Going by the happenings of the past 24 hrs, one wonders whether there's a pattern in all of these? The analyses will give a definite picture, I'm sure and so, here I go.
1. A Sudden Fondness.
Over the past few days, the people of the Malayalam film industry have suddenly shown a
fondness for Dileep, who's in jail. Yesterday, Ganesh Kumar, had gone on record to say that
the jailed actor must be respected till he's found to be guilty. He also said that the chief minister
could be approached to correct the investigations thus far, if the police has made a mistake. What
a brazen way of trying to influence the case?
There has been reports of the actor getting special consideration within the jail which was,
however, rubbished by the Aluva jail superintendent. The television channels have been
bombarding the viewers with an array of the actor's movies as part of the special broadcast during
Onam and an unnatural number of songs picturised on him on the 'pure' music channels.
Are these attempts to let go off the blighter by watering down the investigations? I hope that my
fears are unfounded and the case, through its logical conclusion, will surely remove the rottenness
within the film industry!
2. The Thawing at Doklam.
The Sino-Indian stand off at Doklam seems to have petered off for now. Wonder why the Chinese
backed down after all the bluster. Were they due to any off the following reasons?
(a) Bhutan took an uncompromising stand that was favourably oriented with Indian perceptions.
(b) India did not show a tendency to blink anytime during this 'eyeball-to-eyeball' confrontation.
(c) China did not want a possible boycott of the 'BRICS' summit by the Indian PM.
Maintaining peace and tranquility at the border was a must for fruitful engagement between the
two countries, the leaders concluded after their one-to-one meeting. The naming of the terror
organisations, operating from Pakistani soil, on the summit's declaration has been good and is a
victory of sorts for Indian diplomacy!
3. A Change in Mindset.
I've been watching with increasing disappointment at the reaction of liberally educated people
reacting and offering comments about the so called beef ban, increased thrust on Hindutva by
the fringe groups, the JNU happenings of the past and a few, that continue to happen in the name
of free speech, the Rohit Vemula case etc on What'sApp and other social media.
Consequently, in my personal interactions with many of the people, I've pointedly asked them
as to whether they felt threatened or they believed in what the ex-Vice President, Hamid Ansari,
had said about a fear among the minorities since the Modi government had taken over in '14. The
answers were only endorsing the political ideology that they believed in!
Frankly speaking, I haven't seen any change and it's certain that fringe groups could whip up
hysteria with the opposition immediately taking up the issue and making it a stick to beat Modi
with. The problems, thus, were blown out of proportion when viewed impartially. India cannot
and will not become a Hindu land that is a mirror image to an Islamic Pakistan.
If anyone has such misguided notions, he/she must shed it forthwith because it's the multiplicity
of cultures, religion and faiths that makes India strong and vibrant. A single religion country like
Pakistan has shown the pitfalls and is not needed.
It's against this background that I liked the newly inducted minister, Alphons Kannanthanam, say
unequivocally that 'beef ban' is not in Modi's agenda. Cynics might call him a 'Modi-bhakt' but
that's the fact!
4. Meet Our New Raksha Mantri.
It's Prime Minister Modi's master stroke when he made the able Nirmala Sitharaman his new
defence minister. She has the grit and the chutzpah to carry it off efficiently though there might be
very little that she could do in the strategic decisions taken by her predecessor. I shall be keeping
a close watch on her moves and it's my fond hope that she visits the veterans sitting at the Jantar
Mantar and finds a solution for the vexed problem of OROP and pensions forthwith!
Best wishes to you ma'am for a fruitful tenure and here's hoping that you'd bring in new initiatives
that your illustrious predecessors didn't attempt.
Tailpiece.
Suresh's ashes have been taken by a small group of people, from both the families, to Kanyakumari followed by Rameswaram. They'll return by early morning the day after. I was supposed to be part of that group but had to change plans because of Lekha's medical management.
1. A Sudden Fondness.
Over the past few days, the people of the Malayalam film industry have suddenly shown a
fondness for Dileep, who's in jail. Yesterday, Ganesh Kumar, had gone on record to say that
the jailed actor must be respected till he's found to be guilty. He also said that the chief minister
could be approached to correct the investigations thus far, if the police has made a mistake. What
a brazen way of trying to influence the case?
There has been reports of the actor getting special consideration within the jail which was,
however, rubbished by the Aluva jail superintendent. The television channels have been
bombarding the viewers with an array of the actor's movies as part of the special broadcast during
Onam and an unnatural number of songs picturised on him on the 'pure' music channels.
Are these attempts to let go off the blighter by watering down the investigations? I hope that my
fears are unfounded and the case, through its logical conclusion, will surely remove the rottenness
within the film industry!
2. The Thawing at Doklam.
The Sino-Indian stand off at Doklam seems to have petered off for now. Wonder why the Chinese
backed down after all the bluster. Were they due to any off the following reasons?
(a) Bhutan took an uncompromising stand that was favourably oriented with Indian perceptions.
(b) India did not show a tendency to blink anytime during this 'eyeball-to-eyeball' confrontation.
(c) China did not want a possible boycott of the 'BRICS' summit by the Indian PM.
Maintaining peace and tranquility at the border was a must for fruitful engagement between the
two countries, the leaders concluded after their one-to-one meeting. The naming of the terror
organisations, operating from Pakistani soil, on the summit's declaration has been good and is a
victory of sorts for Indian diplomacy!
3. A Change in Mindset.
I've been watching with increasing disappointment at the reaction of liberally educated people
reacting and offering comments about the so called beef ban, increased thrust on Hindutva by
the fringe groups, the JNU happenings of the past and a few, that continue to happen in the name
of free speech, the Rohit Vemula case etc on What'sApp and other social media.
Consequently, in my personal interactions with many of the people, I've pointedly asked them
as to whether they felt threatened or they believed in what the ex-Vice President, Hamid Ansari,
had said about a fear among the minorities since the Modi government had taken over in '14. The
answers were only endorsing the political ideology that they believed in!
Frankly speaking, I haven't seen any change and it's certain that fringe groups could whip up
hysteria with the opposition immediately taking up the issue and making it a stick to beat Modi
with. The problems, thus, were blown out of proportion when viewed impartially. India cannot
and will not become a Hindu land that is a mirror image to an Islamic Pakistan.
If anyone has such misguided notions, he/she must shed it forthwith because it's the multiplicity
of cultures, religion and faiths that makes India strong and vibrant. A single religion country like
Pakistan has shown the pitfalls and is not needed.
It's against this background that I liked the newly inducted minister, Alphons Kannanthanam, say
unequivocally that 'beef ban' is not in Modi's agenda. Cynics might call him a 'Modi-bhakt' but
that's the fact!
4. Meet Our New Raksha Mantri.
It's Prime Minister Modi's master stroke when he made the able Nirmala Sitharaman his new
defence minister. She has the grit and the chutzpah to carry it off efficiently though there might be
very little that she could do in the strategic decisions taken by her predecessor. I shall be keeping
a close watch on her moves and it's my fond hope that she visits the veterans sitting at the Jantar
Mantar and finds a solution for the vexed problem of OROP and pensions forthwith!
Best wishes to you ma'am for a fruitful tenure and here's hoping that you'd bring in new initiatives
that your illustrious predecessors didn't attempt.
Tailpiece.
Suresh's ashes have been taken by a small group of people, from both the families, to Kanyakumari followed by Rameswaram. They'll return by early morning the day after. I was supposed to be part of that group but had to change plans because of Lekha's medical management.
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