On the Execution of Burhan M. Wani

Either he and his friends were armed and dangerous and had to be shot on the spot

OR

he was intoxicated and began to cry when surrounded.

You cannot have both. As for the people celebrating his “execution”…

A 21 year old boy issues a “challenge” to the Army of a nation. There’s a high chance he has not ever even fired a shot at anyone. He declares, on social media, that what Kashmir needs is Azadi because there is too much violence and too much impunity in the hands of the military. The army accepts the “challenge”, hunts him down and kills him. The people identifying with the State rejoice, even as his friends and neighbors love him more for having the courage to speak out and die while all they have done is avert their eyes when a mother wails for her raped and murdered daughter, for her disappeared sons, for her arrested and tortured husband.

A new line is drawn.

Who wins?

I do not know, but this does not taste like victory.

It tastes like shame.

Question for the Day: How do you define terrorists and heroes?
The answer: Depends on where you are standing.

The test remains the same though:

Terrorists terrorize _the people_.
Heroes fight back _for the people_.

Watch out, brothers and sisters. The long overdue consequences of our actions await us.

The long overdue consequence of our inaction awaits us.

Requiescat in pace, brother.

“It is very evident that there is a lot of anger and alienation as far as the ground situation is concerned, especially among the youth, and these are some of the occasions when they can actually come out on to the street and pelt stones to vent. Otherwise the way things are controlled and managed here, their emotions are suppressed. As a result, people are associating themselves with the sacrifice, commitment and ideology. More and more people feel that Government of India is not going to resolve issues related to Kashmir through dialogue or discourse. This is the reason why young boys are coming and challenging the might of the Indian government despite knowing that they may not win; and they are displaying their resistance and resilience.”

– The aftermath of the Burhan ‘Encounter’

Judaai (Badlapur): Translated Lyrics (English)

Music: Sachin-Jigar
Lyrics: Dinesh Vijan & Priya Saraiya
Label: Eros Music
Singers: Rekha Bhardwaj, Arijit Singh

Raajhan Dhoondan Main Chaleya…
To find my Romeo, I set out
Raajhan Milya Na Ve…
I couldn’t find my Romeo
Jigra Vichon Agan Laga Ke Rabba…
Inside my heart, after igniting a fire, O Lord
Lakeeraan Vich Likhdi Judaai…
In my lines (of fate), you’ve written separation

Kho Gaya, Gum Ho Gaya
Has been lost, has gone missing
Waqt Se Churaya Tha Jo
That which was stolen from time, That
Apna Banaya Tha…
I Had made mine
Woh Tera, Woh Mera
That which was yours, that which was mine
Waqt se churaya tha jo
That which was stolen from time
Sapna sajaya tha
The Dream was decorated

Chadariya Jheeni Re Jheeni (x2)
The bed sheet is thin and worn, thin and worn
Aankhein Bheeni Yeh Bheeni Yeh Bheeni
The eyes are wet, these are wet, these are wet
Yaadein Jheeni Re Jheeni Re Jheeni
The memories are all delicate (thin & worn)(like in a bed sheet)
Chadariya Jheeni Re Jheeni (x2)
The bed sheet is thin and worn, thin and worn
Hai Aankhein Bheeni Yeh Bheeni Yeh Bheeni
The eyes are wet, these are wet, these are wet
Yaadein Jheeni Re Jheeni Re Jheeni
The memories are all delicate (thin and worn), are delicate, are delicate

Aisa Bhi Kya Milna, Saath Ho Ke Tanha
What’s the point of this kind of meeting, being together yet lonely
Aisi Kyun Saza Humne Hai Paayi, Raanjhna Ve
Why have I earned this sort of punishment, my beloved?
Phir Se Mujhe Jeena, Tujhpe Hai Marna
Again I want to live, On/For you, I want to die (again)
Phir Se Dil Ne Di Hai Yeh Duhaai, Saajna Ve
Once again, my heart has given me this curse, my partner
Lakeeron Pe Likh Di Kyun Judaai…
On these lines (of fate), why have you written separation?

