Just to prove right what I said in my last entry, the very thing I was warning against happened in Delhi. It seems there was this police inspector posted in a New Delhi area who was coming down hard on local crime. So the wife of one such criminal thought, "why not?" and yelled "RAPE!". In no time a whole crowd gathered and attacked the police station, generally rioting and creating a public nuisance. It was soon all over the media and TV channels were cmoparing the hapless man to various rapists all over. He was transferred out fo the area immediately. Of course when the said female "victim" retracted her statement after a couple of days when it became clear to her she couldn't make the charges stick, no news channel covered that! It was no more than a footnote. That's Indian justice for you!

Shiney's trial

Shiney Ahuja has been in the news lately. For all the wrong reasons, though. Accused of rape by his maid, he’s in custody and being investigated. I don’t presume to know the facts of the case so I won’t talk about his innocence or guilt. He might have done it (people better than him have) or he might not have (his wife seems to think so). What worries me more is the draconian law under which he’ll be tried. As far as I can figure it out, the maid’s testimony can be ruled sufficient to hold him guilty of the charge. Even if no other corroborating evidence is available, the judge would be within his rights to sentence the man to jail for life (14 yrs in India). Now I may anger many feminists and “social workers”, but I find such a law extremely lopsided and completely wrong. It is a touchy topic for most and arouses shrill noises from most quarters. But imagine! All a woman has to do is to accuse you of raping her and it is on your head to prove yourself innocent. She can just yell, “Rape!” and then sit back and enjoy the show. In Shiney’s case, even if he’s proven innocent (and I really don’t care much either way), he’ll carry the stigma for life. Whatever happened to the idea of ‘letting a hundred guilty men go free rather than wrongly punishing one innocent man’?
I know rape’s a ghastly offence for most (all?) women and it’s very difficult for a female to come out and talk about such a traumatic incident, even worse when she goes to the police and court with it. Don’t know where I heard it….”you’re raped once by your rapist, you’re violated a hundred times in court”. It’s demeaning, inhuman and downright obscene the way the whole incident is played out in our courts most of the time. Thankfully the SC declared some time back that the woman’s personal character was not of significance and could not be brought into play in a rape case. There had been instances where rapists were freed on the defence argument that the female was of “loose” character. I also know how low the chances are to get a conviction in rape cases, even in the West. We are a male-dominated society and things are very, very difficult for females. Dowry violence, domestic violence, eve-teasing, frotteurs…….add rape to the mix and it’s a wonder girls walk out of the house at times. My sisters have told me how men try to fondle them in crowded buses, pass lewd comments and so on. So I can imagine how painful and traumatizing rape can be.
But even given all the difficulties in proving rape (traumatized girl with a sometimes hazy recollection, long gap between event and reporting reducing the benefit of medical examination, rarely any witness, police taking an often lewd interest in the case, lawyers out to break the victim down emotionally and so on), this law that bases conviction solely on the testimony of the female is surely not the answer. Stricter policing, better investigation techniques, greater psychological support to the victim, kinder treatment by the police and the courts would go farther in both emboldening rape victims to come forward and in procuring more convictions. If I’m not wrong, ex-girl friends have sued for rape, so have mistresses when they saw no chance of getting the guy to divorce his present wife. Such a law is as open to misuse as the previous laws were, just by the other sex. In Shiney’s case, tests show the ‘victim’ had sex, DNA might prove it was Shiney, but is that enough to prove rape beyond “reasonable doubt”? She might have slept with him and now might be reacting as a jilted lover, who knows? I know feminists might cry that if Shiney is absolved, no one will ever come out and accuse a powerful person of rape, but what I feel is more important here is to ensure that an innocent person does not get sent to prison for 7-14 years for a crime he did not commit. After all, that is what the justice system is supposed to be about, isn’t it?

