Thursday, February 26, 2009

Censor me if u can!

Well I am hurt today…really badly hurt. The Supreme Court of India feels that bloggers like you and me may face libel, even prosecution for voicing our views online. This was the one thing every Indian felt was on their side…the Judiciary. Sure it was slow and justice was delayed…but still it was not denied. The monumental role of Judiciary in cases like that of Jessica Lal, Sanjay Dutt, Nithari Killings etc gave us hope that at least one pillar of democracy is intact and is unaffected by the rust of time. We learnt how to live with corruption, nepotism, unstable coalitions, shouting and cursing MPs and MLAs and even made our peace with the stagnant state of affairs where nothing changes. The word CHANGE that re-wrote American history brings goose bumps to our "respected" politicians. (I am a scared Blogger now you know) But the SC can't do that to us. How can you take away the fundamental right of speech from a country of billions?

It all started when a blogger named Ajith D ,who is just 19 years of age, created a community on a social networking site which had many anonymous comments about a radical Hindu political party (I know the name…but still scared you know!) and how it is trying to divide the country. Note that it was an online community, not a BLOG. The party's Youth Wing (average age must have been 45 for this wing…that's pretty young in Indian Politics…damn I did it again…I am better off scared!) filed a complaint against Ajith and then SC came up with this point of view. The most astonishing part of this case, according to me, is that the comments were anonymous. How can you blame a person for the comments made on his community/blog by others? He just started a thread and people responded. If the idea was so ridiculous that it would hurt people's sentiments (as the SC described it) then why would people support it? An important point is that a blogger cannot be an uneducated or a person who could be easily molded. He is got to be a well educated, at least a middle class, intelligent guy who knows what he is doing. So instead of shutting him up in name of "Public Sentiments" shouldn't he be heard? Shouldn't he be asked why he has so strong views that he felt a need to form a community for similar-minded people? Or if that's a distant dream in a severely paralyzed democracy, at least let him speak his mind out!

What can we interpret from this? Are we not free to speak anymore? Or do we have to follow a particular code of conduct while expressing your views? Hilariously though, our expression would still be "FREE" and country still a "DEMOCRATIC". Why isn't a code of conduct for our MPs? Why does a 80 year old Mr.Somnath Chatterji has to shout at 500 odd 70 year olds to keep quiet and maintain decorum? Is it not pseudo Talibanisation? Is it not giving up in front of the radical fundamentalist goondas?

There have been landmark cases which change the course of any country's judiciary and people's mentality. Remember the "Kiranjeet Ahluwalia" case in England (on which Provoked was made)? It changed the meaning of the word Provocation in England's law books forever. May be the Ajith case would change the meaning of the phrase "FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION" in India's Constitution forever. For better or for the worse, time would tell. Till then we would be Rebels. We would be "Politically Incorrect" till a law stops us being so!

Friday, February 20, 2009

26/11…It's Still Fresh in My Mind- THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER…


