us will draw a blank. You have not heard of Virender Singh, have you? Very few people have heard of him because he won them at the Deaflympics.

He won India's first and only gold medal at the 2005 Deaflympics in Melbourne, in 74-84kg freestyle wrestling, a silver medal at the second World Deaf Wrestling Championships in 2008 in Yerevan, Armenia, and a bronze at the 2009 Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan and a bronze at the 2012 World Deaf Wrestling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

That is tragic because he is by far the most successful deaf athlete that this country has ever seen. So why do I not simply refer to him as an athlete? Why do we need to add his disability as a prefix to his profession? Therein lies the story of "Goonga Pehelwan" (translation: Mute Wrestler) as Virender Singh is popularly known in wrestling circles. He wants to be a given a fair chance to compete against able bodied wrestlers and be selected only if he qualifies, not out of sympathy.

So why did he not participate in the Summer Olympics? The powers that be believe that he will not be able to hear the referee's whistle. The International Olympics Association does not prohibit a disabled athlete from competing with able bodied athletes. Remember Oscar Pistorius, the blade runner who competed against able bodied runners and missed the medal by a whisker. Oscar was the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay races. So why do we not send someone who has already proved himself capable of winning in the Olympics?

Virender is now the subject of a documentary called "Goonga Pehelwan" made by Mit Jani and two other film makers who are now trying to raise awareness of this issue. Mission Rio 16 aims to help Virender in his quest to reach the Rio Olympics 2016 by filing a Public Interest Litigation in the Delhi High Court to bring about a policy change that allows differently abled athletes to go to the normal Olympics with other deserving athletes.

Like Virender there are many other disabled people who suffer discrimination silently. The India Inclusion Summit hopes that one day everyone will freely, openly and without pity or sympathy accommodate any person with any kind of disability, physical, mental or intellectual, without restrictions or limitations of any kind. Virender will be there at the Summit this year to tell us about his dreams. He hopes that the rest of the country will speak up.

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Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri

Meet India's blade runner <click here>

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Around the world in photos: November 17 - 23

Team TOI
24 November 2013, 10:45 AM IST

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the best photos from around the world. Let us know which is your favorite in the comments section and check again next week for new images.

A Colombian policeman performs with his dog during the opening of the IV Meeting of Ministers of Public Security of the Americas in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia. (AFP PHOTO/Raul ARBOLEDA)

Mount Sinabung spews ash in a view from Tiga Pancur village in Karo district, Indonesia's north Sumatra province. (REUTERS/YT Haryono)

Pedestrians protect themselves from a steady evening rain as they walk or pause near colourful holiday lights, in downtown Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Thousands of paper-made balloons, powered by burning oil, rise into the evening sky in Chiang Mai province, some 580 kilometers (360 miles) north of Bangkok during the Loy Krathong Festival. During the festival at night time, Thais float lanterns to the sky and float candles on the lotus-shaped basket into the rivers, in order to drift away their bad luck. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

Can I vote too, mama? A combination picture shows Vittoria, daughter of Italy's Member of the European Parliament Licia Ronzulli, growing up as she attended with her mother in various voting sessions at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Pictures taken from September 22, 2010 (Top row L) to November 19, 2013 (Bottom row R). (REUTERS/Vincent Kessler and Jean-Marc Loos/Files)

A hibiscus flower is seen on an ash-covered plant at Mardingding village in Karo district, Indonesia's north Sumatra province. (REUTERS/Roni Bintang)

Migratory birds fly above a man rowing a boat in the waters of river Yamuna during early morning in old Delhi. (REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal)

Camels walk in the Liwa desert, 220 kms west of Abu Dhabi. (TOPSHOTS/AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB)

Two-day-old lion cubs Fajr and Sjel are fed at a zoo in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. The cubs' mother and father were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egypt four years ago to live in a Hamas-run public zoo. It is the first time in years that cubs are born in the Palestinian coastal enclave. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED)

A birthday balloon blows in the wind after it was placed on a memorial cross for Joseph McStay, whose body, along with his wife and two children were found in a shallow grave, in Victorville, Calif. Four skeletons found in shallow graves in the Southern California desert are believed to be those of the McStay family that vanished three years ago, resolving one mystery and raising a host of new questions about what happened to the seemingly happy couple and their two young sons. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, James Quigg)

