Raging blood lines and the metal boot – Kashmir

Another few dead yesterday in Srinagar, for the first few days I tried to read a bit about the casualties but then if it’s all consistent, the people become numbers and the interest wanes out gradually ( for that matter even the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico has moved to Page 3 from the headlines).

Kashmir doesn’t send shivers down anybody’s spine anymore irrespective of where they come from. Isn’t it the place where shit goes down every other day anyway?


From an Indian perspective, the place has come a long way from being a state that wanted to shake hands and be all happy with its Union into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to a state that produced the Indian Administrative Services Exam topper. A state famous for supplying images of mutilated body parts of violence victims for the daily news, to a state registering record number of tourists in holiday season.


From a Kashmiri perspective, the initial hype about Pakistan being the chosen one has died out and a neutral independent approach has gained significant strength.
So how do people end up dead in streets and the Indian Government and Armed forces find themselves standing at the edge of the blame finger? Why & how does the seasonal anti-India tirade gain momentum at short notices?
The answer lies in the most eternal answer to every problem in the world. Power & Money.
(Coolio had figured it all out in his famous track – Gangster’s Paradise!)

Shielded by the AFSPA (Armed forces special protection act), the CRPF practices least restraint while using the trigger. I mean they do shoot in the air, but forget to look up if someone happens to be in a balcony or at a window. Why don’t they care? They don’t because they are sent to protect people whom they know detest them.

That’s a shit deal!

The government pushes armed forces into Kashmir thinking it will lend a sense of security and maintain a state of preparedness incase Pakistan tries to experiment at garnering support from locals again. The armed forces step in looking to be revered and respected for the wonderful job they signed up for, instead receive cold stares and a bounty of hate. That’s a prime time Confusion State.


Now in this Confusion state, add a bit of politics. Hurriyat and Separatist groups vying for attention and aid money. They would do whatever it takes to make the best of this potluck of vested interests. Choose the right time (Amarnath Yatra involves lakhs of tourists and the world will watch), choose the right weather and raise the tempo again.


The CRPF, already disillusioned about why they are there in the first place is ready for its share of action. According to the flavor of the season, throw in some stone pelting, Pakistan flag waving and bunker burning and there we are, a perfect recipe for disaster.


It gives enough fodder for right wing Hindu parties to ask for support to crush the ‘Intolerant separatist Muslim terrorists’.

It gives enough attention and body bags to the Kashmiri groups to indulge in self pity and seek international aid for the remaining one year.

It gives the armed forces the much needed lessons in riot control and curfew operations, some of them even get medals for their ‘valor’.

It gives the Government of India another reason to maintain a high defense budget and the reason for military presence in Kashmir.

It’s a win-win situation! Everyone gets something out of it, so why the commotion.


People will crib about it, right after ordering a pizza they will write social networking updates through their GPRS enabled cellular devices, showing how concerned they are. Facebook groups will be created and the street children killed in these protests will be on those groups, next to the ONLINE group that claims at saving the tiger.

The Kashmiriyat that is said to be defended against occupation, dies the moment you let your kid out to a protest march.


The Democracy dies the moment you shield the armed forces from prosecution for shooting citizens of a state you call your own.


And our conscience dies everyday when we fail to register identities and a protestor becomes a Muslim and a soldier becomes an infidel.

Another day In Kabul

HAPPIER DAYS AT THE SAFI LANDMARK










With an abrupt message from my friend Darren who lives in the city centre of Kabul, I had another tryst with the much discussed way of living in Afghanistan. Darren lives hardly a kilometer away from the Safi Landmark complex in Kabul which came under multiple suicide attacks this morning. I write this post as my fellow colleagues are focused on getting as much information possible from within the close knit Indian community in Kabul. Busy on their mobiles phones and hooked on to television sets, everyone knows the reason behind the attack on the Indian run hotel this morning. Surprisingly, India had warned Pakistan from sponsoring terror against Indians just yesterday. Do the math yourself.