It's a general trait of Indian masses - or why differentiate on the basis of class - t's a general trait of Indian people that they have a very weak memory; Especially of the events that shook them the worst and the rest of the world. I know it's sounds sarcastic but it is the truth, a bitter one though.
Ask an American about September 11 and they would tell you every single detail of that fateful day. But ask any Indian about such an attack….he would be able to tell you what he was doing at the time of the attack or how his neighbor's uncle's daughter's husband escaped the attack miraculously but he won't be able to tell you the date. ( I could have used son-in law but just for the message to be conveyed you know!). You don't trust me? After you finish this ask anyone whose city has been under such terror attacks, you would be depressed. Not because of the intricate details and the sheer impact that attack had on that person, but because of the lack of knowledge and especially the date of the attack.
Dates are important. It reminds us how heinous that act was and more importantly how our life would have been if that day wouldn't be in our lives. What September 11 did to Americans was that it made a narcissist nation aware of the world happenings. It taught them that even a sleepy Afghanistan can make them lose their Wall Street powered sleep forever. The attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008 (yes, even year deserves a mention) changed the apathetic Indian scenario a little bit. People are now aware of the NSG and how dirty can Indian politics be. (they touched a new low…but more on that later). The spirit of Mumbai was acclaimed worldwide to stand up to such gruesome attacks and recover in no time. But at some level, I feel we should not recover. Being attacked and recovered is more like being challenged and lose.
Today I want to post a poem by noted Bollywood lyricist Prasoon Joshi (Rang De Basanti fame) after the attacks. This appeared on Times Now channel and literally brought tears in my eyes. I want you all to have a look and vow that we will never forget 26-11-2008 for the rest of our lives.
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
A MOTHER CARESSING HER DEAD SON'S FOREHEAD AND PREPARING HIM PRE-MATURELY FOR HIS FINAL DESTIANTION…
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
INNOCENT DINERS LINED UP AND SHOT AT POINT BLANK,CAUGHT IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S WAR…
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
BLOOD SPLATTERED WALLS WITH GROTESQUE IMAGERY, FRESHLY BURNT FLESH, SHATTERED MIRRORS AND BROKEN LIVES…
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
A MOTHER AND HER TWO YOUNG KIDS CHARRED BEYOND RECOGNITION WHILE THE DAD PUT PUBLIC GOOD AHEAD OF THE PERSONA…
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
GUN TOTTING TERRORISTS CREATING MAYHEM ON THE STREETS, TARGET PRACTICING AT A RAILWAY STATION
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER
BACKPACKERS AT A CAFÉ OR RECEPTIONIST AT A HOTEL REDUCED TO PIECES FOR NO REASON
THIS TIME I WILL REMEMBER

 

 

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Assignments….every engineer’s nightmare…


 

I wanna start blogging with something funny…something that is indeed "politically correct"!!. So a general problem all engineers face…ASSIGNMENTS….here are some ways…to escape..!!

Assignments ? Who me? No…..sorry, excuse me, thank you…!!! Whatever works man...!! Just get rid of 'em…

Have you ever read the last line of curriculum of most of the engineering institutions?

It says "Mode of Evaluation: Written Examination, Assignments and Seminar." Looks pretty easy…written examinations are taken care of by relative grading….all is good when everyone does bad!

Seminars are pretty manageable because the class supports you by never cross questioning.

It's the assignments that take a real toll on all of us. And for most of the times we don't meet deadlines and that's where the problems start.

The human race however has a unique ability to anticipate the future, proactively innovate and create an array of options for survival in a changing environment. So then we make excuses which are stupid enough to make us land in trouble.

So I decided to help all the "non-nerds" (if I knew the exact word I would be a nerd!) by suggesting a few ways to escape and a few clichés you should never use!

Here are 5 excuses which may help you to escape the predicament of not meeting the deadline for an assignment…but….remember the disclaimer…."the author bears no responsibility for the ideas and suggestions! Any person caught using them would be entirely responsible for the consequences"!

1)"Sir, I already gave it to you! Please check again"! Anticipated Success Rate-90%

2)"It was today? Oh! Sorry I thought it was next week! Sorry sir!" Anticipated Success Rate- 85% (for our female friends however the sorry sir part could be a bit extended and the success rate shoots up!)

3)"My computer was not working". Anticipated Success Rate-60%

4)"I had my GRE/CAT/TOEFL exams". Anticipated Success Rate-50%

5)"I was sick and was admitted to the health center". Anticipated Success Rate-10% (first of all you are not allowed to be sick at the cost of your work and this lie can backfire very badly as they may ask you to produce some "medical certificate duly signed by the CMO"…though I never understood why a guy would go to the health center in the first place if he is a little sick like fever etc.!

But guys our respected faculty members are much smarter and obviously experienced especially when it comes to students skipping assignments.

So here are some pitfalls you can escape and please don't use these clichés….

1)"There is no material related to this on Wikipedia…library??...are you kidding"!

2)"My girlfriend dumped me…I am too heartbroken…sir you understand…you were 20 once…weren't you"?

3)"Sir its all his fault...he didn't do it…what could I do"?

4)" I didn't have the color pens, A4 sheets, a scale, a pencil etc…you know I wanted to do it either perfectly or not at all…so I picked the latter!"

5)"I didn't sleep properly last night"! (which secretly means that you were busy finishing your daily quota of movies)

The purpose of assignments is not clear to either me or to the rest of the students. So till we truly understand the aim and objectives of assignments let's just finish them off….and for the rest of the times when you cannot do it…keep this article safe!!