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The reign of elders

Santosh Desai
24 November 2013, 07:03 PM IST

When is someone truly regarded as an adult in India? This question was triggered off as an unlikely by-product of the recent controversy surrounding Amit Shah and the surveillance of a young woman ordered him at the behest of his 'saheb'. It is being argued that the action was an innocent act of protection provided at the specific request of the father who happens to be a friend of the chief minister. A father acted out of concern for his grown-up daughter and a powerful friend helped him out- no reason for anyone to fret, is the official version.

Apart from the other more significant issues raised by this case, the explanation offered is interesting and perhaps quite revealing of a larger cultural truth. Is a parent within his rights to keep an eye on his daughter's actions in the name of protecting her, assuming for the moment that the official version is correct? At what stage does being an adult translate into having full control over one's actions? This becomes a particularly important question if the adult in question is a woman- is male protection of some kind a self-justifying action?

The larger cultural question it throws goes way beyond this specific case. The implicit mental model at work here is that a parent has the right to do what he thinks is best for the child( in this a grown woman) regardless of what the child might think or how old she might be. The ease with which we accept that a father can keep an eye ( in this case with the help of the ATS) on a grown daughter for her safety is revealing. While legally one might become an adult at the age of 18, be able to marry if is one is 21 and have a drink in the city of Delhi if one is 25, culturally it seems like a different story. Adulthood in India seems to perpetually withheld, if by adulthood one were to mean the ability to exercise full control over one's life and actions. The passing of the baton from one generation to another is an area of considerable greyness, and in some cases, never quite happens till the older generation passes away.

On the face of it, the above description would appear to belong to that of an earlier generation. Certainly, going by the number of young people enjoying themselves in bars, restaurants and malls the idea that they lack control over their lives would seem a trifle quaint and outdated, but appearances can be deceptive. Without question, the younger generation today enjoys freedoms that were unimaginable till a few years ago, not just in terms of going out but also in terms of careers and occupations. And yet, there is so much that hasn't changed.

Grown-up children stay with parents till they get married, but often even afterwards. Parents pay for the weddings, the individuals getting married are designated the 'boy' and the 'girl' and assigned perfunctory roles during the process. The consent of parents in all major life decisions is still extremely important and much of popular culture, particularly on television is concerned with the question of what an appropriate relationship between the two generations is. And while there are many professions that are dominated by the young, even today legacy is an extremely important part of our lives with family-owned businesses dominating the commercial landscape and political dynasties growing rather than declining. The so-called young politicians are for most part, progeny of those already powerful who inherit constituencies rather than build them. While enjoying some very visible freedoms, the younger generation simultaneously cedes its rights over some of  its own actions in return for the comfort of a benevolent canopy called legacy.

The bond between generations is a source of great strength and stability as social continuity is effortlessly maintained while accommodating change. But in many ways, this is also what comes in the way of radical change. Without a drawing of boundaries between the old and the new, and without some tension between the two, the old, by virtue of its implicit power, continues to prevail in a manner that is almost invisible.  The overall lack of tension between the generations creates an air of complicity between the two where the old contains the disruptive potential of the new by offering comfort that blunts the need for discontinuous change. Which is why all the talk of the power of youth never quite materialises into tangible change on the ground. The youth is vocal but docile, aggressive in symbolism but pliant in behaviour. Acts of consumption or posts on social media might provide means of self-expression but are not sufficient to bring about  meaningful change. Change is enacted much more than it is implemented.

That is not to argue that the young in India are not ambitious or lack ideas but merely that the tendency is to operate within a culturally comfortable arena that does not disrupt social convention. This is both a recipe for social order and for a lack of real change. For all the noise that surrounds the need for change, at a structural level, little has changed in terms of social organisation or political expression. We are beginning to see the first signs of such a challenge in the arena of gender where more women are pushing back against traditional power structures but one is yet to see this involve into a social movement of any kind. Perhaps a touch of rebellion is needed if all that is moribund about the Indian social and political establishment has to change.