Gair Sa Hua Khud Se Bhi, Na Koi Mera
Like a stranger I’ve become even to myself, no one is mine
Dard Se Kar Le Chal Yaari, Dil Ye Keh Raha
Become friends with pain, my heart is saying this
Kholun Jo Baahein… Bas Gham Yeh Simat Rahe Hai
When I open my arms, it’s just grief that comes and embraces me
Aankhon Ke Aage… Lamhe Yeh Kyun Ghat Rahe Hai
In front of my eyes, why are these moments slowly passing by
Jaane Kaise Koi Sehta Judaaiyaan
Who knows how anyone bears separation

Chadariya Jheeni Re Jheeni (x2)
The bed sheet is thin and worn, is thin and worn
Aankhein Bheeni Yeh Bheeni Yeh Bheeni
Eyes are wet, they’re wet, they’re wet
Yaadein Jheeni Re Jheeni Re Jheeni
The memories are all delicate (thin and worn), are delicate, are delicate
Chadariya Jheeni Re Jheeni (x2)
The bed sheet is thin and worn, is thin and worn
Hai Aankhein Bheeni Yeh Bheeni Yeh Bheeni
Yeah, These eyes are wet, they’re wet, they’re wet
Yaadein Jheeni Re Jheeni Re Jheeni
The memories are all thin and worn, are thin and worn, are thin and worn

Raajhan Dhoondan Main Chaleya…
In search of my Romeo, I set out
Raajhan Milya Na Ve…
I didn’t find my Romeo
Jigra Vichon Agan Laga Ke Rabba…
After igniting a fire inside my heart, O Lord
Lakeeraan Vich Likhdi Judaai…
You’ve written separation in my fate…

Credits for lyrics, with alternate translation: http://www.bollynook.com/en/lyrics/16146/judaai/

Quotes on Tyranny //or// Why I don’t approve of “NaMo 4 PM”

Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.

— Giovanni Gentile, entry in the Encyclopedia Italiana.

The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness…. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

– PLATO, The Republic

“In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the People.“

– (Canton, OH, Anti-War Speech, June 16, 1918)” ― Eugene V. Debs, Voices of a People’s History of the United States

Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.

-Charles Pe¢ guy

“When one with honeyed words but evil mind Persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” 

― Euripides, Orestes

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

— C. S. Lewis

“It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.” 

― Thomas Jefferson

Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.

-Daniel Webster

Pls don’t vote for this man. It would be criminal to do so.

If I was Voting Tomorrow

Well, I still have some time to make up my mind. But, I think this time, in Delhi at least, the AAP has conducted itself with surprising efficiency and no-nonsense. So, if I would be voting tomorrow, I think the Aam Aadmi Party would get my vote based on these three reasons alone:1. Only party that has not once spoken about castes or reservations.

2. Instead of the general practice of releasing 1 manifesto for the entire state and having all candidates carry a copy, the AAP has 27 candidates in 27 constituencies, and 27 different manifestos, all identifying the strengths, weaknesses and requirements of each constituency.

3. Minimal wastage of money on stupid things. (I mean, they are the last guys I would expect to be building and justifying the building of statues)

Also, the biggest criticism against them is actually the part I find most endearing: That none of their representatives are actually the “Aam Aadmi”.

Yes. They are not. Instead, from every locality, they have chosen someone who has made it big in a respectable field, someone with adequate income to not be dependent on money earned from office (State), yet someone who is, if not out and out concerned, at least aware of the problems of local people from all walks of life. And, most importantly, every single one of their candidates is highly educated. Like, uber important that is, I believe.

In other words, they have tried choosing from among the best. And isn’t that what democracy and this whole election process is supposed to be about?

If nothing else, I believe the AAP shows a coming of age of Indian democracy. Finally. And I think that alone makes them worthwhile of the chance. Unlike mass murderers and their close-minded sycophants, or dynasty loyalists..

Closing Arguments: #NoMo Please!

S1: The real reason Anti-Modi people don’t like him is because Modi epitomises what the other Idea of India could look like..

S2: S1, you have a large fighting capacity. No wonder you’re lawyer. I can tell you this already. You will be a good lawyer. Well, you never stop fighting. And BTW, I don’t support BJP, I support Modi. I support leaders, not parties.

S1: Actually, S2, I don’t. Have a large fighting capacity, i.e. I’m like this uncaring, apathetic, really extremely chilled out person. But, there’s only one thing that makes me angry, like the Hulk kinda angry, and that is the Cruelty of Cowardice.

