My reactions to some of the news bytes that are in circulation now.
(a) No to Rajnikant as Tippu Sultan.
First, it was the ban on eating meat on festivals of a certain community(I'm dead sure that even
the Jains wouldn't have minded the others having what they wanted!), then the murder of eminent
Kannada scholar and rationalist MM Kalburgi for his views on idol worship by a fringe Hindutva
group, followed by a 'ghar waapasi' call for AR Rahman after he provided the background score
and music for an Iranian film on the Prophet, it's now the preposterous appeal(?) to Rajnikant not to play the role of Tippu Sultan, which has been offered to him in a forthcoming film on the ruthless king.
Don't these guys understand that every individual is assured 'Freedom of expression, thought and
action', in this country, as enshrined in our Constitution? Thankfully, the courts have intervened
to cast some of these obnoxious 'fatwas' aside.
PM Modi has, time and again, reiterated that neither he nor his government subscribe to such
extreme views. Why, then, have such fringe groups found their voices now? Or is it a new trend?
Whatever be the case, I'm of the opinion that all right thinking people must raise their voice against such unwanted intrusions in our lives. They don't have any right to dictate our choices in
life. Period!
(b) A Lukewarm Response to 'Swachh Bharat'.
Much as anyone of us would like it, along with the PM who's given an impetus to this programme, an online survey has brought out the revelation that much more needs to happen
in most parts of the country regarding cleanliness. I've been observing the surroundings of
a few places that I'd visited over the past few days and found that the concerned municipalities/
panchayats care a damn for maintaining a clean habitat. Why this apathy I wonder?
Is it that we, Indians, are least worried about keeping our surroundings clean the onslaught of
deadly ailments, notwithstanding? Or is it that since it's a Modi-initiative, it needs to be ensured
that the programme never really takes off so that his opponents/critics have another stick to beat
him with?
(c) The Collection of 'Elite' Sperms.
I was quite amused by the news that Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai, China is looking for
donations of sperm from men who're over 165 cm tall and possess at least a college degree!
Was reminded of Hitler's drive to bring up a pure 'Aryan race' by forcibly accommodating
select couples to cohabit and procreate.
Probably, the Chinese hospital is forced to do this because of increasing demands from women
preferring such qualities!
Can't help thinking a twad ahead. When man ultimately, solves the mystery of life and death,
what prevents him from going in for 'designer deaths'?
Some things never change, huh!
Tailpiece.
Happened to read that the PLA top brass of China have endorsed the Pakistani version of the Indo-Pak war of '65. If it's true, it's at their own peril because as a military strategist, I'd go through both the versions before arriving at a conclusion!
(a) No to Rajnikant as Tippu Sultan.
First, it was the ban on eating meat on festivals of a certain community(I'm dead sure that even
the Jains wouldn't have minded the others having what they wanted!), then the murder of eminent
Kannada scholar and rationalist MM Kalburgi for his views on idol worship by a fringe Hindutva
group, followed by a 'ghar waapasi' call for AR Rahman after he provided the background score
and music for an Iranian film on the Prophet, it's now the preposterous appeal(?) to Rajnikant not to play the role of Tippu Sultan, which has been offered to him in a forthcoming film on the ruthless king.
Don't these guys understand that every individual is assured 'Freedom of expression, thought and
action', in this country, as enshrined in our Constitution? Thankfully, the courts have intervened
to cast some of these obnoxious 'fatwas' aside.
PM Modi has, time and again, reiterated that neither he nor his government subscribe to such
extreme views. Why, then, have such fringe groups found their voices now? Or is it a new trend?
Whatever be the case, I'm of the opinion that all right thinking people must raise their voice against such unwanted intrusions in our lives. They don't have any right to dictate our choices in
life. Period!
(b) A Lukewarm Response to 'Swachh Bharat'.
Much as anyone of us would like it, along with the PM who's given an impetus to this programme, an online survey has brought out the revelation that much more needs to happen
in most parts of the country regarding cleanliness. I've been observing the surroundings of
a few places that I'd visited over the past few days and found that the concerned municipalities/
panchayats care a damn for maintaining a clean habitat. Why this apathy I wonder?
Is it that we, Indians, are least worried about keeping our surroundings clean the onslaught of
deadly ailments, notwithstanding? Or is it that since it's a Modi-initiative, it needs to be ensured
that the programme never really takes off so that his opponents/critics have another stick to beat
him with?
(c) The Collection of 'Elite' Sperms.
I was quite amused by the news that Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai, China is looking for
donations of sperm from men who're over 165 cm tall and possess at least a college degree!
Was reminded of Hitler's drive to bring up a pure 'Aryan race' by forcibly accommodating
select couples to cohabit and procreate.
Probably, the Chinese hospital is forced to do this because of increasing demands from women
preferring such qualities!
Can't help thinking a twad ahead. When man ultimately, solves the mystery of life and death,
what prevents him from going in for 'designer deaths'?
Some things never change, huh!
Tailpiece.
Happened to read that the PLA top brass of China have endorsed the Pakistani version of the Indo-Pak war of '65. If it's true, it's at their own peril because as a military strategist, I'd go through both the versions before arriving at a conclusion!
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