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Don’t confuse compassion with weakness

Jai Anant Dehadrai
22 November 2013, 11:37 AM IST

The Supreme Court of India may speak softly, but this must not be confused with weakness or 'fickleness', as some observers have claimed, in the backdrop of the Campa Cola decision. In the larger public interest, it is crucial that the record is set straight. 

Almost all Indians look up to the Justices of the Supreme Court with the reverential belief that no matter what the odds, the Court will ensure that justice prevails. Indeed, the Court has rarely disappointed those who come to it with meritorious claims. Even the harshest critics of the court will concede that the Supreme Court has earned its rightful place as India's most respected public institution. This has not happened by mere chance or accident. Men and women of the highest calibre and unimpeachable integrity have fulfilled the immensely difficult responsibilities that a judge of the apex court must shoulder.

Prior to attempting any genuine critique of the Supreme Court's orders, it becomes imperative to substantiate the same with either empirical facts or hard evidence. Even so, in tune with the liberal tenets of our Constitution, the Supreme Court does not object to genuine criticism of its judgments. However, scurrilous attacks and comments attributing motives to decisions are absolutely unacceptable. These exceptions are reasonable and essential to preserve the sanctity of the 'judgments' that flow from the Bench. Commentators must understand that the scope of their criticism ought to be restricted to the judgment itself – and not the personal characteristics of the Judge(s) who authored it.  

This is a subtle but crucial difference. 

Here is why.     

The simple fact of the matter, is that the judiciary is supposed to be, and thankfully is, scrupulously apolitical. Judges are not in the race to win a popularity contest – their duty is to enforce the letter of the law, and where permissible, accommodate diverging interests to do complete justice. Irresponsible and ignorant critics of the Indian judiciary in general and the Supreme Court in particular, would do well to familiarise themselves with past decisions of the apex court to truly understand the genesis of present-day 'decision making'.                                                                                                                              

In the last week or so, two significant developments have taken place in the Supreme Court. For fear that they might be misunderstood, or even ignored; it would be in public interest to highlight these decisions.

Firstly, the Supreme Court ought to be applauded for its decision in the 'Campa Cola' case. The illegal construction poses a bevy of life-threatening risks not only to its own residents, but also to homes in the vicinity of the complex. While drawing our attention to the builder-politician nexus of corruption and deceit, the Court has rightly held that there can be zero-tolerance for such blatant violations of the law. In a case that bears a remarkable similarity to the Campa Cola situation, former SC judge, Justice B.S. Srikrishna, delivered a timeless judgment. Striking down the plea of a builder who argued against demolition of his illegal construction citing wastage of national resources, Justice Srikrishna agreed with the contentions of Sr. Counsel Vinod Bobde holding that "not taking strict action would be putting a premium on improper and dishonest acts which would destroy the moral fibre, which is a national asset of greater importance than cement and concrete."  

Some critics have suggested that that unauthorised construction ought to be 'regularised' to meet the asset shortfall that our nation supposedly faces. The bewildering implication of this is the false assumption that illegal construction is somehow in the national interest. This can never be so. We may be 'asset' deficient, but we certainly cannot afford to become 'integrity' deficient.

Coming back to the Campa Cola case, Justice Singhvi and Justice Nagappan correctly exercised the discretion available to them by delaying the demolition of the complex – with the intent of allowing the residents to make alternative arrangements. Such compassion on the part of the Court must not be confused with either weakness or 'fickleness'.

Secondly, in yet another example of its role as the preserver of the collective Indian conscience, the Supreme Court has issued notice in a petition challenging former President Pratibha Patil's decision of commuting the death sentence of five accused in heinous child-rape cases, to life imprisonment. The Court appears to have taken cognisance of the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs may have proposed pardons without any application of mind. These instances of judicial intervention remind us to be grateful that we possess a public institution that stands as a bulwark against the abuse and misuse of official power.

Public commentators who are unfamiliar with the workings of the Supreme Court should acquire a modicum of legal-literacy before attempting vaulted 'critiques.'  It would be a better idea for such critics to be very cautious about offering their 'personal suggestions' or 'opinions' relating to decisions of the Court, lest they be interpreted as a slur on the Court's prestige.

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