When a bunch of humans tie up kittens and throw them in water to drown, or set fire to a dog’s tail, or stalk and rape a toddler, that’s nothing but the Cruel nature of Cowardly humans. This is also why I despise mobs. Because they get together and fuck over individuals who otherwise might have been able to kick their asses. The two things that enrage me the most, therefore, are gang-rapists, and rioting fanatics..

Sigh. What this means is, I cannot just stop when I know people have died for something really senseless and there’s even an iota of a chance that they will, again.

Like I said somewhere in the middle of all this. Do I really believe Modi cares so deeply about eliminating the Muslim threat as he projects himself to be? I don’t know. But, when voting for someone, especially when it comes to politics, I do sincerely believe that it is necessary to look at the party behind the man. After all, this is not some Indian idol/American idol/some other reality TV popularity contest. This voting will affect real people’s lives. And, I just find it very hard to accept that there are educated people who treat this exactly like some “max smses for ur favorite bollywood hero” kinda contest.

It is not. Parties matter. Ideologies matter. Followers matter. And the lengths they are willing to go to matter too.

The ends do NOT justify the means. And, all Indians are my brothers and sisters, S. Especially the dead ones. Because they seem to be forgotten too easily in our country.

But, thank you for your faith. With every passing day in this country, I’m not even certain I want to be a lawyer in the first place. I don’t really enjoy this level of arguing and debating. But, those people suffered. And they died. And if that happened to me, I’d want someone to fight for me too.. That’s all.

Perhaps you should re-look at your civics/social studies text books? Or read some wikipedia links on how politics work and the actual role of a PM and his relationship with the ruling party? Or, perhaps it is foolish of me to expect that from everyone.. maybe it *is* just a popularity contest, and cheap PR and raving fanatics shall win it. But that makes me horribly sad. And I feel like we’ve betrayed not just the murdered, but also our forefathers who fought for, and achieved, independence. But, like I said.. Maybe that’s just my foolishness.

The Last of the Anti-Orange Rant [Or why you will never convert me, Modi-ites!]

The problem is this, S. The reasons why we don’t support Modi have been listed out a hundred times above. As others have mentioned, your scary blind devotion to the man is disappointing and frightening.  What we will get into is this: A lot of Muslims were horribly tortured, and died, under his reign. When you […]

Pro-Modi v Anti-Modi: Facebook Debate Excerpts

July 2013 1. The development claimed by Modi in Gujarat is a bunch of lies, as independent reports by Human Rights organizations, both international and Non-governmental have already proved. 2. Modi rides on the fanaticism of his Hindutva fan-boys and fan-girls. No one here is claiming that he wakes up and does the surya namaskar […]

The Indian Ban on Porn: Playing the Devil’s Advocate

Note: The govt./executive is the Devil for the purposes of this post.