Came to the new domestic airport terminal in Delhi for the first time. Nice to look at from outside, all glass and metal, vast and airy etc...but just 20 odd seats for the passengers? I mean if you expect enough passenger traffic to warrant eight check-in lines, at least plan for adequate seating arrangements for them too! I had to perch atop a ventilation duct of sorts with 2-3 other guys and even though it was all marble it still wasn't good enough!
Well the waiting area after the security check was much better. A decent number of seats and good shopping area too.
In the plane now and never knew they build them so small! A pair of dwarves would have problems navigating the aisle together. The seats don't even have adjustable backs..
Flew well enough though. Vizag is a nice city. Nestled in the Ghats, quite green though humid, being a port city. Saw waves breaking on the beach from the air for the first time. It all looked so quiet and peaceful. Nothing to beat mountains though. Have enough time but don't want to see the city or the beaches. Reason 1-headache, reason 2-tired, reason 3-alone. Coming out of the airport was a nice experience...it's surrounded by low hills, probably the best located airport I've seen in my India-limited experience. Benaras was by far the worst..

Ipod

Played around with the touch screen ipod for the first time. I know it sounds so lame talking about a product that has been around for so long now, but music aficionados are a rare breed and most people feel that their meagre needs in the music department are met with by their cell-phones and their tinny speakers. So PMPs are not on the top of their wish list. This guy who’s given it to me to test it and see if it’s working properly before he buys it is also obviously buying it second-hand.
One thing I must say, having used the iphone too is that no one has yet made a better touch screen interface than Apple. It is just so smooth and sure, it’s a pleasure to use. Hardly a missed tap and little chance of wrong presses. Until you come to the keyboard typing, that is. I find typing on the virtual keyboard a hassle even with the bigger keys and proximity sensor that Apple offers. And I think I have medium large hands, so how difficult it must be for guys with real big hands! But this issue will not be resolved till they come out with that rollable screen I keep hearing about. Apart from that touch screens are a pleasure, and I’ve gotten used to the stylus on my P320 too. Once you get used to the touch screen, you’ll never want to go back to the old phones again. How often I find myself stretching to touch the screen of my laptop to press an icon!!! HP has come out with a touch screen LCD PC, but I’ll wait till Dell comes out with one, and one with good picture quality as well. No matter how much these ad guys market LCDs, they’re just not comparable to CRT in terms of image quality.
Using the touch ipod for the first time was a bewitching experience. I almost thought about buying one for myself. But within a few minutes I remembered why I hated Apple products in the first place. The tight rein they keep their consumers on, the lack of any leeway whether it comes to software or hardware, it’s almost like a dictatorship. Why should I plonk my hard earned cash to buy something and then have someone else tell me what I can and cannot do with it? No third party software, no memory expansion, only connect through itunes, can’t replace the battery yourself, no way am I going to agree to all those restrictions, no matter how enticing the product is.

Why Mayawati is bad for Indian polity

I hear a lot about Mayawati and how she has an outside chance to even become the next PM. I’ve seen her consolidate her base in UP and make inroads into neighboring states like Haryana and MP. Her initial strategy is to establish her base and split the vote banks of the ruling parties, mostly the Congress but also the BJP. Then she moves in and plays caste politics of the worst kind to make her own vote bank and gain further ground.
To many it might sound like politics as usual, after all the INC has relied on the muslim vote in many areas for ages, the BJP considers the urban middle class as its own, Laloo holds the Muslim-Yadav vote in Bihar and so on. But I feel Mayawati takes this a step too far. While other politicians have cultivated their constituencies, she has a more direct approach. She only looks at how much clout a particular group has in a specific area. If your group can sway the elections, make your demands and they shall be met with. Look at the way she is accepting Brahmins into her fold after castigating them for so many years. Doing so gives her the influential Brahmin vote in UP, so why let something small like her own word stand in the way? And this is what is happening in some way or the other over large tracts of India.
Last week, voting took place in Laloo’s constituency, and the Indian Express reported a Yadav voter from there agreeing to the fact that Nitish Kumar had brought roads and development into the area, but he was still voting for Laloo because voting was a matter of community pride. I thought voting was a matter of development and issues concerning the same. I always used to wonder why MPs never bothered to develop their constituencies when doing so would ensure their re-election. Now I know. Why make the effort when your voters are still going to vote based on which caste or group or religion you belong to? If these narrow benchmarks are to define our votes, then God help India. And this very group mentality is what Mayawati seeks to exploit, to a greater extent and more vigorously and more shamelessly than any politician previously. I guess, every caste, religion, etc would form their own vote bank and demand concessions for themselves based on how large their group was. Jats wanting reservations in Rajasthan and vociferously opposing the same for others in Haryana, Sikhs wanting minority status in a state where they comprise 70% of the population…. Where does this end? And what of India in the meantime, while we are figuring out which community gets how big a piece of the pie?

