Sidharth Bhatia

Jan 27, 2011

The writer is a senior journalist and commentator on current affairs based in Mumbai

Baba on fast, BJP getting hunger pangs

The sight of Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and many others from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dancing at Rajghat has offended even sympathisers of the party. Quite apart from being distasteful — dancing on Gandhiji’s grave, as it were — it was also misplaced. What exactly did the BJP leaders and workers feel so triumphant about?

New Age Babas

India has always had a love affair with sadhus, sants and sundry babas, but till not too long ago, these worthies tended to stay out of public life. They had large numbers of followers and it was hardly a secret that many politicians were among them, but the holy men (and a few women) did not dabble in politics, at least not openly.

Uncivilisation

We Indians are inordinately proud of our history and never miss a chance to hold forth about our glorious culture and heritage. India is not just a country or nation — it is a civilisation; this is what we are taught and this is what we wear on our sleeves, often not so lightly when we talk to the rest of the world.

Tweeting hazards

In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s killing, much has been made of the role of the social media. The news of the death was “broken” by a tweet much before it was officially announced by POTUS (President of the United States). Then, Sohaib Athar, an IT consultant who happens to live next to the enclosed mansion where Bin Laden

Hazaar questions for Hazare

Cynicism, Wikipedia tells us, “refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics. Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of virtue in agreement with nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health and fame, and by living a simple life free from all possessions”.

The photo-op pros

Good politicians are nothing if not opportunists. They are quick to ride with the prevailing public mood as long as it gets them some brownie points and photo-ops. No sooner had Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit the final six to claim the World Cup for India that politicians of all hues began looking for possibilities of exploiting it for themselves.
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Sharad Pawar, of course, did not have to do much. Being the president of the ICC, the former chief of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), the karta dharta of the Wankhede Stadium and much else, he automatically basked in reflected glory.

Who do you believe?

So convinced are we of political venality that we have bought, hook line and sinker, all the serious claims of corruption against the government on the basis of the revelations made by WikiLeaks about votes being bought by the Congress during the parliamentary vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal in July 2008. The allegations are based on confidential cables sent by an American diplomat during those days.

Tweeting blues

Even by the usual standard of excuses advanced by politicians when they make a gaffe — “I was misquoted by the media” — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj blaming Twitter for her remarks being misunderstood rings hollow. After commenting on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in Parliament taking full responsibility for the decision to appoint P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, Ms Swaraj tweeted: “I appreciate the statement of the Prime Minister owning responsibility for the appointment of CVC which has been quashed by Supreme Court”.

Radical click: Rise of virtual warriors

More than the Egyptians themselves, it is India’s armchair revolutionaries, the assorted Lefties and millions of social network users, who got excited about the protests in Cairo and the way President Hosni Mubarak has been forced to leave his office. Without leaving their homes, offices, coffee shops and with a few clicks of the thumb on their smart phones, these warriors lent their vocal support to the cause of freedom and to help their Arab brothers and sisters overthrow a despot.

26/11: Seeking justice, not revenge

During a television discussion soon after the announcement of the Ajmal Kasab verdict by the Bombay high court on Monday, my co-panelist, a survivor of those terrible hours on November 26, 2008, was asked: “Are you disappointed at the pace of the judgment?” The lady replied, in a firm voice: “No. We are a democracy and the due process of law must be followed”.

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