Darren’s message at 8 am was not to inform about the blast or his safety. It was to check on me, since all dead in the attacks this morning happened to be Indians.
As our country goes on and starts a fresh round of ‘composite dialogue’ with Pakistan, the only question that my mind raises in anger is ‘WHAT THE FUCK’. We have had 60 years of dialogue with a bunch of morons representing the government of a country that has no democracy and no one exactly knows who’s running it! What is the guarantee that the Pakistani Prime Minister will not be assassinated or asked to leave the country next month?

They don’t have an economy, survive on bread crumbs thrown in by the US as an incentive to keep a tab on Taliban, their people kill their own people every second day in bomb blasts across multiple cities and the future of the citizens bleak with visa restrictions and masses treading the radical Islamic path. Gradually the country is digressing into decadence and a doomed future. With such a situation we understand that Pakistan is jealous of India’s rising position in world politics and the constant growth in economy and quality of life.

Yes, India has its problems too but unlike Pakistan, our biggest export to the world is not Terrorism and radical Islam.

The Safi Landmark hotel in Kabul was a sign of progress and prosperity, the chic cafes and the swish boutiques were a pleasant recluse for the people of Kabul who had been longing to have their share of globalization and little luxuries of life. However, how could the Pakistan backed Taliban tolerate this little indulgence the Kabul citizens subscribed to. How dare they enjoy an evening when Peshawar and Lahore get bombed? Pakistan is fucked, and they shall ensure everyone else is too!
The focus of attack this morning was an Indian restaurant that was visited by Indians and other expats, the motive and the message clear, Pakistan does not want cordial India-Afghanistan relations.

For those of you new to the subject, here is a one liner that might give you a heads up: Taliban is NOT an Afghan organization as presumed, it is a Peshawar backed organization funded by the ISI – The military wing of Pakistan’s defense forces.
The Afghans and Indians share much more than cinema, lasting friendship and cordial relations. It’s a common thread that binds the two countries and makes Indians like me feel at home and enjoy the warmth of Afghan Hospitality – It’s the hate towards Pakistan.

The attack this morning just made the Indian- Afghan bond stronger. The infidel Darren from UK has been invited by Infidel Prateek for a few beers and life goes on in Kabul. Jai Hind!

Susceptibility to pressure – Halloween in India

I write this text while sub consciously thinking of ways to get rid of the hangover I face due to the slightly exuberant consumption last night. Most of the people I know were out partying and I faintly remember being greeted with smiles and ‘Happy Halloween’ merchandise in the wee hours of the morning.

My initial eruptions of resistance emerged during my first encounters with Halloween party celebrations on social networking websites, that claimed to give you the spookiest night in town etc etc.

When the likes of Ashok and Pushpa express their excitement and discuss their state of preparedness for the Halloween celebrations, it makes me wonder about the extent of inroads that American culture (commercial aspect of it) has made into the lives of unsuspecting gullible global consumers.

Under no circumstances and in no way am I opposed to cultures coming together and people learning about different traditions and rituals, however, the ritualistic/meaningful aspect of Halloween has been lost somewhere between the costumes and the exorbitant ‘couple entry charges’ at every club that wants to milk this cash cow.

If Diwali, Christmas and Eid can be celebrated at home, what makes Halloween a tradition that somehow is restricted to clubs and parties!

If the real tradition is studied and compared, Hinduism has something similar in form of Shraadh and Shanichari Amavas ( The Moon-less night on a Saturday). Better than that, the Aghorees of Varanasi can make the Pumpkin ghosts shit their pants any given day.
But who cares, that’s so ‘local’ yaar, Halloween is ‘cool’, that’s the USP.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aghori)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amavasya)

The Average mundane concerned nationalistic retard would dutifully blame it on the ‘West’ and brush it off as “Indians always try to ape the West”.

What exactly is the WEST that we refer to? I guess Europe is West too, isn’t it?

For beginners, Halloween is a strictly American tradition and is a cultural newbie for all countries in Europe. However, all major European cities witness Halloween parties being organized with relentless pomp.

So here we are, being witnesses to the direct impact of Capitalistic power, the power of commercialization. Its impact so strong that when mixed adequately with the right media channel, it can even make people willfully accept foreign traditions partially ( the commercial party part).

