Some thoughts and some
feelings, all my work:
Like if TV coverage was
available for the Mahatma, we would have made the British leave India earlier
than 1947. The tremendous power of media was realised during the Anna Hazare
event.
Like time inverts many
things; with Government of India’s exceptional delay in hanging the Rajiv
Gandhi killers there is now a sympathy wave for them. At least in Chennai. I too
think keeping a person waiting for 20 years in death cell is more cruel
punishment than capital punishment.
Like this Indian team has
received the greatest accolades for winning the World Cup and it has also
received the most brickbats for their dismal show in England. And I think
Indian team’s play is more a game of chance; it has got nothing to do with
cricket being [or not being] a game of chance.
Like ex-England Captain Nasser
Hussain called Indian fielders ‘donkeys.’ Perhaps he thinks that by settling
down in England after being born in India does not make him a donkey.
Like Justice Soumitra Sen
has finally resigned! But that is not the big news; Rajya Sabha has passed an
impeachment resolution – that is the big news!!
Like the most high profile
impeachment process was that of Supreme Court Judge V Ramaswami was lost due to
political wrangling, with Kapil Sibal defending V Ramaswami! And it is quite a
poetic justice that Kapil Sibal had to face public wrath for being a road block
to Anti-Corruption movement.
And finally, I took pity
on Dr Manmohan Singh when I saw a cartoon in Marathi magazine which shows Baby Manmohan
is born in a maternity hospital and is spanked on his bottom by the doctor who
exclaims ‘This baby is not making any sound at all in spite of my hitting him so hard!’ Poor PM, he has received
so much flak that I pity him.
PS: Ms Shobha De spoke for
many of us when she wrote... [Amir Khan’s] presence at the [Anna
Hazare’s] rally sent out a strong signal. It was about Aamir the individual,
Aamir the citizen, taking a stand, not just against corruption, but indirectly
against the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. In an age where the culture of
camps continues to prevail, this was seen as a defiantly independent move, more
so, because the other Khans had maintained a safe distance from a burning issue
that had India up in arms for close to a fortnight.
Vivek