I HEAR THE MOUNTAINS CALL ……

Some go to harbours on the main,
Some like the endless grassy plain;
But me, I to the mountains go-
When I hear the mountains call again.
                   I hear the mountains call again,
                  With winter, biting wind and rain,
                  With hail, and sleet, and blinding mists,
                  I hear the mountains call again.
The springs fall down in rainbow spray-
“Come rest awhile”, they seem to say.
I will ascend the wooded slopes,
For I hear the mountains call again.
                Brooks rush down their cobbled way,
                Half hidden in the flowing vapoured grey.
                My heart is filled with yearning strong,
                As I hear the mountains call again.
Pine trees all dotted with pine cones,
Small palaces built with mud and stones,
What b’ful sights a fond heart brings,
When it hears the mountains call again.
               In a crowded city, I stand alone,
              Where thought is sad, and grey, and worn.
              With a love for life, the mountains call,
              I hear the mountains call again.
A cold north wind blows over me,
I stand in the open and face’t with glee-
A moss stone come to life once more,
As I hear the mountains call again.
            I’ll go to where the snow falls deep,
            To live till I sleep the eternal sleep,
            Away from this twisted, grabbing world,
            Yes, I hear the mountains call again.
Whatever lives are left as mine,
I wish they in the mountains lie,
Again my soul shall rise, again,
When it hears the mountains call again.

The Indian Tamasha pt. 1

A five stage election and it just seems to be getting bigger every time! As India goes to the polls over the next couple of months, a few things strike me, apart form the obvious ones that there is no morality in politics anymore and that politicians are the most fickle bunch of people in the world and their word cannot be trusted.
But what I find most disconcerting about this occasion is that the major national parties are becoming more and more redundant with the passage of time. The media has already highlighted the fact that the vote and seat share of both the Congress and the BJP has declined considerably, while that of regional parties has increased in the same measure. Some people point to the numerous scam taints of the 90s to explain this shift away from the national parties. I feel that may be one of the reasons. A corruption tired public might have started opting for local politicians and parties who they might have felt more answerable. Also, with the death of Rajiv Gandhi, there was a dearth of leaders with a charisma of their own. Then too, many regional politicians who were playing second fiddle to Rajiv stepped out from under the Gandhi shadow and formed their own little outfits (many with only one leader worthy of the name), marking out their own little territories and regions where they held sway while being unknowns elsewhere. There has been such a profusion of such satraps, that the political field has become like one of those Royal Rumbles in WWF! 
While some might feel happy at this development, I think there’s some cause for worry. The decline of national parties has also meant a decline in a national outlook. Most of the regional leaders have as circumscribed a view of policy and events as their respective ‘realms’. If you hear them speak, they don’t have any concerns outside of their domains. “mumbai for marathis”, “assam for assamese”, “tamil nation”, these and their more strident variants are the voices you hear everyday. And sometimes, they get beyond mere words, as we saw in Mumbai last year. And these are the people who’re getting an increased share of the votes and seats!
I wonder who in this confused babble of voices in talking about India. Where are the leaders who look at the big picture? Where indeed!