The Germans have started celebrating and embracing Halloween in a big way while the younger generation pays lesser and lesser attention to traditions like Walpurgis Night, which are similar to the American Halloween.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night)

Everyone loves money and money has no loyalties, pretty true on a global scale when it comes to accepting American traditions with wide arms, all because of the right media mix and the power of money commercialization brings with it.

I felt the pressure too, I had to party since it was Halloween and I didnt wanna be left out while all my freinds went out to get drunk and dance with masks on. So while they had multiple orgasms in their quest for being semi American ( a.k.a COOL), I sipped my beer and enjoyed the night as another one where social pressure overcame sanity.

So what’s next ?

Oh crap, im runnin late, gotta attend that Thanksgiving Dinner at Bunty’s place !

They need sex more than I do

Every morning the sun breaks over the Indian sub continent and semi literate , semi conscious humanity of this country wakes up and craves for their dose of daily news.What seems to be the norm of the day is an unsettling reality about the division bell that rings loud enough in this country to deafen the cries of sanity.
Impunity has become the buzzword for anyone wiling and able to break the law. Well, a realistic analysis would make you realise that almost 100% of all adults fall under the 'willing' category.The 'able' are another sect, not high in percentage but quite visible and vocal.
As if we had a shortage of religious and regional armies in India, the Ram Sena decides to beat up a few women in order to reprimand them for being a part of India that BJP showcased ( Yes, I do mean INDIA SHINING).If sitting in a pub is a crime, who gave them a licence to operate in the first place ?Or maybe we should attack Software companies and Business consultancies as well, I heard men and women eat lunch together in those offices ! ( Bal Thackeray would already be grinding his teeth in anger if he was reading this article, how dare the corporate world engage in such obsceneties? )
On the other hand, the core issue and the catalyst for such attacks remains elusive from discussions and war-cries between the liberals and the radicals.
For everyone following up on such stories, its about religious fanaticism taking over an otherwise secular and progressive society.
The truth is, by beating up that woman, the Ram/Bajrang/Shiv Sena warrior got the lucky chance to touch a woman's body for the first time in life ( unless he shared a room with his Didi, Dadi or Mausi).Legalise prostitution, encourage strip clubs, give these men a reason to unwind and feel like a man. And you will see how quickly these armies dissapear. id even say give them discounts because they have displayed extreme crave for women( 10% discount on displaying your Shiv Sena id card).
The now so popular Senas of different kinds are nothing but a bunch of frustrated men who would like to beat the lucky ones up and attack women to compensate for the feeling of rejection and neglect they grew up with.
All of you ladies out there, tell me one good looking religious leader, when was the last time you looked at raj Thackeray or Praveen Togadia and went " Ooh, thats my kinda man..hottie".Im sure you would not be able to recall any such thing from the last 2 million years.
We need to get these men laid, thats the solution to religious fundamentalism.
Considering ourselves the biggest democracy in the world, we expect our government and leaders to take action about this rampant rape of public security. The BJP Chief Minister of Karnataka, where most of these cases seem to be happening, releases a mild statement telling these groups to behave. ( For your reference, we would refer to the BJP Chief Minister as Pussy from now).
So Pussy decides not to do much and let 'destiny' take its own course, afterall destiny and luck have an integral role in the leadership structure and indian society.The Central government sits on its comfy chairs and decides to 'observe' these stray incidents, well no country is perfect afterall.
So half a century after indipendence, new IIMs coming up, Oscar winning slum stories and India's moon mission, things dont seem that bad, except for the fact that YOU, yes yes YOU (the reader) can be beaten up on the street anytime, anywhere and you should just quietly take it.
The government, the police and the pussies around you wont say a word or raise a finger.
Get these religious guys laid, buy yourself a Burqa, buy a gun for self defence.
These are the 3 ways out, make your choice.
Or else, end supporting radical forces, Do not vote for the BJP in this election, root out the political parties that support hate.
Lets hope we can sit down for a drink at a cafe in 5 years from now, without worrying about getting molested or beaten. Amen.