Guys, we belong to a culture where rape is alright because, for most men in this country, the consent of a woman is an alien idea. Even marriage is like, “beta, be an ass, if you please. We’ll find you a girl to fuck. Come let us go their house and drink the tea she has made. That way you can check out how “sweet” her cooking is, as well as her body.” 
So, today, these men waiting for mommy and daddy to find them a fuck-girl aka wife, cannot comprehend the sexual autonomy women seem to be painstakingly working towards. 
Why?
> Because they know that, with the kind of jackasses they have become, no girl in their right mind would want to sleep with them. And this is the pathetic fear that makes them desperate to rape. They see women on the street, and if she’s with a guy, the automatic insecure, deprived notion that pops into their head is, “If she can sleep with him, why not me?”
…
Why is this relevant to this discussion? 
> I have a blog. Said blog has this cool feature relating to stats, and this includes a list of the search terms that people have used to reach my blog. Because I write about all these things, there’s a lot of “rape” and “sexual assault” tags. The kind of stuff I read on that list, i.e. the kind of stuff people are searching for, sometimes just makes me want to be sick.
>>>
Don’t get me wrong. I am totally pro-porn. But I’m not pro getting off on the pain of real victims.
…
What does this have to do with anything?
>> I’m not sure if, as a nation, we can differentiate between reality and fiction. And, in countries that don’t have such a problem, having a fantasy about raping your neighbor after seeing a porn clip about it stays just that: a fantasy. But, in incredible India, it’s just about waiting until said neighbor has a blackout, just like in the porn video.
…
What am I trying to say?
> As a nation, we don’t deserve porn. But, then again, we probably don’t even deserve to govern ourselves. Which we have time and again proved, historically, and at every turning point, instead of moving towards a society that respects its members, we have chosen to go the other way. Instead of demanding our rights, we have simply watched them go floating by to their ICU rooms, partially because there were too many of us dying for food, and partially because the handful of educated Indians wanted to do nothing but get out.
…
Conclusion
The Indian government is supremely ineffective. Nevertheless, as Nietzsche would agree, let them fuck up. Let them fuck up, and let us fight them, and then let them do worse things, terrible things. And let us keep fighting back.
Why?
>Because that is the only way society improves, and our’s is in desperate need of improvement. And this dialogue must be made part of the battle (i.e. on the link between porn and rape, because only such a discussion in the open media will get the point out and across that these guys are usually actors, and there’s a LOT of fucking consent involved.)

~~~

Bottomline: The freedom of our people is of supreme importance, but nothing is more important than protecting our children. And we are failing. We have failed. Let them ban what they like. We’ll find our own ways. And, maybe, maybe the guy stalking some minor girl because she’s pretty (-_-) will next time be forced to pay attention to something else when he goes online, when the search results of “rape stories” and what not show not imitable ideas of sexual violence, but simply an account of how every rapist was beaten up by his society, and the jail term he has served.

PoA: Obviously let it be known that this is wrong, and it shouldn’t be done. But, keeping in mind that the class that has just stopped struggling to survive does not have the cultural license in this nation to form meaningful relationships (or any relationships, for that matter) with the opposite gender, and has literally turned to porn, and subsequently rape, as entertainment.

Because that’s the one thing Indian society has in common with violent, exploitative pornographic content: A serious lack of consequence.

A Sordid Affair: Capitalism and Socialism

I have a theory on why the World is going to hell. And, it somehow relates to why capitalism wasn’t the worst idea to begin with.

At the last point of time when socialism had any shot at affecting capitalism, i.e. at the time of the Cold War, people were just beginning to appreciate their individual rights. To even suggest to such a population, standing on the brink of what looked like cities of gold, that they must necessarily share their wealth with anyone, was nothing short of blasphemous. More importantly, it was unfair. Most importantly, it seemed regressive.

“Let the people choose” was the cry of the day.

Fair enough. Had the World not seen enough of foolish kings and cruel dictators? Had we not had enough despotism to not want any more of that in the State? Of the People, By the People, For the People, cried the People themselves. Yes, the World had seen enough of force and violence and oppression. It was choice we craved, and Capitalism was the only way visible to get at it.

And, what have we chosen?

In my humble opinion, I believe humanity has underestimated its ability to evolve/adapt to situations. People, as they existed in their natural state, may benefit from a survival-of-the-fittest kind of system that is capitalism. But, as generations are born and die within this system, the more they internalize these values, these codes of behavior, this sense of what is alright, and what is not, the more our basic values and core principles shift.

What values does capitalism promote? What do we have in place of the things that even cruel kingdoms could boast of? What is it that we value if not valor and honor and intelligence and compassion and understanding and creativity and communication? What is it that we allow the system to teach our children? What does this system reward, appreciate, encourage?

Competition?

Money?

Consumption?

Greed?

No, maybe what we really need is a capitalist government with socialist people. And, I think somewhere the Indian constitution grasped this need. [Or did whichever constitution they “borrowed” the concept of Directive Principles from. Irish, I think?] The Directive Principles of State Policy, contained in part IV of the constitution of India, are not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down therein are considered fundamental in the governance of the country, making it the duty of the state to use these as guiding principles to establish and maintain a just society.

But, as a nation what do we promote?

As a people, who do we idolize?

And, who shall our children look up to?

#Aggravation

*phone rings for the tenth time*

Me: Who do you want to speak to?

HF: Hello?

Me: Who have you called to speak to?

HF: I got a missed call from this number..

Me: Yes, sir. That was 2 days ago, when we were ordering food.

HF: *silence*

Me: Why have you called?

HF: I don’t know anything. I just know that someone gave me a missed call from this number.

Me: Sir. Yes. You got a call. Two days ago. To  place an order for food. Since then, you have called me a hundred times from this number of yours that is registered under the name of your employer. Can you please tell me why, or stop?

HF: … Oh! Okay! Okay, ma’am! Yes! Okay!

-_-

Freaks.