NEVER VOTE FOR BJP

Here is a sad story of a Christian father who dared to practice a religion of his choice in the Hindu dominated land. All he did was about adhering to the Fundamental Rights that we enjoy.

Victim of anti-Christian mob describes experiences: The Hindu

Bhubaneswar, Sept 30: “Let the law enforcement machinery, those who know the truth, speak the truth. They know who are the perpetrators of the crime, a matter of shame and insult to the law,” Father Thomas Chellan told The Hindu.

A Catholic priest belonging to the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, he was dragged out of his hiding place in K Nuagaon, a small urban centre in strife-torn Kandhamal district, in the afternoon of August 25. A mob armed with lathis, axes, spades, crowbars, iron rods and sickles, and shouting anti-Christian, Hindutva slogans, brutalised him, Meanwhile, his co-worker, a 28-year-old nun, was taken to a nearby building, and gang-raped in public view. The district has been in the throes of anti-Christian violence ever since December 2007. Following the murder of an RSS leader Lakshmananda Saraswathi, on August 23, the violence has escalated sharply.

Since then, Christian institutions and Christians’ homes have been burnt and looted, several Christian workers killed, priests and nuns hunted down, and Dalit Christian families driven into the forests and into relief camps. When he heard of the murder of the RSS leader, and amid rumours of threats to Christian workers and their institutions by his supporters, Father Chellan alerted the police outpost located outside his institution, the Divya Jyothi Pastor Centre. “I was overconfident in believing that nothing would happen to us,” he said. On August 24, the day the funeral procession of the RSS leader was being taken through the villages of the area, a “huge crowd appeared before the Pastor Centre at around 4.30 pm,” Father Chellan said. Seeing the mood of the crowd, he along with a co-priest and the young Sister jumped the wall of the Centre. “In half an hour, everything was in flames,” he said.

They watched the funeral procession being taken in front of the centre, and believed the worst was over. On the advice of some of their supporters they hid in the forests that night. The next morning they returned to the centre, and around 9 a.m. saw a crowd burn the Pentecostal Church in front of their centre. Sensing danger, a Hindu house owner hid Father Chellan and the nun in his house, but they were pulled out by the crowd. The rest is best described in a letter that was dictated by Father Chellan to a fellow priest soon after the incident from Bhubaneswar where he arrived, bruised and shaken, on August 26. He did this to put on record exactly what had happened to him on August 25: “When I was brought out sister was already standing with the crowd as they caught her first. Immediately they began hitting me all over, forcefully removing my shirt and banian. They asked me: ‘Why did you kill the swamiji? How much have you given to the killers? Why are you conducting lots of meetings there?’ “By pulling and pushing, the crowd took us to Gram Vikas building, the other side of the road. They were armed with lathis, axe, spade, crowbar, iron rods, sickles, etc.

They continued beating us in the Jan Vikas building. They tore the blouse of sister, began assaulting her when I objected. I was beaten with iron rod on my right shoulder [and] they poured kerosene all over the body and was taking matches. Another suggested to take me to the road and burn [me] there.

We were taken to the road and [they] made me kneel down on the road for more than 10 minutes. “Meanwhile they brought sister out from Jan Vikas. Someone was searching for a rope and tied us together [to] burn [us] alive. Then they decided to parade us to Nuagaon, half a kilometre from there. We were paraded half naked. They told us to fold our hands and walk. They tried to strip remaining clothes. Somehow both of us managed to resist the same. As we were walking they went on showering blows on us. Some among the crowd began abusing [us with] words in Malayalam as they might have been working in Kerala.” When they reached Nuagaon it was 2.30 pm and there were 12 personnel of the Orissa State Armed Police standing by the side of the road, the letter says. “I asked, sir, please help us. At that time one among the crowd beat me for asking the help. The police were just onlookers,” Father Chellan’s note says.

In it he says that one of the crowd kicked him on the face. “At that time one among them I know well as a shopkeeper of Nuagaon was collecting thrown away tires to burn us.” The crowd then took them to the K. Nuagaon block building and an officer there took them to the police outpost where they were given some first aid and taken to the Baliguda police station at 9 pm where they lodged three separate First Information Reports – on the attack on the Pastor Centre, the attack on Father Chellan and the attack on the sister.

In the Baliguda police station the Inspector-in-Charge asked him: “Are you interested in lodging an FIR?” They spent that night in a camp of the Central Reserve Police Force. They were put on a bus to Bhubaneswar around 4 pm on August 26. Father Chellan told The Hindu that they were not given a copy of the FIR as they were too badly injured to wait for one.

Employee Centric aint no Metric

If you happen to live the professional dream, have an MNC job with fancy title and fancier workstations you would quite fit in to the target readership for this one. With more and more people jumping on the corporate bandwagon, the need for effective people management techniques is at an all time high.

Waking up in a swanky multi story office after sleeping in the Lalaji's factory/shop for over 100 years, a lot of dignity needs to be gained for the professional elite in India. Offices are abuzz with words like Retention plans, Employee centric policies, Morale boosting exercises and numerous such phrases that make work seem like a joyride.

I wonder if at all companies ever consider the fundamentals that support these moves and the diligence behind these policies. After all, To err is human and Human Resources is Human too! What happens when the implementation goes wrong or the veracity of commitment towards benefit is prone to being under suspicion?

A hard-working entry level employee deserves a few choices when it comes to work conditions, but the CEO is also an 'employee' and a beneficiary of employee centric policies. Where do you draw the line? It takes no geniuses to conclude about who has the last laugh in the confrontation of interests, if at all the junior employee decides to challenge the authority of his senior.

At times the demands of the junior could be unjust and at times the senior could be a total jerk , set out to piss the world off as a revenge to his wasted youth. The debate has no end and eventually boils down to individual cases.

The world is witnessing the onset of the HPHE employee, well, just to keep you in the loop, HPHE is Highly Paid Highly Educated. This would imply that the employees are well paid since they have spent a fortune getting themselves prestigious educational dog tags that make them stand apart in every job interview and shine like a funky diamond on their resume.

This also boils down to a cold fact that with a lot of green currency rolling down their accounts on every pay-day, companies expect them to perform miracles, failing to do so leads to a ridiculously short 'perform now' period which transforms into termination in the event of failure to meet expected performance.

Is the whole highly paid employee concept worthwhile? Job security flirting with target expectations is not a pleasant idea to someone who loves the word stability.

In the Indian context, the love for the Government jobs emanates from the job security associated with it. If popular notions are to be considered, its a one way ticket and an employee cannot be fired inspite of consistently performing below expectations. Looking at our Ministers and Police officials, I can testify about that for sure!

Considering the other aspect of it, the situation where Senior Executives enjoy their position purely on the basis of the time they spent in an industry, is unjustified. On several occasions it has been observed that junior employees are far more educated and intelligent than their leadership (I know most of you would whisper 'yeah/true' as you read this), but there is no room for expressing anguish over lack of the pre requisite leadership skills.

It is this disgruntlement that leads to attrition, lack of morale and lowered productivity which eventually neutralizes all other employee benefits.

Another question that bothers a well oriented mind is, how far to go with pampering the employee? Or on the other hand, how restricted and fun depreived can you keep a job to maintain decorum?
Too much pampering might lead to an employee taking benefits for granted and expecting more on a regular basis, another theory believes that he shall stay content and a happy employee is always productive. A restricted employee might fear the bosses and perform well under those circumstances, well, on the other hand he might just decide not to take the pressure anymore and quit. Side effects include Fragging in extreme situations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging).


The bottomline is that an employee should not be mistreated on personal, religious or gender grounds. Most importantly, the feeling of being 'dispensable' should never creep into an employee's mind.

A Dumb HR Department or an unpopular Senior Executive can be as bad as spraying CS Gas in the office. Employee centric policies begin with hiring people with adequate IQ and proven leadership skills. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CS_gas)

You can have a man work under fear or pressure, but eventually we all know the fate of a pressure cooker without a vent!


Dedicated to all my colleagues.